Home Improvement Today?

Needed to add more work space in my basement work area. Have just been using a couple of sawhorses with a 2' x 4' piece of plywood. And I needed some extra storage space for tools, etc. Went with a 4' x 4' rolling (locking casters) work table. Nothing too fancy or complicated. Frame components are 1x4 Eastern White Pine and top & bottom are 1/2" sanded plywood. Assembled legs before cutting to size. Used a layered, glue & screw approach for added strength on frame. It's quite lightweight and rugged. Most screws are hidden. Finished the top and bottom with 3 coats of poly (oil based) and a coat of Butcher's Wax. Height is 32" in the event I need to use as an outfeed table. I was 1/32" out of square after assembling legs/frame. Not bad for off the shelf stock.

Legs:


Two of the sides:



Frame:




Doubled up for screwing down top:


Added some blocking for casters:


Finished Product:

 

Well done.

 

Where do you store the boards for the sails?

 

My under mount kitchen sink is leaking from a couple of places and making a mess in the cabinet. The best way to fix it is to remove the sink, the old silicon, and reinstall it. Does anybody know if there's a special silicon for this or can I use the big box store stuff?

 

Big box store stuff is ok. Silicone 2 is supposed to be for kitchens and baths I believe. Should have some microban or similar ingredients to mitigate mold growth. I’m no expert in this, just watched my countertop guys using the generic big box stuff

 

Installed my ceiling fans outside.

 

Thanks for the recommendation to stack the washer/dryer @ImpulseRed008 stacking the washer/dryer allowed me to create a small nook for paying bills/work freeing up the office to be a hobby room.
I'm really happy with this floor plan overall, the pantry is much bigger than I expected it could be.

 

I’d flip that toilet in the master to the same side as the sink. More walking space. Either that or move the sink to the exterior wall and move the door to the other side. Allows for a window and simplifies the venting &drainage for the plumber.

Any thoughts on moving the washer/dryer to the left against the bathroom wall? Strengthen up that pocked wall and simplify plumbing again.also possibility of throwing that desk area into that entry closet looking area.

 

Unless your intent is to use the countertop next to the door as a drop zone, I don't like the idea of walking into a tunnel by flip-flopping that cabinet with the fridge but I'd rather have the counter space next to the sink.

 

Good idea on moving the toilet, I had considered moving the laundry room but I’ve already narrowed the pocket door to the additional bath down to 2’ 6” and moving the wall that holds the door in the laundry room would make it very tight in there. Also I would rather have the noise in front of the office door than the bedroom door.
The entry closet area is the pantry for the kitchen as well as paper goods storage.

I was looking at that and had considered flipping the hinge side of the door and putting the refrigerator against the door but had decided against it because I want the counter space by the door but what I could do is move the fridge, flip the hinge side, and put a 3’x1’6” indent into the pantry and use that for key storage, alarm panel, etc.

 

Would plumbing be simplified if you flipped the shower and moved the toilet next to the sink? Keep everything on that one internal wall?

 

Yep, plumbing and venting would both be simplified.

 

Have a question about backyard upgrade.

My backyard currently has brick 'paver' style for the patio, and the grass is half dead and full of weeds. I want to do the following but not sure the best order to do them in, and have a few questions I would appreciate your opinion on. I plan on hiring people to do the work.

- Remove bricks and have concrete poured for the patio.
- Remove grass, install new sprinklers and sod.
- Have a patio cover installed over the new concrete patio. This will attach to the house on one side.

Questions:
- For the patio cover, can that be installed after the concrete patio is done, or should I plan on having the patio installed before the concrete patio.
- I would think I should hire a company that specializes in patio covering, right?
- For the concrete and sprinkler/sod install, should I look for a company that does both, or different ones for each job?
- For the concrete, I've heard it's not good to pour in cold/rainy season. That true? I live in So California, so it doesn't get much colder than 40's at night and rain is fairly sparse.

Thanks guys. Will keep you updated on the progress.

 

we had a company put in a patio cover for us, we did it pre-concrete because they needed to put footers in for the support posts.

 

Thanks John.

That makes sense.

I am wondering if I can get the sprinklers/sod installed before the patio and patio covering. Is that a bad idea? The reason being, I also have a Gorilla swingset I am going to build on the grass, and hope to build that soon.

 

I would do sod after everything, concrete and related equipment might mess it up. sprinklers i would wait as well just because you may want to run those along the edge of the slab for proper grass coverage.

 

Thanks again John.

So how about this order of operation:

- demo the backyard (clear all bricks and old grass), getting to a clean slate
- prep ground (leveling)
- install patio cover
- install concrete patio (any issue with doing this in the winter)?
- install sprinkles
- install sod
- install swingset

 

Not a bad plan but having just downsized my parents
99% of the time pavers are considered an upgrade to a plain gray concrete slab
Most patio covers sit on top of the patio and depending on type/style may interfere with installing the patio, be damaged by the concrete poor/slosh
Prep for future projects like Natural Gas grill, maybe out door kitchen with sink and small fridge (being SoCal), LV yard accent lights, water feature. having pipe and/or conduent pre-run under the hard scape is a major benefit down the road.

Just some food for thought

 

That is how I'd do it. I'm assuming (but depends on your property layout) that the patio cover and patio guys are going to need to drive a skidsteer or some piece of equipment over your yard to get materials and concrete to the patio, so it doesn't make sense to do any landscaping before then. Plus they're going to have all their tools, material, etc spread all over the place.

As long as you're not getting below freezing within 3 days of placing concrete and not pouring on frozen subgrade, you'll be fine. Placing concrete in summer 90+ weather has its own issues as well. Make sure they compact the dirt subgrade and again the gravel base under the patio so you don't get cracks from differential settlement. Control joints (grooves so you give the concrete a place to crack when it needs to) should be tooled in wet, or saw cut within 24 hours.

Look carefully at the installation details for the patio cover for if it gets bolted to the concrete patio, or cast in footings below ground. That will determine where it does in the sequence. If it gets bolted to the finished patio, you may want a thicker section of concrete and a control joint around where the leg goes.

 

Thanks guys, much appreciated!