Floor from 1920s Kansas House

In 1996, my parents still lived in Kansas. My dad had a hobby farm, and we started building a cabin in the woods. We never finished it before my parents moved to Missouri, though, and I figured the frame has been rotting in the woods ever since.

While building the cabin, we had the opportunity to salvage tongue-and-groove pine floors from an old house being torn down. The only cost was our labor. It was a great deal, but we were never able to use it in the cabin. As a result, my parents have stored the wood ever since.

Jump ahead 16 years, and I am in need of flooring for a new project (that I hope I will see completed). When I picked up the floor, I also grabbed some old cabinets my great grandparents put in there house in the 1960s. These will be perfect storage in the shed.



After bringing back a load of solid wood cabinets and flooring with 90 years of built-up dust, I got to work. Using medium steel wool to scrub a mixture of 1-part boiled linseed oil and 2-parts mineral spirits cleaned up the wood beautifully. Then, I rented a pneumatic floor nailer and was able to install the floor in about a day. The rental for the nailer was only $35, but the smallest size of nails/staples I could buy was $70 for 7,200. (Anyone want to buy 6,900 unused ones?)











I'm thrilled with the results. The floor has beautiful character. More is done on the exterior, too. I'll post those pictures soon.


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Shed Progress

We need a space for making things and storing the tools to do so. I've been eyeing the modern shed kits you can buy. They make for the perfect outdoor studio space, have an amazing aesthetic, and are pricey-- too pricey. I found some cheaper plans online, but decided to have a go on my own. This would be a great opportunity to design something not too outlandish and learn more about building an abode. Further, it wouldn't be so big that my naive mistakes would matter too much, or so I hoped.

So here's the start. I was able to use the previous shesd's floor. In fact, the new one is the exact same footprint. It's amazing how much vertical space matters.

After laying down an additional layer of plywood to strengthen the floor, I bought the door and windows to have exact measurements for these spaces. Framing the walls came next. Then, it was adding the first layer of plywood to the walls before I used house wrap for additional protection. Finally, I installed the door and lower-level windows. A video from the This Old House website came in handy for this first-timer's work with windows and doors.

Still to do: a lot. I've be tackling the shed's exterior next, including the upper windows. These cool little rectangles (four will go across the top for aesthetics and ventilation) are called "basement windows" and are very cheap.

I've learned a lot. That also means I've made a lot of mistakes, but when is that not part of the learning process?

Oh, and here's a public thank you to my dad. He's been so helpful.













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Mod Dog Dwelling

It's getting cold outside, and the dog is in need of shelter. No ordinary design would do, so I tried to make a shed that mimicked the lines on our home. Here is the result after a Saturday's worth of work, and a little help fro my daughter.










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Lantern Festival in St. Louis

...was last summer at the Missouri Botanical Garden. It was quite impressive and made for a great trip. Now I know what to do with those extra dishes.












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New Bench

I couldn't help but notice an attractive slab of wood in a friend's wood pile. It was from a local mill--a castoff because "city wood" has so many nails that it will damage the saw blades.

He said I could have half of the slab for a project. Then, began the task of loading it. A tractor eventually got involved, too.

Skip ahead with gravity helping me unload it, the addition of shims and wheels, and voilà--"instant" outdoor bench.

Now, how to finish/protect the top...?






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Starting the Shed

I suppose you have to break an egg to make an omelet. Last summer we started the long-but-enjoyable process of building a new shed.

First step: tear down existing shed, salvage as much lumber as possible to reuse, and make room in garage for stuff once in said dismantled shed (thus, the dumpster).






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Cool Lego Cake

Our 5-year-old hit pay dirt with this one. Amy made the little Lego fan a pretty nifty cake for her birthday last summer.




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