stuff I’ve been up to.

Haven’t been on the Forums too much lately. Trying to rekindle the fire inside of me and boost my creativeness back up to where it once was. I’ve hit 40. Actually 41 in February and I’ve just lost all drive to do stuff. So I’ve been a little absent here trying to fix myself and be motivated again. After losing my mom a few years ago it’s been a progressive decline in my drive. I’m trying to snap out of it and get back to tinkering with stuff. I’m by no means a carpenter but I like fixing and building things. Obviously within my abilities.

I built this a while back.

I’m more of a stick framer kind of a guy. I call it the rustic look in my projects LOL. To be honest my porch and patio should completely be rebuilt. The concrete slabs are split at all the seams and starting to sink where the posts put the weight on them. We have adobe soil and it’s constantly on the move. But I don’t have too much money into these projects and if I have to tear it all out someday it won’t break my heart. I’m sure I can salvage it. I’ve replaced the posts but I really need to rip out all the concrete and rebuild some day. For now keeping the wife happy with an outdoor living area.



On Thursday we picked up this refrigerator at Costco because, you know it seemed like a good idea LOL. Stimulate that economy bitches. It started out that I was just going to build a very basic cabinet type structure to keep the refrigerator out of the elements and sun. It slowly morphed into this.

I built it on Friday and finished it Friday night LOL including a stain. I initially wanted my TV cabinet to be much darker. I bought deck sealer that I thought was going to be dark but it was really just a deep base that stain was supposed to be applied and mixed in. I also wish I would’ve hit the whole thing with a torch to make the wood grain pop. But I’m just too damn lazy to sand the whole thing back down to get it the way I want. Embrace the mistake LOL.
So this cabinet is getting the same treatment. Deck sealer stain. I also found a bamboo pole up in the rafters of the garage and decided to rip it up the middle, and make it into a trim for the bar. It really brought my project to life. And, bonus the wife loves it!
It’s definitely rough but I like it that way. You could fuc&ing jump on it!
I’m in the process of losing my garage, which is another story for another day. So I’ve since built a shed in the backyard and recently got it somewhat usable. Which is why I am jumping back in the projects. You know.... things I want to do instead of things I have to do.,
Don’t forget to stock with beer! The water is just for filler so the fridge doesn’t have to work as hard Haha!
My wife is Japanese we are very Hawaiian style. Kind of cluttered and on the tropical rustic side of things. we don’t live a stagnant sanitary life. You could call it “lived in” LOL.
It happened to be my mom’s birthday on Saturday. So we opened a bottle of wine that we bought with (at a wine Tasting event) her before she passed and toasted mama. The third hand is my stepfather. The orchid is from my daughter for my mother. I already put in the bar to use! It wasn’t even supposed to be a bar. Next we’ll find some tall barstools. And as always, when you finish your project, you can always look at it like what you could’ve done different or changed. I’m notorious for beating myself up about it. But I’m also super stoked on the outcome.


Also thank you to my Milwaukee 18 V tools. Couldn’t of done it without you LOL. My tool of choice for 20 years.
OSHA wouldn’t of been impressed with me ripping the bamboo and hollowing out the ribs with a Skil saw. I’m like a master of “do it the wrong way” kind of guy LMFAO! All cuts were made with a Skil saw. I wore flip-flops the whole time.

Also I didn’t use one finish nail! Deck screws for everything. And much of the material was just leaning against the wall from past projects, and stuff I scrounged up from construction jobs. Only bought the 4 x 4’s and the screws as well as the Simpson concrete 4 x 4 mounts.

i’m sure many of you are master craftsman. This is my project I wanted to share.

 

Looks great Sean!

 

Thanks Phil!

 

That's awesome Sean! Showed the boss and said I want one of those..haha. Thats very creative and looks so clean!

 

Looks awesome, Sean!!

And don’t sweat not loving the forum life! “Real” life always gets you back to refocus and reconnect with family and friends!

And the Tundra family will be here when you come back. Hope to see you at SanG in September!!

 

Nice work sir!

 

Looks very nice and keep your head up, your doing well!!

 

So when are we coming over for the bbq?

 

I do miss all you guys, but once you kind of get out of the rhythm of the flow on the forum, you’re not as aching to see what’s happening next with everyone. my motivation has definitely been boosted lately and I’m trying to keep that momentum.

 

Definitely depends on what’s happening but I would like to go. We need to hang!

 

Haha No shit! It’s been so long that I’ve been able to go and hang out with any friends because of this. We typically go to my brother-in-law‘s every few weeks for a barbecue and it’s been months. We’ve hung out in the driveway and drank a beer, but his wife is super strict on social distancing. His mother-in-law is very susceptible so you know how that goes.

I’m straight up ready for a party!

 

I’m one of those guys that doesn’t really draw up plans. I sit there and stare at the empty space trying to visualize each piece I’m going to be putting on. Then I start the project and it changes as I build. It’s kind of fun that way. It reminds me of being a kid and just grabbing chunks of wood and whatever I can find to make a fort. It frees my inner child LMFAO.

Just kind of dive in and make it happen. If it doesn’t go the way you thought it would, let it be that way and make it work. It’s kind of like being a bush mechanic for finding anything you can to get your broken car home. One way or another this thing is getting built!

 

Looks absolutely like paradise!!! Amazing work!

 

Well done! @15whtrd
I haven’t been on the forums either in a few months. Glad to see some familiar faces around here.

 

Holy Shit Badass!!! Come to my place to do and I'll pay you!!!

 

Feel the same way! I drop in and skim through. But I like to see the veterans around here. No offense to the new people.

 

Hell yeah! You’ve been making all that OT LOL

 

Dude, that's sweet. I wish I had half your skill and confidence to do things like this. Love the sound of your free-flow process. Break the rules, throw out the plans, and just let it come together. Sounds very... freeing? IDK, but I like it, and I hope you can get your rhythm and groove back. We are all better than our demons, but sometimes we forget that. You just do what you can to keep moving the right direction, and eventually you will get where you are trying to go.

 

I'm still staring into space! Literally.

 

Very nice bro.... I like doing projects but the problem is money is what we have to watch out for.....I got into a darn pond problem last weeks because my neighbor decided to ask me if I lost a turtle and my son so happens to walk out to the conversation and said I wanted and we can build a pond for it.....this turtle is 12 inches red eared slider.....so I started the pond now I just have to make a bigger one.

 

so this weekend I will be diggin anybody want to come help?

 

You are giving some more ideas which means spending more

 

Thank you! Can’t afford to go on all the trips I’d like to, so I make my own piece of paradise.

 

nice #covid19 setup

 

Oh yeah, money is an issue here too for sure. But if I can make home more pleasant to be at I will spend less going out in the long run.
If it wasn’t for the fact that I had scraps laying around it would’ve cost me much more. Luckily I had the basic tools and some of the material. My trip to Home Depot was $150. But part of that was buying extra crap I didn’t really need. But I wanted. Like a new saw blade and little odds and ends. It all adds up, even small projects. Damn screws are $10 a box, those Simpson 4 x 4 concrete hold downs were over $20 apiece. Freaking eight bolts at two dollars apiece LOL. Luckily I had the deck sealer and paint brushes from previous projects. But if you’re going in with nothing, it definitely costs. That TV cabinet cost me a couple hundred dollars to build. And all it is is a few 2x10s, a sheet of 5/16 plywood and some fencing material. But all the hardware ran it through the roof. The days of cheap or low cost projects are a thing of the past. Luckily this last project for the refrigerator was mostly made from reclaimed wood I had laying around. Some of the 2x4s inside we’re from the concrete forms I used when making my shed. You can’t see it from the outside so, EF it LOL.

 

Nice work. As a Framer, you know structure so can make things work with screws. I build HD 2' shelving like this with doubled 2x posts, 1 to run the full height and the other(s), sections screwed into it (sistered) that the shelf sits on. The sistered 2x carries the load while the screws holding it to the main one carry no load, it just keeps them from separating, doing what screws are supposed to do.

Nature should be worked with, not fought. One inexpensive fix can be to cut out holes for where the posts go and sink a concrete column. Then surround it with something to help buffer it from the surrounding clay soil movement. Then the slab will be free to 'float' with the movements of the clay. If it's cracked along the control joints, then the control joints did their job as if it's to crack, that's where it's supposed to crack.

There are other, more expensive ways to enter one's Mid-Life. Yours is nice.

 

totally relatable. been struggling with all of that myself for the past few years.

love what you did to your backyard. hard to beat your own private tiki bar. keep at it. would love to see what else you come up with.

 

I’m picturing what you’re talking about! Took me a second but that’s a great idea instead of four by fours for the post. Then I could’ve kept the top height where I wanted it without the screws carrying the load in between the posts. I will definitely keep that in my mind for the next thing I build. And also that’s a good idea for the patio posts. Saw cut a square around each post and reset so the posts are free of the concrete. Then maybe some type of expansion joint material wrapped around each new footing between the old concrete and new.

 

I remember when you first posted about your build, it looked so cool. It's great that you can use your skills to help w/the things that you are struggling with. I think your mom would be so happy to see that you are dealing w/things the best you know how. There is no manual on how to deal with life's ups and downs, but I think you have a handle on it. I can't wait to see what you come up w/next. Keep pushing forward, and stay in the moment.

 

That looks awesome Sean and cozy too! I'll hit you guys up for wine tasting up in Santa Barbara when Covid eases up on everyone. We have a couple memberships up there.