Just finished my first carpentry project

[ChadTower]

Basic, yes, but I'm a newbie.  Just built a loft in my 10x12 shed.  It spans 4' out from the edge on the 10' side and extends on the 12' side out 2' for the length of the shed.  There is a shelf about 3' high across the whole 12' back wall.  I actually laid down on the loft for a few minutes and it wasn't even twitching.

So, that's my weekend project.  Roughly 6-7 hours as I was very deliberate about it.  Can get pics if anyone wants to see... not a complex project but came out well for a first one.

[AtomSmasher]

Nice.  Its always satisfying completing a project. 

[NiteWalker]

Go ahead and post pics! It's great to see other peoples' work. It opens ideas for others. Next project: a router table. You'll wonder how you managed to make anything without one.

[ChadTower]

Right now, for me, space is premium.  I expanded the shed storage so I could move some of the stuff from my basement preceding a bigger project.  Time to make the gameroom.

[shardian]

Here was my first woodworking project after we bought the house:
http://users.marshall.edu/~lilly58/projects/closet1.JPG
http://users.marshall.edu/~lilly58/projects/closet2.JPG

I got the plans from a Home Depot project cd I got from Big Lots for $3. Material cost was around $60. If anyone wants the plans, I can probably scan them in.

[ChadTower]

Heh.  My wife keeps bugging me to do that to our bedroom closet but the closet is too small for it to be useful.

If it means anything, the stuff I built was all 2x4s and plywood.   

[leapinlew]

Here was my first woodworking project after we bought the house:
http://users.marshall.edu/~lilly58/projects/closet1.JPG
http://users.marshall.edu/~lilly58/projects/closet2.JPG

I got the plans from a Home Depot project cd I got from Big Lots for $3. Material cost was around $60. If anyone wants the plans, I can probably scan them in.

Nice. I built all my closets in all my houses. The single pole just doesn't cut it. I built my last ones out of oak. The price isn't really that cheap but an efficient closet is worth it to me.

The thing I can't understand is... she seems to fill up her closet no matter how big and organized I make it.

[shardian]

Nice. I built all my closets in all my houses. The single pole just doesn't cut it. I built my last ones out of oak. The price isn't really that cheap but an efficient closet is worth it to me.

The thing I can't understand is... she seems to fill up her closet no matter how big and organized I make it.

I used MDF, mainly as a test project before building an arcade machine .(which was scrapped when I happened on my original machines)

I would recommend using plywood for ease of construction. I will be building two more of them and I will definitely use plywood.

[Chris G]

Can get pics if anyone wants to see...

Where dey at?

Here was my first woodworking project after we bought the house:
http://users.marshall.edu/~lilly58/projects/closet1.JPG
http://users.marshall.edu/~lilly58/projects/closet2.JPG

Nice job - I did almost the exact same thing in our master BR closets last year.

I built all my closets in all my houses.

ALL your houses?  How many of them are there?   

[leapinlew]

ALL your houses?  How many of them are there?   

A couple. I've bought and sold a couple. My last house had 5 bedroom closets, a pantry, and a coat closet.

I was TRYING to stress how important an organized closet system is. 

[ChadTower]

It's only as good as the organizational skills of the person that uses it... I did that for someone I know once and came back 5 months later to find the shelves mostly empty and all the crap on the floor in front of the closet.

[ChadTower]

Pics.

[leapinlew]

It's only as good as the organizational skills of the person that uses it...

It's good for resale.

[ChadTower]

Good point.  I did it in their apartment, sadly.

[leapinlew]

Pics.

Nice work Chad. Looks very sturdy. Question: when building something like that do you need to look for treated wood or anything?

[ChadTower]

I didn't, since it's inside a vinyl sided building.  The beams are all standard pine 2x4.  The loft is (IIRC) 3/8" subflooring ply and the shelves/long side loft are 1/2" plywood I had around from another project.  The guy at Home Depot suggested the 3/8" subflooring material and it's rated for outdoor construction.

[Chris G]

Very nice!  So just let me know whenever you're ready to fly across the country to help me frame my unfinished basement laundry room so I can drywall it. 

[That's the project that got hasily kicked to the curb when I discovered this site...]

Chris

P.S.  Oh and don't forget your tools... I only have a pushbutton nut wrench so far.

[ChadTower]

P.S.  Oh and don't forget your tools... I only have a pushbutton nut wrench so far.

Dude that sounds more like a wrestling move than a tool.

[Chris G]

Dude that sounds more like a wrestling move than a tool.

 

So THAT'S why I can't figure out how to use it!  I blame Randy - that's what he named it on the GGG site.

[ChadTower]

Oh wait, you mean a dedicated wrench for the plastic nuts on arcade buttons?  That's the only tool you have?  How do you eat?

[Chris G]

Lotsa pizza.

[DrewKaree]

Pics.

Nice work Chad. Looks very sturdy. Question: when building something like that do you need to look for treated wood or anything?

If the wood is going to touch the ground or your slab, it should be pressure treated.  Head out to your garage for an example.  All your sill plates (at the very least) should be pressure treated wood.  The rest...not necessarily, although it'll last longer, and it may fall under building code in your area (Chad's shed is right on the borderline in my area - a touch bigger and for certain it'd be subject to building codes)

[ChadTower]

It's 10x12, the biggest allowable without a permit.  Anything bigger and the town requires either a slab or footings.  I believe everything under the floor is pressure treated too.