Some Finish Work for the Loggers

When I left Logger Daughter's house the first of December, I told them I wouldn't be back until Spring!  It was so cold there the month of November and I realized that I cannot tolerate the cold weather.  Turns out it was a long winter!  But, finally, the stars aligned and I I was able get back up there.  I was able to see each of the boys play a couple of ball games, but I missed my granddaughter's track and field meet (I really hate T&F - the meets are all day long, and the person you're there to see is likely to only be doing something for about 15 minutes).  But, I did try out the three new restaurants in their little area - no way do I miss out on food and wine!

Some work did get done, too.  I'd started these things when I was there last, but there wasn't an opportunity to finish and install them (IT WAS TOO DAMN COLD FOR THE FINISH TO DRY!!)

This was a completely unusable cabinet - so me made drawers and floating shelves.  The drawers will hold things a bit more efficiently than the skinny shelves in the previous cabinet, and the open, floating shelves will display some pretty things.  

The laundry room is used constantly!  School, work, mucking pigs, chickens, dogs, hunting - there are piles and piles of clothes!  This new room is off their mud room, which is just off the front entry.  You can't see this room from the front door or entry so most of the laundry piles are out of site.  The hope with the builds in this room - the folding cabinets under the window and the shelf about the washer/dryer - is that clothing and cleaning supplies can be contained.  Anyway, it looks good when the clothes are all cleaned, folded and put away!!

And, I created a permanent desk area and shelving in her new little office.  No pictures of that because it's always a "working" office with lots and lots of stuff!

Next trip there will be a couple more things.  Maybe June...

Big Tables - Oh, My!!

Another couple contacted me through Facebook, asking about a custom table for their covered patio area.  I was busy with some other things, and although I'm a sucker for big, wood dining room tables, I wasn't so sure I was ready to tackle another one just yet.  So, I said we could talk about it and sent them all my "here's how this works" info.  It didn't scare them off, and they replied that they weren't in any hurry.  So, I took on the challenge.  They had decided they wanted a pipe base which is something I'd never done, so I was sure it would be interesting!

It turned out beautifully well, I think.  It was massive, 8' long, 40" wide, made from 2x materials.  So, it quickly became very, very heavy.  

The finish is Minwax Early American stain, with a General Finishes exterior polyurethane finish.  

The pipe - oh my gosh, I had no idea pipe was so expensive.   Each of the floor flanges were close to $12 a piece!  And, it's heavy.  And, putting it together was like a big puzzle - tighten one pipe, loosen another, undo a connection so you can tighten/loosen another piece.  I was able to get it somewhat level, but there was a wobble in it that, because I have no strength in my arms, I was not able to tighten or loosen the right pieces to correct the problem.  I hated to admit defeat, but I explained my problem and these kind people were complete unfazed!  Turns out, he'd done some work with pipes in the field and understood the complexity.  I stained a few shims and suggested that he slip those between the table top and the top flange,  until he had a couple of friends over, and they'd all had a couple of beers and felt ready to tackle the undoing and doing!  He thought that was a great idea!

So, they were great to work with, and we all liked the table.  I think they'll get a couple of good years with this table - and the good thing is, when they want a different top, that's the least expensive part to replace!  And, they picked it up and I had room in my garage again!!!

Update: Bathroom cabinets

Oh my goodness!  I love how these turned out.  You saw these in my last post, sitting in my garage.  Here they are in place.  This nice couple found me on Facebook.  They were having a really hard time finding anything nice in the size they needed.  They have a tiny bathroom and they really wanted a vanity that was tall to accommodate their height, and have an open feeling so the bath didn't look so crowded, and they wanted as much storage as they could get!  Sounds like what we all want in our bathrooms, right?  Well, I said "Sure, I can do that"😆😆.  Turned out to be somewhat of a challenge as I tried to give them closed storage that had to fit around the rough plumbing!  It all worked out, but I did offer to remake the drawer and interior shelf if it needed adjustments - and they did!

Most importantly, they people who will be using this room every single day are very, very happy!