New Man Cave Construction Update - December 2017

We're getting there. It's been a few months since I provided the last update so here we go. We are DIY'ing this project as funds provide so this is slow going but we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

We've begun to put the siding on, purchased from Lowe's (8.25" x 12" wood grain hardiboard) just this past week. This is cemented that has been primed and is not supposed to rot. We will paint the siding once it's in place and we decide on a color. We also added the short overhang on the front of the building and bought composite shingles to match the house. These are Tamko shingles in Weatherwood.

The highlight is the cedar shakers and the functioning window just above the overhang. For cost purposes we decided to only put the shakers on the front of the man cave and not the back. We also purchased the shakers from Lowe's, they were about $20.00 a bundle. We originally figured on 6 bundles but had to go back and get 5 more!

This is where we stand on December 7th, 2017. Cold, windy weather is moving in, we're getting our first hard freeze of the season. We will get back after this when weather allows.

Weekend DIY - Rustic Wood Coffee Table Centerpiece

A friend gave us several wood pieces that he had just laying around his woodworking shop. They've been sitting around our place for several months now. I decided last weekend to do something with them.

I lightly sanded the flat surface with my Mouse sander working with the grain, cleaned up the edges with some light grit sand paper then used a small air compressor to blow off all the dust.

I then used Rust-Oleum Zinsser Shellac to complete.

Must haves:

Raw Wood  Slices
electric sander
sand paper
2 saw horses
4 2x2's
shellac
paint brush

Finished product on my coffee table and in my bedroom. I did not spend a lot of time on these but they will do for now.

Bedroom Dresser:

This is another that is on top of my dining room table:

Update on the New Man Cave as of September 17, 2017

We now have a composite shingle roof, roof trim, four windows and a steel side door. With the addition of two overhead doors, we will then be in the dry. It's all slow but sure when you DIY it and you have a regular 9-5 too.

One of My Favorite Past Projects - Acid Stained Concrete

Back at our old house, which is now a rental unit, we opted out of carpeting in favor of something more simple. Here is the end result of our efforts. I love this look.

The products we used on this floor were Kemiko Acid Stain in Cola color and Minwax Polyurethane Sealer. This Cola stain looks very similar to the Kemiko brand.






Unfortunately we had to evict a tenant due to water damage she caused which ruined our laminate wood flooring on opposite ends of the house. How in the world do you do that???? You can bet, that laminate will be ripped up and replaced with acid stained concrete.

Weekend Pallet Project - Vertical Pallet Pot Planter

I used some left over turquoise blue outdoor spray paint to lightly spray the front surface of the pallet.

The pots are just standard plastic pots that some other plants came in.

I used metal strapping from a load of shop trusses to attach the pots to the pallet. If the metal strapping is too wide, you can use wire cutters to cut the strapping length-wise. Run the strapping through the bottom drain hole and attach to pallet boards.

After planting, many herbs such as Italian parsley, German Thyme, Lavender, Spearmint, Peppermint. Also some multi-color Purslane:

From Drab to Fab - Plastic Window Box Makeover

My old plastic window box planter needs some TLC. I had cilantro growing here but noe the cilantro has gravitated into my general front planting beds, so I decided to re-purpose it.


I dumped out the old potting soil, scrubbed the inside and outside with a SOS pad, let it dry and painted with outdoor plastic paint.

Once dry, I positioned the planter onto a pallet using cut two by fours slid in between the pallet slats.

Cucumbers are sprouting and will climb up the pallet for support!!

New Man Cave Construction Project - Doing it Ourselves

Hubby and I are weekend DIY'ers. We choose to DIY on everything we can to save money. Hubby has the talent, plus he needs something to do. Here are our first efforts at our new man cave.

We finally settled on a 40 x 40 slab. The Cave will be 30 ft across and 40 ft deep.  Cave runs East/West. There will be a 10 ft overhang on the north side.

For informational purposes, the total cost of  the concrete in Oklahoma for this project was $12,600.00. This includes the 40 x 40 slab and 920 sf of flat work which is the approach that was poured connecting our driveway to the man cave slab.

First section of back wall - East side of cave

Full wall complete

Making some progress

One window, east wall

Got two more windows and a door In - Hubby praying for a break

An example of how the 2 x 4's are attached to the concrete.
Notice we have plumbing as well!

Up With the Trusses and Braced. It took 5 good men on a
Memorial Day about 4 hours to complete adding the trusses.

Makings of a bathroom

Latest Completion June 11, 2017, OSB going up!

Weekend of 06/17/2017, got the top ends enclosed. Next week will work on decking the roof:

A Saturday Before Vacation Project - New Dry Creek Bed April 29th,2017

When we moved into our house, there was a deep ditch or creek at the back of the property on the east side that wrapped around all the way to the south side of our property. We were told several things by several people. That this was a creek that had dried up, that it was made by kids riding their dirt bikes and that it was a hollowed out ditch so that people could burn their trash. I suspect all the above. As we have cleaned the property and dug into the earth, here are some interesting finds that now rest upon hubby's shelf in our study. Notice the old Coke bottle in the back? I suspect the blue jars may be Vick's Vapor Rub??

As of today, this is what that ditch became. Now to add more plantings and then it will be complete.

The concrete that will later become our shop in the second photo, now covers the other half of the creek.

South Side of Acre - Beer Drinking and Sitting Area

This is an area on the south side of our house. We bought the house and one acre. The whole area around the house was covered in poison ivy, oak, sumac, much brush and many trees. This took a lot of hard work over one year time to remove all the ivy and brush. Much snipping, poisoning, tilling and 30-40 bags of cypress mulch . One year later and several bad cases of poison ivy we have:

Azaleas, lavender, garden mums, variegated privits, barberry, gardenia, ferns, red salvia, ajuga, elephant ears, purple queen, iris, hibiscus and beauty berry. Also a fire pit, wood pile, chairs and benches. This is our favorite area and many of our neighbors have stopped to admire. Even better that we did all the work ourselves!

Before (Ugh):

-



Work in Process:

After:

Today, Summer 2016: