Author Archives: Mike

Pergola for my Neighbor

Part of the joy of living in a good neighborhood is sharing life’s little moments and dreams for the future with the people who live next to you.  In this story, our next door neighbor was dreaming of having more shade on her deck, which is exposed to direct sunlight because it faces south towards our garage.  However, she was rethinking her dream after getting a bid from a contractor with an unfathomable price tag.  Since I had the tools and the time, I offered to lend my abilities to help her build one on her own.

The plans we used are from book by The Family Handyman.

Page from The Family Handyman Home Improvement, 2012 Hardcover Book, Published by Readers Digest

Not sure about building permits, I drew up individualized plans and she submitted for approval.  The city said since the pergola would not be directly connected to the home, we did not need a permit.

Note: The distance between the posts is actually 12×12, as shown on the plans from the magazine. And the beams and rafters are actually 16’ in length. We revised the plans during assembly to better fit the size of the deck and the location of the joists.

The materials consisted of cedar lumber, aluminum flashing, bolts and screws.  Pretty simple.  They were delivered right to my driveway between our houses.

Not pictured: Four 16’ long 2x10s (they were special order and took a week and a half to arrive)

The first step was to cut decorative ends on the rafters and beams.  My arm was TIRED after that, because I can’t remember making so many cuts with a jigsaw before.

My neighbor stained the wood before assembly.

The beams are the heaviest part of this project.  Each one is made from two special order 2×10 boards.  The plans call for 1/2” plywood between the two boards, so when assembled, it would sit perfectly atop a 4×4 post (which is really 3.5” x 3.5”).  Flashing is added to protect the plywood from water damage.

The posts sit right on the deck, but are solid because they are directly over joists.

The single hardest part was lifting the beams onto the posts.  At least two people are needed and we’d recommend going slow.  Cladding goes on both sides of the posts and beams for strength.  We added one side of the cladding beforehand lifting the beam so it had support while we secured it in place.  Even more support comes from the 4×4 supports mounted on the four corners.  Finally, we lifted the rafters up one at a time and screwed them into place from holes drilled above.

Once the pergola itself was done, we put up lattice and worked on a few cosmetic things on the deck and built-in bench.

Add some more stain and wait for a sunny beautiful day, and we have an after photo:

Thanks for reading!

Wet Bar Renovation

The basement layout still bamboozles me, you enter the basement from the north, the west wall has a fireplace, the south wall has a large triple window and the east wall has a wet bar that desparately needed to be updated. If anyone is counting thats THREE unusable walls, but I digress. So, you deal with what you can when you can, and Mike and I decided to start with updating the bar. The “bones” of the bar are solid, with oak cabinets that just needed paint and new hardware. It was the pink formica countertop that was quick to find the dumpster.

Step 1: Paint the cabinets

A wet bar is a fun project because you can kinda do whatever you want with regard to countertop. We debated the modern look of cement, the classic look of granite, we even discussed an entire stainless steel piece at one point. Ultimately, I wanted to give it a real bar feel, and the material found in most bar tops is wood of some sort. We got pretty lucky with Lowe’s stocking a really beautiful eight foot solid piece of butcher block. The only downside was that I had my heart set on an under mount sink. We’ve never undermounted a sink before, so this was a bit daunting. We weren’t sure if we had to buy a special sink, or if we could just pry the old top mount sink off the pink formica and slap it underneath the butcher block. The cheapest option is always using what you have, and leave it to Mike to find a way to recycle a perfectly good sink!

Step 2: Cut the Hole for the Sink

Step 3: Mount the Sink

I’m so impressed with how the countertop and under-mounted sink turned out. There’s something to be said about DIY’ers who really take the time to figure out how to use and love what you already have. Maybe were not professionals, but when it has to be in your own home you better believe that you’re going to take to the time to make sure what you’re building is PERFECT. Mike knocked this one out of the park.

Overall, the bar is exactly how I hoped it would turn out, and inspires me to continue to figure out the ideal furniture layout for the space. We’re still debating what kind of backsplash would be the right look for the bar. I’m leaning more towards a shiny metal mosaic penny round tile with a grey grout.  It would be the most expensive part of the project.

-Sara