Restoring wooden patio furniture

This set of patio furniture had seen its day.

I dismantled the furniture and repaired and restored the wood.

The complete set after being restored ...

Tempered glass and chair covers were added to protect the wood.

Creative ideas for your bathroom!

A woman bought several dish drying racks at a resale shop and asked me to make shelves from them for her bathroom. ... Folding bamboo dish racks make excellent shelves for bathroom walls and for tub and shower areas too, because they allow air to flow. 

Planting ornamental plants with drip irrigation tubing

Potted flowers brighten homeowner's entryway

A homeowner wanted to brighten up her front entrance with colorful flowers. She picked out her flowers and I replanted them for her, setting up each of her flowerpots with drip irrigation tubing for their water supply.

Digging trenches for new gas pipes

I did some work on an older property in Prescott, where one of the buildings needed new gas piping and a new gas meter installed. To help lessen the cost a plumber would charge the homeowner, I did all of the trench work, preparing the area for the new pipes. Following the plumber's instructions, I dug a fairly deep trench on two sides of the building using shovels and a pickaxe because the sandy ground was mixed with hard clay. 

As you can see, I had help. Nikita is the old Alaskan Husky coming around the corner of the building and Dixie Dog is in the front.

During this project, I also had to pull back a thick layer of black plastic the previous owner had placed under the surface of the ground many years ago, in an effort to keep dirt from washing down the hill during heavy rains. This homeowner's property is located on the side of a large hill out in the country outside of Prescott, Arizona.

Nikita and Dixie Dog were always there to help, in rain or shine, in hot humid weather or in the frigid cold ... they were wonderful friends.

Replacing a screen door panel

I replaced a screen door panel for a homeowner, making her front entrance look much better. ... However, her three dogs probably weren't very happy about it, as they will miss being able to put their nose through the bars.

Refurbishing a small mahogany bookcase

 I refurbished an old vintage bookcase that originally had a nice mahogany exterior with pine interior walls and shelves. ... The polyurethane sealer that had originally been used to protect the wood was not only deeply scratched, it had blistered, become discolored, and parts of it were gone.

I used a stripper to help remove the old thick polyurethane.

Applying heat to the metal blade helps remove the glued wedges.

Tools of the trade ...

Sanded and ready for the first coats ... then shopping for a new back board.

Applying amber shellac to the new back piece. 

I used mahogany stain to bring life to the exterior wood and applied layers of shellac to both the mahogany and the light pine interior wood, which made the surface of the bookcase so smooth that it felt like glass.

Vertical molding was used on front interior sides to make a smooth transition around the edges where the old clunky wooden wedges had been. I also used molding horizontally to cover the old chipped wood at the corner edges next to the shelves. ... The new molding accents the bookcase well, but it's the smooth, shiny surface that is especially dazzling under the light.

Shows previous old chipped wood edges.

The new wooden back piece shimmers under the light. Even the wood grain pattern seems to change, depending on the lighting and direction when viewed. As you can see in these five "after" photos on the right, the back of the bookcase looks different in almost every photo.