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.

Wooden gate maintenance

It was recently time again for maintenance on a homeowner's wooden gate. The hot Phoenix sun is especially brutal on wood during the summer and can weather gates and wooden patio furniture rather quickly.

You can see in the 'before' photos the light-colored weathered areas on both the front (above photo) and the back (below). The back of his gate was more weathered because it receives more sun than the front.

I added OxiClean (a household cleaner) to a bucket of hot water, scrubbed down the wood planks and metal frame with a stiff brush, and thoroughly rinsed with a hose. After waiting until the gate was completely dry, I hand-sanded the wood with a sanding block.

One of the active ingredients in OxiClean is sodium percarbonate, an adduct of sodium carbonate and hydrogen peroxide. People usually associate OxiClean with doing laundry, but it works very well to clean weathered wood.

After sanding, the gate was wiped down with a damp cloth to remove all dust and loose particles. Next, I applied tung oil over the wood and the metal.

I used two coats of tung oil, which dries to a hard finish surface to help protect both the wooden planks and the metal gate frame.

Finished! ... Until next time!

Replacing warped composite gate planks

Before                      After

A family needed to replace their wood-plastic composite fencing after approximately 3 years of use under the hot Phoenix sun. 

The composite planks, which are about 74% recycled materials, are made primarily from recycled wood flour and high density poly-ethylene plastic. Some people prefer this type of lumber material because of the lower maintenance, as it is advertised to never need paint or stain and it has the look and feel of real wood.

Photos show the composite fencing planks warped and bowed.

Please note: The coloring in the photos varies because the pictures were taken under different lighting conditions, at different times of the day.

New wood-plastic composite fencing with pre-cut dog-ear corners.

After removing the old warped composite planks, I cleaned the metal gate frame. Then, using the same nuts and bolts, I put up the new straight planks. ... The homeowner was very kind to allow me to use her patio umbrella to stay out of the sun while I worked. It was much appreciated.

The new composite picket planks makes their gate look beautiful!