Between 485 & 705 SQ/FT The **** Shack
- Thread starter bdbecker
- Start date
Workspaces between 485 and 705 squarefeet.
It's not really a formal style, just a good "reminds you of home" burger. My Brother hasn't found a good burger place in PDX yet. Everywhere he's been, the patties are the thin (often frozen) generic quarter-pound size you can get anywhere. Growing up, our family always made thick, 1/3+ pound patties, seasoned with Lawry's, dried minced onion, and a touch of garlic powder. Grilled on charcoal nice and slow so they cook to a safe temp but remain juicy.
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Yep... I'm sick of breaking overpriced patio umbrellas. (Hopefully) Pushing the easy button by using one of these kits (https://tojagrid.com/). Seems pretty straightforward, so hopefully I'll get it knocked out this weekend.
GeddyT
ALLIANCE MEMBER
I absolutely love Portland. I used to make several trips down per year when I had friends living there and I was young and single and free.
McMenamins is quite the outfit. My first experience with them was at their Ringlers pub in downtown Portland a couple of decades ago. More recently, we've stayed a couple of times at Old St. Francis School in Bend on our way through. We love it, the kids love it. It's like staying at Hogwarts but with amazing beer and food! There's a new one close to us in Bothell (Seattle suburb) that is an old middle school. One of the pubs is the old principal's office. We've been planning on doing an overnight there since they opened, but COVID restrictions have made it not worth it. Now that things are opened up, I think we might make that our anniversary destination this year.
McMenamins is quite the outfit. My first experience with them was at their Ringlers pub in downtown Portland a couple of decades ago. More recently, we've stayed a couple of times at Old St. Francis School in Bend on our way through. We love it, the kids love it. It's like staying at Hogwarts but with amazing beer and food! There's a new one close to us in Bothell (Seattle suburb) that is an old middle school. One of the pubs is the old principal's office. We've been planning on doing an overnight there since they opened, but COVID restrictions have made it not worth it. Now that things are opened up, I think we might make that our anniversary destination this year.
I'm coming around, especially after this trip. We generally stuck to local hangouts and non-touristy activities this time, which gave me a better insight into the vibe and people of the city. It really is a fun place to be, and I understand why my Brother likes living there so much. I'd like for next year's trip to coincide with The One Moto show. I've been trying to get there after reading about it on Gregor's build thread several years ago, but haven't been able to make it happen yet. As soon as they set the date for next year's show, I'll be buying my tickets.
I didn't get as far as I would have hoped on the pergola this weekend. Since I no longer have a truck or minivan, I ended up renting a truck for the day on Saturday. I started off by picking up the 4x4's needed for the project. That is when my plans went sideways. The longer 4x4's were stored inside and were nice and dry. The 8' were outside and completely soaked by all the rain we've had lately. This meant that pre-coating them with black stain to match the deck before assembly wasn't going to happen. I was able to get them cut to length, so it's just a waiting game to see how long they take to dry out.
With the pergola project put on hold, I ended up doing other truck things. I returned the brand new, broken within three days of using it patio umbrella. I then picked up a bunch of mulch to tidy up the up the landscaping. Finally, since the ground was soft from the rain, I bought and planted a new tree for the backyard. I ended up getting an Autumn Blaze Maple. I'm a sucker for fall colors, and since I'm already surrounded by maples, what's a few more seeds in the gutters? I still have a spot saved for an oak (or some other slow grower). Maybe this fall.
We'll see how things go this week. I don't have much for plans given the forecast (hot and humid), other than to water my new tree.
With the pergola project put on hold, I ended up doing other truck things. I returned the brand new, broken within three days of using it patio umbrella. I then picked up a bunch of mulch to tidy up the up the landscaping. Finally, since the ground was soft from the rain, I bought and planted a new tree for the backyard. I ended up getting an Autumn Blaze Maple. I'm a sucker for fall colors, and since I'm already surrounded by maples, what's a few more seeds in the gutters? I still have a spot saved for an oak (or some other slow grower). Maybe this fall.
We'll see how things go this week. I don't have much for plans given the forecast (hot and humid), other than to water my new tree.
Seems that's always how it goes, with the weather not cooperating and plans changing!
Do the seats in the Flex not fold down or come out? I have always assumed they had minivan-like flexibility... but you know what they say about assuming!
Do the seats in the Flex not fold down or come out? I have always assumed they had minivan-like flexibility... but you know what they say about assuming!
Its more of a "I still care too much about the car to ruin it just yet" situation. I think I've got right around 8' deep with the seats folded down, but loading up a bunch of wet lumber and driving home in the rain with the hatch open just wasn't worth it to me. The mulch was also a motivator to rent the truck since it seems like you always end up with a few bags with holes or ones that are waterlogged. The tree was a spontaneous decision, but also way handier to move with the truck (10' tall, and I didn't have to worry about spilling dirt or dripping water).
After this weekend, I shouldn't need to rent a truck again. I got quite an earful from my neighbor about why I didn't just ask to borrow his. I think I might have hurt his feelings a little given our friendship. It honestly didn't cross my mind to ask, but we've been helping each other out with tools/equipment/projects for years. Sometimes you just get tunnel vision. Either way, its nice knowing that if I do need to haul something again, I just need to walk next door. A case of beer is cheaper than the rental fee anyway.
After this weekend, I shouldn't need to rent a truck again. I got quite an earful from my neighbor about why I didn't just ask to borrow his. I think I might have hurt his feelings a little given our friendship. It honestly didn't cross my mind to ask, but we've been helping each other out with tools/equipment/projects for years. Sometimes you just get tunnel vision. Either way, its nice knowing that if I do need to haul something again, I just need to walk next door. A case of beer is cheaper than the rental fee anyway.
68400BIRD
Well-known member
Have your brother try Killer Burger out in Portland. Some of the best burgers I have ever had.
Yeah, it'd be irresponsible of me to not offer to help him out. Reminds me of the Heineken holiday five-pack commercials from a few years ago.
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From the Trip Advisor pics, that place looks legit and they have a location that is pretty close to their house. I have forwarded your recommendation to him - thank you!
Haha, I remember those commercials.. and then making 5 pack jokes!
How big will the pergola be? Are you planning any awnings?
It'll end up being just shy of 10'x12'. I'm going to install it on the deck and am sizing it to the space so that there won't be any goofy post locations (well, there will be one slightly goofy location, but it won't be that bad). I was a little concerned about weight, but I don't believe it'll be a problem now that I've had my hands on the 4x4s. The whole thing shouldn't weigh more than ~300lbs, but that load will be spread over four points of contact that will be directly tied to the deck structure. I believe my parents will be coming to town this weekend, so I'll probably put Dad to work and have him help me with it. He gets a little squirrely if he doesn't have something to do anyway.
For shade, once we have it setup, I'll pull measurements and will have a custom sized shade sail made by Toja Grid. The posts, brackets, and shade will all be black to tie into the color scheme. I think it'll end up looking pretty nice once its all done. All in, the project is going to end up being comparable to the cost of a low/mid-tier cantilever patio umbrella. Someday I will share the saga of the failed patio umbrellas, but not today...
For shade, once we have it setup, I'll pull measurements and will have a custom sized shade sail made by Toja Grid. The posts, brackets, and shade will all be black to tie into the color scheme. I think it'll end up looking pretty nice once its all done. All in, the project is going to end up being comparable to the cost of a low/mid-tier cantilever patio umbrella. Someday I will share the saga of the failed patio umbrellas, but not today...
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floridafarmer
Well-known member
When I was growing up in Iowa they were known for what was called Maid-Rite or Krumbly Burgers where the meat was loose kind of like a sloppy Joe.
Progress...
We had a reprieve from the heat and humidity yesterday afternoon and I was able to get the 4x4's stained. The humidity was creeping up by the time I got the last face coated and was covered in dew this morning. The Cabot solid stain I use dries pretty fast, so hopefully it had enough time before the condensation started. I'll have to touch up the stain either way once the pergola is assembled, but at least I have a good base.
You can see my new tree in the background. Seems to be doing well so far. The leaves have perked up already, which is a good sign. Not sure why it looks so crooked in that pic - might be the camera angle and the yard slope? It's actually is fairly straight. Either way, it should sort itself out eventually.
We had a reprieve from the heat and humidity yesterday afternoon and I was able to get the 4x4's stained. The humidity was creeping up by the time I got the last face coated and was covered in dew this morning. The Cabot solid stain I use dries pretty fast, so hopefully it had enough time before the condensation started. I'll have to touch up the stain either way once the pergola is assembled, but at least I have a good base.
You can see my new tree in the background. Seems to be doing well so far. The leaves have perked up already, which is a good sign. Not sure why it looks so crooked in that pic - might be the camera angle and the yard slope? It's actually is fairly straight. Either way, it should sort itself out eventually.
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nicholam77
Well-known member
As someone who just bought a patio umbrella, I'm intrigued by your stories. I've racked my brain every which way on how to do a pergola on my patio that makes sense, but I don't see a way around the goofy post locations you mention, in my situation. Looking forward to see how yours turns out!
Ah, makes sense. My wife's extended family is from Ames, IA. Haven't spent a ton of time there but sometimes we drive down for XMAS. I remember going to a restaurant called Hickory Park that was like that, or at least had sloppy joes etc.
Looking forward to seeing how the pergola turns out. I checked out the Toja Grid site and it looks like neat stuff.
The funny thing with trees is that even when you plant them straight, the sun and the wind can point them wherever they want to go.
The funny thing with trees is that even when you plant them straight, the sun and the wind can point them wherever they want to go.
Yep, no sense in fighting mother nature.
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Okay, you asked for it...
A several years ago, Wife got tired of waiting for me to build a patio table and bought a cheap set and umbrella to get us by. The main reason why I was dragging my feet on that project was because I don’t particularly like patio tables. Eating a meal outside is rarely worth the trouble. Bugs, heat, the sound the odd piece of dirt/sand makes when a plate slide over it, never enough room for everyone. I just don’t get the appeal. But I digress… Within the first week of use, something went wrong in the winding mechanism on the umbrella and it was very difficult to open and close. But hey, it was cheap, so who cares. We lived with for a few years before it eventually broke. Wife then purchased an oversized umbrella off Amazon.
I actually liked this umbrella. It was much more expensive, but also a lot nicer than the old one. The oversize shade made it so you could sit back and relax instead of having to huddle over the table to keep out of the sun. A month or so after we got it, we had it tilted slightly to block the sun as it was setting one afternoon. Out of nowhere, just dropped to its lowest tilt position. The metal casting that made up the teeth/hinge assembly had broken. The casting clearly had a lot of porosity and was destined to fail as soon as it came out of the mold. Hoping it was a fluke, we exchanged it. The next umbrella only lasted a few weeks before it broke as well, for the exact same reason. So we sent that one back. We decided that we'd only purchase an umbrella from a store so exchanges would be easier, but by that point in the season, the stock had been picked over and we couldn't find anything we liked.
This spring, we decided that a cantilever umbrella would be better than a traditional one. This would allow us to rotate it over the pool or the deck, depending on where we were hanging out. We hunted around and found one we liked at Mills. I purchased it and went out to the yard to pick it up, only to find out that the two that were supposedly in inventory were a different model that had been mis-tagged. After walking the pallet racks with the yard employee, we could not find the right part number. I go back inside to talk to customer service. They refund my card and give me a rain-check sheet to lock in the price. I wasted nearly three hours that day. As soon as I pulled in the driveway, I got a call from Mills because the refund to my card didn’t go through.
The next day I stop by to get the refund processed. Since it’s a completely different crew of people working, I have to re-hash the previous day’s sequence of events. This included a walk out to the yard with the store manager to show him that the umbrellas are mis-tagged. Another hour wasted. I will say, the people I worked with at Mills were doing the best they could. It is very clear they are short staffed, but they were respectful and helpful the whole time.
A few more weeks go by waiting for an umbrella to show up at our store. In the meantime, my Mom had found that the Mills near them had the umbrella in stock and offered to pick it up for us and bring it down when they came to visit over Memorial Day weekend. Dad and I put the umbrella together on Saturday. Assembly was easy, with most of the time spent filling the base with sand. But we finally had our umbrella! Shade, oh glorious shade!
On Monday (Memorial Day) afternoon, Stinker is playing in the pool while Wife and I are doing some yard work. The breeze was kind of kicking up and I thought I’d better go close the umbrella. I look over to discover that I was already too late. One of the support arms for the canopy had bent in the wind. Upon further investigation, I found that the hole they had drilled for the LED lights was nearly as wide as the aluminum u-channel, creating literally dozens of weak points throughout the umbrella’s structure. We decided that we’d just return it and figure out another option because even if we got a replacement, what’s to say this doesn’t happen on the next one? This time around, the return couldn’t have gone any more smoothly, despite my Mom being the one who purchased it and the fact that it came from a different store.
That is how we landed on the Toja Grid system. I’ve been interested it since I first learned about it a few years ago. At that time, the price was a little more than what I would have liked. However, when compared to the price of cantilever umbrellas, it becomes a pretty competitive option. Coming full circle on the patio table set, Wife finally agrees with me on how little we use it for actual meals. 99% of the time, the table is used to hold a drink and maybe a cell phone. Since that is how we use the space, why not have an outdoor sofa and chairs with a few end tables instead? That is going to be phase two of this project – buy or build some outdoor furniture and convert the space into a more comfortable and relaxing hang out area.
One project always leads to another, often before the first one is even done. I don't supposed I'd know what to do with myself if I didn't have all these things to do. Probably have to take up golf or something...
Bob Heine
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Brad, your umbrella saga sounds like a nightmare. I feel fortunate ours have held up better We are on our third Costco 11-foot Market Umbrella in 20 years. The first was just over $100 and this one was just under $200. The fabric holds up for 5-7 years along with the unobtanium hardware. I don't order replacement fabric and squirrel it away for 7 years because I know I would store it in the last place a normal human could find it. I'm also pretty sure something would break during the install and the broken part would be more expensive than a new umbrella.
Most of the house has a 10-foot roof overhang in the back, giving us a decent size shaded and screened-in patio. Many Florida homes include a screened patio under a flat roof but ours is part of the roof truss system and has the same pitch as the rest of the house. Like you pointed out, we spend very little time out there so we had to buy covers for the furniture. They come off before visitors arrive, we suggest sitting out there and everyone agrees it's too hot so we stay inside. When they leave, the covers go back on.
The reason for the umbrella is the master bedroom. It is behind the garage and has a different truss configuration so the overhang is only one foot. The sliding door in that room faces east so the umbrella shades it in the morning.
Most of the house has a 10-foot roof overhang in the back, giving us a decent size shaded and screened-in patio. Many Florida homes include a screened patio under a flat roof but ours is part of the roof truss system and has the same pitch as the rest of the house. Like you pointed out, we spend very little time out there so we had to buy covers for the furniture. They come off before visitors arrive, we suggest sitting out there and everyone agrees it's too hot so we stay inside. When they leave, the covers go back on.
The reason for the umbrella is the master bedroom. It is behind the garage and has a different truss configuration so the overhang is only one foot. The sliding door in that room faces east so the umbrella shades it in the morning.
GeddyT
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Where I'm at, we use umbrellas and shade to keep water out, not the sun!
mybigwarwagon
Well-known member
I am thinking of trading my hat in for an umbrella. Maybe I can duct tape one to my back. Or I am going to buy an air conditioned space suit.
Umbrellas have proven to such a pain that I don’t even own one for the rain. It seems less problematic to just get wet.
I like the idea of a solid structure with sails fastened to it. I like where you’re going. I really just like pergolas in general.
I like the idea of a solid structure with sails fastened to it. I like where you’re going. I really just like pergolas in general.
Well, it ended up being quite the weekend...
Saturday morning we went downtown to check out the Red Bull Soapbox Derby. I was hoping to get a couple of cool action pics of the cars racing down the track, but we showed up too late to get a good spot along the course and couldn't really see anything. Stinker got to see a number of cars go down by sitting on my shoulders, but it was too crowded and too slow (one car maybe every 5 minutes) to be enjoyable. So we scrapped that idea and headed home. I'm glad we went, but will just have to enjoy the race from the comfort of my living room whenever it gets posted to the streaming service.
Nick - this one is for you... I've mentioned before that there are a lot of neat mid-century houses in my neighborhood. One that really stands out came up for sale not long after we had bought our current house. It needed a bunch of work, but it was really tempting. Ultimately we passed because we hadn't been in our house long enough to have any equity built up, and Stinker was either just born, or just about to be born, and we didn't want to have to deal with both a newborn and a major house remodel at the same time. The reason I bring this up is that my SIL was in town to host her sister's bachelorette party. When I was visiting them in Portland, she mentioned that she found this really neat house on Airbnb. As it turns out, it was the same house. When they went out on Saturday night, she gave us the key code to get into the house and we were able to do a self-guided tour. The place was way cooler in person than even in the pics. It was also much larger than I would have guessed. Maybe if it comes back on the market, we'll give it another look...
www.airbnb.com
In between all the fun, I was able to get the pergola assembled and installed. Assembly is very straight forward. It took us longer to shimmy the pergola across the yard and onto the deck than it did to put it together. One issue I ran into, but quickly figured out and resolved, is that you need to shave off the corners of the posts wherever there are welds inside the brackets. If you get too aggressive with a mallet, you can deform the material. Thankfully I figured this out early on and everything went together smoothly after that.
I'll also agree with the directions in that you do really need at least 2-3 people to do a pergola of this size, 3 or 4 would be ideal. I was able to do the frame myself, but once you need to attach legs and move it around, it took a lot of patience and careful planning to get it moved and in place with just Wife and I. Once anchored it to the deck and house, it is very solid - better than I was expecting. You can get the structure to wiggle if you push hard enough on the outside posts, but I think that would probably happen with anything I would have built from scratch. I did make a run to HF for a mesh tarp to get us by while we wait for the custom shade sail to be made. The tarp is okay. It doesn't block as much light as I would like. The website says it "blocks 60-70% of the suns rays". The Toja shade blocks 85%+ of UV rays. I'm not sure if those numbers are comparable or not, and I don't know that I trust any number HF attaches to a product, but I'm hoping that the Toja shade is more effective. Wife went a little wild and ordered the curtain kit right away. We've also got a string of lights to install, so this won't be the last time the pergola is featured as a weekend project.
After that, I spent some time in the pool just relaxing and enjoying the afternoon. The water was perfect, the beer was cold, and the Summer Hits of the 90's playlist took me down memory lane as I floated around in my 8' diameter puddle of paradise. A great way to cap off the weekend.
Saturday morning we went downtown to check out the Red Bull Soapbox Derby. I was hoping to get a couple of cool action pics of the cars racing down the track, but we showed up too late to get a good spot along the course and couldn't really see anything. Stinker got to see a number of cars go down by sitting on my shoulders, but it was too crowded and too slow (one car maybe every 5 minutes) to be enjoyable. So we scrapped that idea and headed home. I'm glad we went, but will just have to enjoy the race from the comfort of my living room whenever it gets posted to the streaming service.
Nick - this one is for you... I've mentioned before that there are a lot of neat mid-century houses in my neighborhood. One that really stands out came up for sale not long after we had bought our current house. It needed a bunch of work, but it was really tempting. Ultimately we passed because we hadn't been in our house long enough to have any equity built up, and Stinker was either just born, or just about to be born, and we didn't want to have to deal with both a newborn and a major house remodel at the same time. The reason I bring this up is that my SIL was in town to host her sister's bachelorette party. When I was visiting them in Portland, she mentioned that she found this really neat house on Airbnb. As it turns out, it was the same house. When they went out on Saturday night, she gave us the key code to get into the house and we were able to do a self-guided tour. The place was way cooler in person than even in the pics. It was also much larger than I would have guessed. Maybe if it comes back on the market, we'll give it another look...
Home in Urbandale · ★4.94 · 4 bedrooms · 4 beds · 2.5 private baths
RARE Mid-Mod Home. Spacious inside-and-out.
www.airbnb.com
In between all the fun, I was able to get the pergola assembled and installed. Assembly is very straight forward. It took us longer to shimmy the pergola across the yard and onto the deck than it did to put it together. One issue I ran into, but quickly figured out and resolved, is that you need to shave off the corners of the posts wherever there are welds inside the brackets. If you get too aggressive with a mallet, you can deform the material. Thankfully I figured this out early on and everything went together smoothly after that.
I'll also agree with the directions in that you do really need at least 2-3 people to do a pergola of this size, 3 or 4 would be ideal. I was able to do the frame myself, but once you need to attach legs and move it around, it took a lot of patience and careful planning to get it moved and in place with just Wife and I. Once anchored it to the deck and house, it is very solid - better than I was expecting. You can get the structure to wiggle if you push hard enough on the outside posts, but I think that would probably happen with anything I would have built from scratch. I did make a run to HF for a mesh tarp to get us by while we wait for the custom shade sail to be made. The tarp is okay. It doesn't block as much light as I would like. The website says it "blocks 60-70% of the suns rays". The Toja shade blocks 85%+ of UV rays. I'm not sure if those numbers are comparable or not, and I don't know that I trust any number HF attaches to a product, but I'm hoping that the Toja shade is more effective. Wife went a little wild and ordered the curtain kit right away. We've also got a string of lights to install, so this won't be the last time the pergola is featured as a weekend project.
After that, I spent some time in the pool just relaxing and enjoying the afternoon. The water was perfect, the beer was cold, and the Summer Hits of the 90's playlist took me down memory lane as I floated around in my 8' diameter puddle of paradise. A great way to cap off the weekend.
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While I really don't need another hobby, I'm very excited about my Father's Day gift from Wife...
Just like amateur radio, bonsai is high on the list of interests/hobbies/distractions that I've flirted with for quite awhile, but keep telling myself to just leave alone out of worry that I may get too sucked into the rabbit hole. Back in the early bachelor days, I had a ficus that was doing well for a few years until my dog got bored one day and decided she wanted to chew on a stick. Since then I'll find myself watching the occasional youtube video or reading through some random website on the subject from time to time. Wife definitely made my day with this. I got it re-potted last night and am going to let it get established before I get too crazy with any other work. That'll also give me time to read through the Peter Chan book I ordered. I'm already eyeing some of the volunteer trees (maple and an unknown evergreen) that keep popping up behind the garage as potential future projects. I figure I can get them potted and growing now and have a couple more in the lineup. Oh jeez... I'm already going off the cliff..
Just like amateur radio, bonsai is high on the list of interests/hobbies/distractions that I've flirted with for quite awhile, but keep telling myself to just leave alone out of worry that I may get too sucked into the rabbit hole. Back in the early bachelor days, I had a ficus that was doing well for a few years until my dog got bored one day and decided she wanted to chew on a stick. Since then I'll find myself watching the occasional youtube video or reading through some random website on the subject from time to time. Wife definitely made my day with this. I got it re-potted last night and am going to let it get established before I get too crazy with any other work. That'll also give me time to read through the Peter Chan book I ordered. I'm already eyeing some of the volunteer trees (maple and an unknown evergreen) that keep popping up behind the garage as potential future projects. I figure I can get them potted and growing now and have a couple more in the lineup. Oh jeez... I'm already going off the cliff..
wreckdiver1321
Well-known member
I love the look of bonsai trees, but if I'm honest with myself I have neither the time, nor the patience for such a pursuit.
Or the money. Bonsais prefer to live in a bed of uncut diamonds under continuous dappled sunlight, hydrating from a slow trickle of Chablis.
Or the money. Bonsais prefer to live in a bed of uncut diamonds under continuous dappled sunlight, hydrating from a slow trickle of Chablis.
Ha! I'll be curious as to what the time commitment ends up being. The patience part I should be okay with. I tend to tolerate tedium better than most.
BTW - chablis is for deciduous trees, chardonnay (or in a pinch, pinot blanc) should be used on coniferous trees. Duh....
nicholam77
Well-known member
Wow, I can see why you hate umbrellas now. 
I picked one up on Amazon a few weeks ago. No catastrophes... yet. Umbrellas can be functional but I think your pergola looks 100% better. I'd be doing the same, but I don't have a logical way to attach one to my patio space. Your deck and outdoor space really look good and I'm sure the custom sail shade will be the cherry on top. You could easily build a privacy screen or half wall on the neighbor side one day if you wish.
Thanks for the link! 3,600 sq ft is pretty big for a house like that! If you look hard, there are a bunch of examples of midcentury and/or modernist residential architecture in the midwest. Well, maybe not a bunch, but what the coasts did was definitely emulated here and I love trying to find examples of that where we live. I have a whole list of homes in the Twin Cities metro area catalogued in my brain. Some are even from prominent architects. Sadly, whenever I see them come up for sale, despite having some interesting architecture and good "bones", they are often in a state of disrepair or have been remodeled one too many times on the inside. Or if they are in good shape the price is through the roof. It's a dream of mine, but I'm in a similar position as you with the young kids and could never take on a big move or project. For now anyways.
The bonsai is cool! You can never have too many hobbies. I remember wanting one, or a little Japanese garden, after watching the Gary Hustwit film "Rams". There's some scenes of Dieter Rams taking care of the Japanese garden at his personal residence and it was very calming and stuck with me. I don't know anything about bonsai but good luck!
I picked one up on Amazon a few weeks ago. No catastrophes... yet. Umbrellas can be functional but I think your pergola looks 100% better. I'd be doing the same, but I don't have a logical way to attach one to my patio space. Your deck and outdoor space really look good and I'm sure the custom sail shade will be the cherry on top. You could easily build a privacy screen or half wall on the neighbor side one day if you wish.
Thanks for the link! 3,600 sq ft is pretty big for a house like that! If you look hard, there are a bunch of examples of midcentury and/or modernist residential architecture in the midwest. Well, maybe not a bunch, but what the coasts did was definitely emulated here and I love trying to find examples of that where we live. I have a whole list of homes in the Twin Cities metro area catalogued in my brain. Some are even from prominent architects. Sadly, whenever I see them come up for sale, despite having some interesting architecture and good "bones", they are often in a state of disrepair or have been remodeled one too many times on the inside. Or if they are in good shape the price is through the roof. It's a dream of mine, but I'm in a similar position as you with the young kids and could never take on a big move or project. For now anyways.
The bonsai is cool! You can never have too many hobbies. I remember wanting one, or a little Japanese garden, after watching the Gary Hustwit film "Rams". There's some scenes of Dieter Rams taking care of the Japanese garden at his personal residence and it was very calming and stuck with me. I don't know anything about bonsai but good luck!
An addendum to a previous project, Wife decided on a location for the air plant array.
She ended up putting them in her home office. It's a bit difficult to get a good pic of the array at this moment because all the furniture is pushed to the middle of the room for painting. It was previously used as the nursery for the kids. While the paint colors of the room weren't obnoxiously kids themed, it has now taken on a whole new vibe with the new colors. She's got a few more days off and is going to put the finishing touches on the space this week, including some shelves that I helped her with. More to come on that...
Otherwise, it was a typical Independence Day weekend for us. As I may have mentioned before, our front yard is one of the best spots in town for watching the fireworks and we usually have a small get-together with friends and/or family. It's a great motivator for me to get the garage and yard in shape, even if its only for one weekend a year. On Saturday, I took advantage of the relatively cool and dry weather and spent the day getting the garage presentable. Sunday we also had very nice weather and the day was spent the day doing yard work and washing the deck and patio. Monday was brutal. The dew point was near 80F all day, combined with the 95F temps, and we ended up with a near 110F heat index for most of the afternoon. But the kids had a ton of fun playing in the pool and the fireworks did not disappoint, so all in all, a good weekend.
She ended up putting them in her home office. It's a bit difficult to get a good pic of the array at this moment because all the furniture is pushed to the middle of the room for painting. It was previously used as the nursery for the kids. While the paint colors of the room weren't obnoxiously kids themed, it has now taken on a whole new vibe with the new colors. She's got a few more days off and is going to put the finishing touches on the space this week, including some shelves that I helped her with. More to come on that...
Otherwise, it was a typical Independence Day weekend for us. As I may have mentioned before, our front yard is one of the best spots in town for watching the fireworks and we usually have a small get-together with friends and/or family. It's a great motivator for me to get the garage and yard in shape, even if its only for one weekend a year. On Saturday, I took advantage of the relatively cool and dry weather and spent the day getting the garage presentable. Sunday we also had very nice weather and the day was spent the day doing yard work and washing the deck and patio. Monday was brutal. The dew point was near 80F all day, combined with the 95F temps, and we ended up with a near 110F heat index for most of the afternoon. But the kids had a ton of fun playing in the pool and the fireworks did not disappoint, so all in all, a good weekend.
XJSuperman
Well-known member
Yeah it was a hot one yesterday. I actually opted to go to work, as the ac in the cab is better than in the house. Sat/Sun were great though!
Same to you Ed!
I've probably said this before as well... we kind of get the best and worst of everything here. If anything, it does a good job of keeping the weaklings away. I'll let you in on a secret though, the area I live in is kind of sweet spot. Having lived in various parts of the midwest, I know if you go two hours north, you can get a slightly milder summer, but at the expense of a much harsher winter. If you go two hours south you get a slightly milder winter, but the summer temps are much worse. I like my little bubble in the middle of the country. Most days, it's honestly a pretty nice place to be.
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I heard you guys were running over the weekend. Hopefully you were able to put a dent in the backlog.
XJSuperman
Well-known member
I doubt you heard my "team" was running lol. We have nothing to do with the manufacturing plant, and the office was closed. This was testing which helps out a little but doesn't directly affect customers like making parts/machines does.
Gotcha... I remember your post from last winter about having a heck of a time getting machines started one day, so I just assumed you were doing something production related. I never thought about testing.
As promised, here are the new office shelves we installed...
Wife's idea, I just helped execute it. We used 1x8 western red cedar for the boards. I ran them through the planer to smooth out the rough face, sanded to 240 grit, and finished with BLO. Should be easy enough to refinish if we ever have water issues from the plants. I might pull them down and put some paste wax on them, but with the oil, I'm not sure it's really necessary. The brown leather straps are held onto the wall using a wood screw (in the studs) and a finishing washer. If I had more time, I probably would have ordered black hardware, but the sliver looks just fine.
I wasn't sure about the black wall at first, but with the rest of the room being white, it actually feels lighter in there than it did with the previous green shades we used when it was the nursery. Using an eggshell finish to get just the right amount of sheen also helps soften the black up quite a bit. Yes, its fair to say, we like painting stuff black around here (my garage ceiling, the deck, the garage and house doors).
Wife's idea, I just helped execute it. We used 1x8 western red cedar for the boards. I ran them through the planer to smooth out the rough face, sanded to 240 grit, and finished with BLO. Should be easy enough to refinish if we ever have water issues from the plants. I might pull them down and put some paste wax on them, but with the oil, I'm not sure it's really necessary. The brown leather straps are held onto the wall using a wood screw (in the studs) and a finishing washer. If I had more time, I probably would have ordered black hardware, but the sliver looks just fine.
I wasn't sure about the black wall at first, but with the rest of the room being white, it actually feels lighter in there than it did with the previous green shades we used when it was the nursery. Using an eggshell finish to get just the right amount of sheen also helps soften the black up quite a bit. Yes, its fair to say, we like painting stuff black around here (my garage ceiling, the deck, the garage and house doors).
wreckdiver1321
Well-known member
I agree with you, that looks great Brad. Nice little shelves and they really pop against the black.
XJSuperman
Well-known member
I like the look, they turned out great.
But, I have questions:
-what prevents the shelves from slipping and rotating in their straps?
-is there something that fixes or holds the backside of the shelf to the brackets, thereby preventing rotation and dumping of plants?
But, I have questions:
-what prevents the shelves from slipping and rotating in their straps?
-is there something that fixes or holds the backside of the shelf to the brackets, thereby preventing rotation and dumping of plants?
Thanks guys!
Nothing other than some long forgotten Physics 232 principles are currently keeping the shelves in place. I was concerned about it as well and wanted to put a small screw or two on the bottom to keep the board from moving/tipping, but Wife insisted it would be fine. After installing them, I tested the 'tippyness' by pulling down on the front edge and they didn't budge. Maybe with repeated loading/unloading it would be an issue, but the occasional careful placement of a plant, I don't think it'll be a problem.
Nothing other than some long forgotten Physics 232 principles are currently keeping the shelves in place. I was concerned about it as well and wanted to put a small screw or two on the bottom to keep the board from moving/tipping, but Wife insisted it would be fine. After installing them, I tested the 'tippyness' by pulling down on the front edge and they didn't budge. Maybe with repeated loading/unloading it would be an issue, but the occasional careful placement of a plant, I don't think it'll be a problem.
A few weeks ago, water was splashed onto the GFCI outlet in our main bathroom, causing it to kick off. It would not reset, even after letting it dry out for a week or two. No big deal, it did its job keeping the kids safe, I'll just install a new one. I removed the face plate and immediately cursed the previous owner of my house once again. The bathroom vanity backsplash was too high to allow access to the lower mounting screw.
So I did this on Saturday...
Now I can access the lower mounting screw!
Updating the bathroom was already slated to be the summer project, the timing of the outlet going bad was just a coincidence. My neighbor installs tile for a living and we've just been waiting for a few days to open up in his schedule. This week is the week! We're also removing the wainscotting, new paint, trim, mirror, lighting, and vanity/sink. The tub and surround were done a few years ago, so that will stay. Ideally we would have just done the whole project at once, but couldn't swing it financially at the time. Wife has been designing and redesigning the space for awhile now and I'm excited to see it all come together. I'll post some before/after pics when we are done.
In other news, the pergola is complete! The shade showed up from Toja last week. It is everything we were hoping to achieve with the project. The curtains and shade do a fantastic job of knocking down the heat from the sun and has made the deck our main outdoor hangout space. We have probably spent more time on the deck in the last few weeks than we have in the last few years.
The project won't truly be done until we replace the dining set with an outdoor sofa, but I'm not to worried about that just yet. If I don't catch an end-of-season sale, I'll probably just build something next spring. I'm running into the same situation as I did with the fire pit in that everything that is in our budget just looks/feels cheap and doesn't seem like it'll hold up over time. DIY isn't as clear of a winner as it used to be with material costs, but would at least give me the build quality I'm looking for. Heck, even just pricing cushions for a DIY build has me eyeing Wife's sewing machine and researching fabrics and foam. I guess time will only tell where this rabbit hole leads.
Thanks for stopping by!
So I did this on Saturday...
Now I can access the lower mounting screw!
Updating the bathroom was already slated to be the summer project, the timing of the outlet going bad was just a coincidence. My neighbor installs tile for a living and we've just been waiting for a few days to open up in his schedule. This week is the week! We're also removing the wainscotting, new paint, trim, mirror, lighting, and vanity/sink. The tub and surround were done a few years ago, so that will stay. Ideally we would have just done the whole project at once, but couldn't swing it financially at the time. Wife has been designing and redesigning the space for awhile now and I'm excited to see it all come together. I'll post some before/after pics when we are done.
In other news, the pergola is complete! The shade showed up from Toja last week. It is everything we were hoping to achieve with the project. The curtains and shade do a fantastic job of knocking down the heat from the sun and has made the deck our main outdoor hangout space. We have probably spent more time on the deck in the last few weeks than we have in the last few years.
The project won't truly be done until we replace the dining set with an outdoor sofa, but I'm not to worried about that just yet. If I don't catch an end-of-season sale, I'll probably just build something next spring. I'm running into the same situation as I did with the fire pit in that everything that is in our budget just looks/feels cheap and doesn't seem like it'll hold up over time. DIY isn't as clear of a winner as it used to be with material costs, but would at least give me the build quality I'm looking for. Heck, even just pricing cushions for a DIY build has me eyeing Wife's sewing machine and researching fabrics and foam. I guess time will only tell where this rabbit hole leads.
Thanks for stopping by!
nicholam77
Well-known member
Wow, the pergola turned out awesome!
Thanks guys! We are really happy with how it turned out as well. Both neighbors to the north (the house next to mine, and the house after that) have both asked me about the system. Who knows, maybe there will be a whole row of Toja Grid structures in the near future.
On another note, the bathroom tile is done!
My neighbor is truly a master of his craft. Unfortunately, he did mention that he's going to get out of doing tile work after this season as its getting harder and harder for him to be on his knees all day. Luckily, he said he'd be more than happy to teach me when it comes time to do my basement. He is truly a good friend.
On another note, the bathroom tile is done!
My neighbor is truly a master of his craft. Unfortunately, he did mention that he's going to get out of doing tile work after this season as its getting harder and harder for him to be on his knees all day. Luckily, he said he'd be more than happy to teach me when it comes time to do my basement. He is truly a good friend.