This week: Removing a load-bearing wall for more openess

 My friend Tim T. and I are tearing out a wall dividing the family room from the kitchen and dining rooms.

There goes the drywall and insulation.  As closed off as it was, this is already looking like an improvement!

 Here, we built two temporary walls to support the ceiling joists on either side of the existing wall before we removed it.  The funny thing about the job was when we were asked by another builder to remove the wall, we were told that the wall was non load-bearing, meaning the wall was not holding up any part of the ceiling or roof.  He wanted us to do the job for the price that he agreed to do it for.  When I first laid eyes on the wall, I would've told you it was a major part of the ceiling and roofs support system without even climbing in the attic.  Upon further inspection, I saw it was in fact holding half of the houses roof up and the dining room and family room's ceilings.  Oh well.  It's just scary to think about what might have happened if he were to have removed the wall without building the two temporaries for the ceilings and climbing in the attic to support the two purlins holding up the roof.  Yikes...

 We placed a reclaimed redwood 6x12 beam on the ceiling. 

 The first 12x12 post.

 The second and third 12x12 posts and a 6x18 bar counter were next.  The two posts have notches in them to hold the bar counter in place.

 Next was the fourth post which holds the weight of the counter in the middle and a new step on the floor (also made from reclaimed lumber.)

 We wrapped the floor and rim with reclaimed oak to finish the project off.

 I am dead tired after a very long day and pleased with the results of the new look.

Wow!  It really looks different!  What do you think?

1/2 of last week: Repairing and refinishing a solid oak floor

 The Wilde family needed about half their homes 11-year-old solid oak flooring repaired.  There were a lot of areas that were damaged by scratches and water.  In the kitchen and dining areas the flooring had 1/8 in gaps between boards.  I marked the floor with tape to outline the problem areas, then sanded the floor to remove the finish and remove the scratches and dings.  I used a commercial drum sander first with 36, 50, 80, and 100 grit papers.  I used a commercial 9" orbital sander (edger) to get areas close to the walls, corners, and under cabinets.  I used a couple of 6" orbital palm sanders using progressively higher grit papers to finish the details.

Next, I filled in all the cracks, gaps and holes with a quality wood filler using a trowel and putty knife.

 Then I sanded it all down again with just the two palm sanders and 150, 180 grit papers.  Then I vacuumed the floor very well and felt with my hand to make sure EVERY little piece of dust was off the floor.

 Here is the wood-filler product I used for this floor.

 Next, it was ready for some stain touch-up on the maple inlay and a first coat of polyurethane.  Notice the large fan in the back window.  When finishing a floor you have to be very defensive against fume inhalation and fire.  A build up of toxic fumes could ignite like a bomb with just the flip of a light switch.  I don't use portable lights or other power tools until the floor is dry the next day.  I opened all the windows and used two fans to circulate air in and out.

 Next, I sanded the first coat using palm sanders and 220 grit papers.  Then I removed all the dust from the house again.

I forgot to take a picture with the final coat but will when I go back to collect my furniture dolly and other tools.

Beating the heat...

 I built the purgola in a day (solo).  Not so easy by my self.  Started out the day with no plans and still needing to get the spruce and hardware from the lumber yard.  I designed as I went and finished the day with all the routed edges and hardware primed and ready for 2 coats of finish and installed clear plastic roofing to keep it dry as well.  I remember sleeping well that night.  Check out the before and afters...

 Then later, I took out some windows...

 and installed 3 slider doors.

 And added exterior lighting to the newly shaded area with some trim to match.

I thought I would throw this in here, well, because yesterday my first follower suggested I do so

According to most, I have a rather large family for my age.  And they're right.  I am almost 30 and have 6 kids.  One of my favorite things in life is to spend quality time with each of them and to teach them new things.  The following are projects I did with my family at our home.  Everything below (except the floor) was built from whatever was lying around in the shop and usually finished in a matter of an hour or two so they're not the most beautiful in appearance...but we're building more than furniture during these times, right? 

 The first is the pine summer picnic table we did this year.

 Dad got new tires for his truck, so what did we do? Kept one of the old ones for a project, of course.

 Cubbies for homeschooling supplies.

 Large pine toy box.

 Can't have enough books or places to put them...

 Mom wants a new floor...

 The kids love to decorate for all the holidays...

 Mom get's a new floor with a fresh look for the downstairs.  Good job guys.

We do some "floating" shelves for the hardware.

 A table (made using a jigsaw and a router only) and an oak "bow" sitting on the table (practice using a band saw).

 A douglas fir book shelf and a puzzle family.

 More books=more book shelves

 Cutting board and banana holder (daughters idea for gift for Mom).

 And a manzanita branch from the yard, made candle holder.

Lucky's Men's Club and Barber Shop

Lucky's Men's Club and Barber Shop is located in the heart of Folsom, CA.  I got a call from Aaron Ralls, the owner of Lucky's, on a Friday night.  He said he needed a new floor put in before he opened his doors on Monday at 7am and he didn't have anyone to do it.  He said that his tile guy bailed on him.  I told him I'd be there in a half hour to take a look at the job.  By Sunday night he was ready to show off the new floor.  I took me and my son's in for hair cuts Monday afternoon and I must tell you that they were the best cuts we've had.  If you're in the area stop in and check him out.

A peaceful home...

I built a wood screen and hung it on the wall with an accent color painted behind. I installed lighting underneath the screen to cast light inside the box and on the wall. It serves as a backdrop to this homeowners religious shrine.
The following pictures are of some of the other rooms I painted...the colors and feel of the home were very peaceful to me. It felt good every time I walked into a room.

I came to this job through referral. As you can see, this deck was above the garage. I was called in because the existing terracotta-tiled deck was dumping water into the garage every time it rained. There was absolutely no water proofing attempted by the previous contractor. I completely ripped out the deck and found tile set directly on plywood with nothing stopping the water from soaking everything. I completely rebuilt it, poured light weight concrete and acid stained it. Then I went to town building the steps and railing. The stairs now double as a water tight storage area with access from inside the garage.


A little paint, a little stain and voila! Major improvement.
Some extra effort in cutting acorns and post caps and a few little frills make the deck stand apart from the others in the neighborhood. Other things I did for this project were: install whirly birds and skylights to the roof, re-finish some old hard wood floors found under the carpet, a gingerbread screen door, new decks all around, added a porch roof to the back of the home, dug about 60 yards of dirt from under the home and built a motorcycle shop, new garage door opener, new gutters, and a beautiful custom built armoir for the master bedroom, interior paint, tile in the kitchen, laundry and bath, some tree clearing and septic tank/leech field service. I stayed busy hear for quite a while. The jobs kept coming!