Category: Home Projects

I have a house with no linen closet, but it does have a room for the toilet. I removed the towel bar that was over the toilet because I couldn’t see what good towels would do there since it was so far from the sinks and shower and badly wanted shelves or a cabinet for linen storage. Here’s the before picture.

The problem, that doesn’t show in the before picture, is the exhaust fan that’s not that far from the back wall that I felt eliminated the possibility of a closed cabinet — so that left DIY floating shelves over the toilet.

I had already painted the bathroom and removed the useless towel bar shown in the picture.

Lumber

The next stumbling block came when I wanted 3 42” wide by 16” deep shelves and hated to buy an entire sheet of plywood and have to store the remainder.

When I am in the lumber area of Home Depot I always cruise by to check the discounted lumber bin. It almost always horribly warped stuff that I couldn’t see any use for at all. Last week I checked and it had a sheet of birch plywood that had been split unevenly lengthwise. I asked the guys what was wrong with it and they said someone made an error and didn’t make the cut half way so they were discounting the pieces. $15. OMG. For a sheet of beautiful birch plywood.

I raced home and got the measurements of what I needed and raced back. They cut the three shelves and 2 2” strips that I could fasten to the wall and not have to buy 1” x 2”.

$15! I was excited.

Okay – so I splurged and bought vinyl 2 ¾” trim for the front edge that was $6.96. for each 8’ piece. All I would have to do is cut it, nail it, and fill the nail heads and I’d be done. Woohoo.

Planning

From this point forward I will always, ALWAYS measure, plan, and write down measurements BEFORE purchasing materials.In my haste to get the plywood before someone else bought it I made two errors. I had them cut the shelves 1 inch too wide and I had them cut 2 2″ strips where if I would have planned I would have known I needed 3. So I had a lot of correcting to do before I could get started.

On the bright side — 1 inch to wide is a heck of a lot better than an inch to narrow and this mess put me in the position of finding out what my new sliding compound miter saw could do.

Here’s the planning I did after the lumber was cut and purchased…

 

Have I ever mentioned that as a career accountant I still do all my thinking in Excel? Anyway — it was at this point I realized I was short on 2″ material and the shelves were too long.

When I finally sat down to work out the plan I knew if someone taller than me used the toilet I didn’t want them bonking their head on the bottom shelf when they sat down. I figured the bottom edge of the bottom shelf should be at standard cabinet height which is 36″ for countertops plus 18″ for space between which equals 54″. That left me with 3 shelves that were 2 3/4″ and 11 1/4″ above each shelf.

NOTE: measure both the back corner where the shelf will go as well and the front edge before cutting lumber. My walls were a solid half-inch narrower at the back than they were at the front. I cut the boards the narrower measurement since the front trim would hide the gap between the shelf and the wall. More talented people than myself might angle cut the shelves — I don’t know.

So now I had the golden opportunity to find out what my 10″ sliding compound miter saw would do. With the aid of the laser light on it I was able to successfully cut an inch off all three 16″ shelves. It wasn’t absolutely perfect, but since the ends would be against the wall it would be fine.

I had the 2″ mounting strips for the 2 back pieces and 4 of the sides. I used a 16″ scrap from the shelves and cut 2″ strips. These turned out surprisingly well. I am pretty tickled with my saw.

I sanded, primed, and painted the 2″ strips and both sides of the shelves planning to touch up where needed after all were installed.

Hanging the floating shelves

This picture shows the planned height of the shelves with green boxes and the location of studs with red circles. Of the six attachment points needed there were only 3 studs to be found. I have since found out that 16″ on center is only required code for load bearing walls so builders can feel free to cheap out on lumber on non load bearing walls and my builder took that permission seriously.

I will now try to NOT go on a rant about the construction at my house. Absolutely none on the left, thankfully 2 on the back and one on the right. I’d have to use hollow wall anchors where there are no studs and then screw securely into where there are studs. With the weight distributed across the shelves they should be okay and I don’t plan and an enormous amount of weight on them (this thinking prove faulty later in the process).

The only difficult thing about floating shelves is making dead certain the support boards are level when installed. I triple checked this before proceeding on each piece and it paid off.

I installed the back pieces first after making a chalk mark where the top of each support should be. I ended up adding a chalk mark for the bottom of the top piece since I couldn’t see the top. I had a level on top of the support boards the entire time I was attaching them to make sure it was level.

I attached the back piece first starting with the top shelf and working down. Then I attached the side pieces making sure all was level. Okay — I got impatient and slid the top shelf in as soon as all three supports were installed because I wanted to see.

I painted the shelves before hand so it was a matter of inserting them so they rested on all three sides and then I nailed them down to the supports.

Adding the trim and another unanticipated problem

I wanted the supports hidden so the plan was to add 2 ¾” trim to the front edge of each shelf. I put a board on the shelf that extended over and made sure the trim was tight against the bottom of that board before nailing to the front edge of the plywood. The trim on the top and middle shelves went fine and then I couldn’t get the bottom one to line up. What was going on???

I realize when I lined up one end the other was too high and I couldn’t make it work. I stood back and saw the problem — that shelf had seriously warped for some reason so there’s was no way to flatten it and attach the trim. Why would one shelf warp when the others were fine? One of life’s little mysteries.

Remember when I said the shelves would never hold any serious weight? The DIY gods were laughing at me. I went and got a couple of weights. 16 pounds did nothing to flatten the shelf. I add 2 more for an additional 24 pounds. 40 pounds and nothing. I went and got a 25 pound dumbbell and finally 65 pounds of weight flattened the warped board down so I could GLUE and nail the trim. I glued all 3 pieces of trim, but I really glued this one and left the weights for several days. I removed the smallest weights and waited a day to see if the shelf bowed. Removed the next size weights and waited and finally removed the 25 pounder. Everything has stayed in place. Sheesh – who knew?

I filled the nail holes, caulked everything and touched up the paint and done.

Finished shelves

I think it looks like I’m play tic tac toe with stacks of towels and cubes in the pictures below. I stuck a couple of things temporarily on the bottom shelf until I figure out what decor items I want there permanently and I’m hesitant to block the exhaust fan above the top shelf.

So I have a question. I see DIY projects online like bookcases and shelves that are then tastefully appointed with a smattering of gorgeous decor items. Don’t these people need storage? Don’t they have books, and keepsakes, and family pictures — sentimental stuff that isn’t gorgeous but priceless because of the memories? I built these shelves because I need storage. The shelves are loaded with towels and sheet sets I didn’t know where to store before. Am I the only one like this?

Anyway — here’s the finished shelves and despite the challenges (polite way of saying mistakes :-)) I am very happy with how they turned out. Much better use of that space than a silly towel bar which I solved with the coat hook ledge shelves in a previous post.

This was a test project and if this DIY rustic bench seat was successful my next project was going to be a new table for my living room made basically with the same plan.

This was going to be a “rustic” bench seat partly because you can’t get 4 x 4 lumber without knots so that dictated the lumber for the rest. Clear pine wouldn’t go with knotty legs.

I thought it odd I ended up spending almost as much on screws as I did on lumber but I used self-tapping, quality screws that were easy to put in without pre-drilling. But still, less that $40 for a big, beautiful bench? I think it’s a deal.

I wanted glued and screws construction for strength BUT I didn’t want so much as one screw showing on the outside. Exposed connectors was not the look I was going for and I have not mastered the whole pocket hole screw thing as of yet. That’s not how the bench worked out.

Gluing before screwing is assumed in all the steps as well as using clamps and other tools to ensure squareness.

I wanted a 48″ bench so it would only require buying one 2 x 8 that would be cut in half for the top – the top, or bench seat, will measure 15 by 48. Finished bench will sit 17 1/2″ high.

I wanted an inch overhang on all four sides so the assembled legs, frame, and aprons would have to measure 13 by 46.

Steps in construction

1. Cut legs to desired height, strap the legs together standing up on each end and use power sander to sand ends uniform and level on top and bottom
2. Attach spacers 3/4″ in for end aprons – make sets for each side and screw in with 2 1/2″ screws. If you make all four legs exactly the same you won’t be able to attach the apron pieces, so reverse 2.
3. I attached the end aprons next making sure everything was square screwing through the spacers from behind into the aprons – two 2″ screws on each end of apron piece.
4. Measure back of leg assembly to verify 8 1/2″ frame piece will leave 2 1/4″ open on each leg to attach front and back frames (2 x 4) and then aprons (1 x 4) or 1 1/2″ + 3/4″ = 2 1/4″.
5. Making sure everything is square, screw end frame pieces into legs – 2 screws through each leg with 2 1/2″ screws

   

6. I took the coward’s approach here and cut my 2 x 8 for the seat of the bench to make sure it would be exactly 48″ before completing assembly of bottom. The 8′ board was actually 96 1/4″ so after cleaning up the ends and cutting in half I had exactly 48″ boards. Woohoo!
7. Making sure everything is square, screw front and back frame pieces into ends of side frames with 2 1/2″ screws.
8. Turn bench upside down and place brace pieces at top edge (on the floor) of frame and use 2 screws in each end to attach to frame with 2 1/2″ screws. These screws will be hidden by the apron.
9. Measure (mine ended up being 39 1/16th for tight fit) and cut front and back aprons and insert in place – screw from back with 2″ screws that will go through frame and into apron.
10. Use pocket hole screws to connect 2 48″ 2 x 8 boards in several places (this is optional).
11. Lay top (bench seat) down on floor making sure you have the side down that you will want to have showing on the finished bench (put on cardboard or something to prevent scratches), center base on seat – screw through 3 braces with 2 1/2″ screws, 2 screws at each end of braces.
12. Flip it over, sand and finish with paint or stain of your choice. At this point I didn’t have any nail hole or screw heads to cover up. That changed.

First problem encountered – warping

The boards for the bench were firmly attached by screws from the bottom through the cross braces. of course there was no way to screw from the bottom through the corners, so after a couple of days all four corners had lifted and the top was visibly warped.

Need I say how disappointed I was as I sunk 4 screws into my previously unblemished top to flatten out the warped boards? I buried the screw heads into the wood, filled, and sanded them smooth. So much for my hope to have no visible screws. My guess is an experienced woodworker would have known this wouldn’t work, that it’s the nature of pine to warp.

Next problem encountered – “corning”

I sanded the heck out of the bench with my little palm sander and it looked and felt perfectly smooth. I thought it looked gorgeous.

I used the Minwax Classic Gray stain again on this bench. After the first coat I was utterly appalled by how the bench looked. Not the color, but all the minute scratches in the wood that looked like someone had taken a highlighter to accent them. Where did they come from?

 

I ran out and looked at my palm sander that still had the last piece of sandpaper I had used on it. There were little dots on it.

Ever heard of “corning”? While it had happened to me before, I didn’t know what it was called until I researched to find out what had happened this time. When it happened to me before it was while sanding a painted surface. This was the first time on raw wood. Sanding residue has solidified into little dots stuck to the sandpaper and cut scratches into the wood.

I sanded — this time by hand since I was afraid of the palm sander – and sanded. Those stained scratches would not come out. I felt I had reached the point of the ridiculous with sanding so I added another coat of stain and the scratches faded. A third coat of stain and they were gone. The bench was just a hair darker than I would have liked, but I could definitely live with the color a whole lot easier than the scratches.

By the way — I couldn’t find a solution to corning. I was using quality sandpaper and other than change it every 30 seconds, I don’t know how to prevent it from corning. Maybe not use the palm sander, but that means a much lengthier process to hand sand.

Finishing

I put multiple coats of water based poly on. I started with the bench flipped over and did the bottom and the legs. The I put it upright and put several coats on the top. Water based poly has to be put on in extremely thin coats. I use a small plastic dish and a folded piece of microfiber towel to apply it. Wipe it on and stop — don’t go back and forth because it dries too fast. Do a lot of really thin coats to avoid runs.

I am going to switch to oil based poly for my next project and thin it with 50% mineral spirits and use the same basic technique.

I set the bench in place with the plan to not use it (hit it, bump it, put anything on it) for 30 days so the finish can cure.

I painted some crates so I could store hats and shoes under the bench (no guest closet in the house) but the jury is still out on whether I like them. Do they need casters or what? I’m not sure about the crates, but I absolutely love the bench and have already designed a table for the living room (taller and wider) and plan to start that soon.

This turned out to be a huge post. The text is details for newbies if they want to do their own  shelves or you can skim through the pictures.

Right this moment I am reeling from the total beat down hanging the largest 60” shelf turned into. Don’t get me wrong. These shelves are easy and so awesome to custom fit exactly to the space you want them.

Now having made several – and I am new to woodworking – I don’t think buying a ready-made ledge or coat hook shelf is a good buy. Not when you can make them at a far more reasonable cost and have the custom height, depth, and width you need for each specific space.

My problem: no storage space

I moved into a house with no storage and most notably lacking any kind of guest closet. Where do you hang the jackets or coats you wear on a regular basis. Where do you hang jackets or coats for guests. My solution was coat hook shelves with ample hooks for hanging and a 6” deep shelf to put things like decor items.

Next came a master bathroom with no towel bar. Seriously? Where the heck are you supposed to hang towels? I solved the problem for the short-term by hanging my bath towels on the shower door, but hated how that looked. I have a beautiful shower and wanted it to show unobstructed by towels.

I kicked around the idea of doing board and batten in the entry and bathrooms since I love the look, but in the end I felt baseboards made it a deal breaker. To complete the look I would need to pull builders grade basic baseboards and replace with something more substantial and that was a financial deal breaker at this point. So my shelves would not be the nailed to the wall as the top shelf on board and batten. I would have to be able to hang them. The good part of this is they could go with me if I move.

Test project: 30” shelf by door to the garage

I made the first 30” shelf to hang by the door to the garage so I had a place for my purse, sunglasses, and jackets. It was my first project with my air compressor and nail guns. Along with my compound miter saw I couldn’t believe how quickly and easily the coat hook shelf went together.

Cost of entire project

As of this writing you can get 1” x 6” common boards for around $10, 1” x 8” common boards for around $12-13, and I paid $.80 a linear foot for basic primed baseboard. I also used boards from a shipping crate I had torn apart. I strongly encourage the use of scrap wood whenever possible.

A note about the trim you use: I know a lot of people love the more expensive crown molding. If you decide to go that route purchase your hooks (if this is to be a coat hook shelf) and measure how much clearance you need to be able to hang things on the hooks. You may have to use something larger than a 1” x 8” back board. I really like the way the simple molding looks on my shelves and don’t think it needs anything more.

I also recommend getting the hooks in advance to see how they have to be fastened. For the black hooks I wanted the holes drilled before painting so I didn’t mess up the finished shelf trying to get the hooks in straight.

If you have the paint or stain you want to use on hand, the only thing left to purchase will be some sort of hanger. I used the Ook hangman cleat for the first shelf. It’s strong and works well, but the shelf isn’t flush against the wall. So for the last 4 shelves I built I purchased keyhole fasteners. More about keyhole fasteners later.

Materials

• Back board against wall 1” x 8” common pine
• Top shelf larger shelves 1” x 6” common pine
• Top shelf for small shelves 1” x 4” common pine
• Filler board behind trim 1” x 4” crate wood
• Basic trim
• Oiled-bronze GlideRite hooks (I sprayed them matte black)
• Brushed nickel GlideRite hooks

Hooks are potentially your biggest expense – they were slightly over half of mine. I couldn’t believe some of the prices I saw and was thrilled I could get 10 packs of hooks from GlideRite.com. I love their hardware and have used it in a kitchen update and two bathroom updates as well. It’s decent hardware that doesn’t break the piggy bank.

I had all the paint, etc on hand so I didn’t have to buy any of that.

For less than $85 I built 5 beautiful shelves with the smallest costing $8 and the largest costing $33. Couldn’t find that in a store.

Steps in construction

• Glue and nail filler piece to back board taking care to not nail lower than the filler board (I glued, clamped and nailed from the back). The filler piece should be the exact same length as the back board and a little wider than the trim board you selected.
• Glue and nail top shelf to filler piece and back board taking care to not shoot nails past the tops of the boards. My top boards were 4″ longer than the back board so they would overhang the back and trim.
• Measure and cut trim pieces and then glue and nail in place. Use a miter saw to make the cuts for the front corners.
• Caulk trim and all seams
• Fill nail holes on trim and top shelf with wood filler (the remaining holes are in the back and I don’t bother filling them)
• Sand entire shelve unit until smooth enough to finish
• Drill holes for hooks if necessary
• Install keyhole hangers
• Do test install of shelf*
• Finish shelves with stain or paint (I used chalk paint and clear wax)
• Attach hooks making sure they are all perfectly straight

*Learn from my mistake – hang the shelves before finishing. I will go into the nightmare hanging of the 60” shelf for my entry hall later in the post. Much pain and agony could have been avoided if I would have hung the shelves before finishing.

 

 

Keyhole fasteners

If you want a flush mount install nothing beats keyhole fasteners, but you will need a Forstner bit and chisel to install them. The keyhole fasteners themselves aren’t expensive – I got them at Lowe’s The Hillman Group 2-Count Heavy Duty Keyhole Hangers $1.38.

Before I built these last four shelves I did a lot of research and decided on keyhole hangers. They’re more work, but they are economical and an incredibly strong fastener.

To install you have to drill 3 holes with a Forstner 5/8” bit and then chisel out to create an oval hole. The center hole should be a little deeper to accommodate the screw head. I do not have a drill press and just eyeballed the depth and they all worked out fine. Yes, fine woodworkers are cringing at my total lack of precision…

I didn’t have a chisel set when I did the last four shelves, but I did when I had to move the keyhole hangers on the 60” shelf. Oh my god, I could believe how easy a chisel made it. I got my set of 4 chisels and set of 6 Forstner bits at Harbor Freight for respectively on sale for $4.99 and $9.99. Not everything at Harbor Freight is good, so be sure to read customer reviews before buying — they will tell you if it’s junk or not.

Installing shelves on the wall

For the smaller shelves that wouldn’t be holding much weight I felt hollow wall anchors would be good enough. I used these for the 3 bathroom shelves since they would only be holding towels and décor items. Just measure precisely and level and install the screws in the wall. Then hang the shelves.

For the coat hook shelves that would potentially have to support more weight or people pulling on them I wanted a firmer install. For the 30” in shelf in the kitchen that I would hang my purse and jackets on I tried an Ook hangman cleat. It’s a strong support but the shelf isn’t flush to the wall and I really like flush to the wall.

60” shelf for entry

Oh my god, what a beating. I installed the keyhole hangers an inch from each end and installed hollow wall anchors in the wall. I hung the shelf – which was a bear doing by myself since it was so long and weighs a ton. I did a gentle tug and the shelf and wall anchors ripped right out of the wall and landed (thank god) on the ladder shelf I had used to assist me so the shelf wasn’t destroyed.

Fine. I ordered the larger Ook Hangman cleat that is 18” long and is supposed to hold up to 200 pounds. My assumption is that weight limit applies if mounted into studs.

So began my search for studs. I could find studs toward the ends of where the shelf would be but nothing in the middle. What???? I thought my stud finder was screwing up so I started tapping holes into the drywall with nails. Nothing. I went to the other side of the wall and searched for studs. Nothing. In my entry there is a 30” gap with NO STUDS. Quality construction. Geez. No stud and swiss cheese drywall from my search for a stud.

The cleat had to go into studs on both ends so now what? I stood back and looked at the patched holes from the wall hangers and the nail holes from my search for studs. Dear god. Now what do I try?

The only option I could see was moving the keyhole hangers to match where I could find studs 14” from the left end of the shelf and 19 1/2 “ from the right end.

After an enormous amount of measuring and double checking and triple checking I installed the keyhole fasteners to match the studs. I put long screws deep into the studs and tried to hang the shelf. Lo and behold after all the various disasters the keyhole fasteners matched the screws and the shelf was FINALLY firmly hung on the wall. Sheesh – what a beating.

This is why I say hang your shelves before finishing. I manhandled (womanhandled) that poor shelf up and down so many times. I felt I had to drill and chisel the new holes in the house resting on carpet so I wouldn’t rip all the paint off of it and then had that mess. I had to adjust the keyhole hangers up and down multiple times to get it level – I must have been in total brain-fart mode by that time. All I can say it was a total beating for me and the poor shelf. Hang the shelf before applying the paint or finish.

‘Nuf said.

I love the shelves

When all is said and done I love the DIY ledge shelves. I have solved the problems of coat hanging for both everyday and guests. I have a ton of places to hang things in the bathroom. And all for around $85. You can’t beat that price for five shelves that are very classy looking and functional.

While finishing my new pine ottoman tray I was faced with a predicament: The only stain I liked was Minwax Wood Finish Classic Gray 271 and the only polyurethane I had was Minwax Water Based Wipe-On Poly. I really like the poly and wanted to use the stain/poly combination on several pieces so I had to find out if it would work.

Research

I found a post on DoItYourself.com that supposedly came from Minwax. It was about floors, but I figured if it worked on floors that take so much abuse, it would work on my tray.

I received this response from Minwax…
SUBJECT: Minwax Water Based Polyurethane Over Minwax Wood Finish Stains

You may apply the Minwax Water Based Polyurethane over a fully cured Minwax Wood Finish Stain (oil-based). Please use the following guidelines:

To ensure the color fastness of Minwax Wood Finish prior to applying Minwax Water-Based Polyurethane:
1.) Allow final coat of stain to dry 8-24 hours (Dry time is affected by your ventilation, temperature, and relative humidity).
2.) Wipe down the stained surface using a soft, lint-free cloth dampened with 100% pure mineral spirits. If the stain is cured and inactive, the mineral spirits will not affect the color. You should not have any color pick-up onto the cloth. The mineral spirits will remove any active/excess stain from surface and help the stain to cure out.
3.) Allow the mineral spirits to evaporate/flash off the surface.

Once the stain color is set and cured (passed the color-fast test), apply 3 coats of the Minwax Water Based Polyurethane per label directions.

Sincerely,
Consumer Affairs

The test

I did as the post suggested — I allowed the tray to dry overnight and then used a microfiber cloth to wipe it down with mineral spirits. Again as suggested, I allowed it to “evaporate/flash” for a couple hours. My cloth had picked up just a tiny amount of color so I thought it was okay to go ahead with the poly.

 

The results

The poly went on over the oil based stain beautifully. I put on 3 thin coats, of course this worked out to 6 coats since I had to do the bottom and then the top, attached the handles and am very pleased with the finished tray. The satin poly gave it a really nice finish and feels rock solid over the oil based stain.

 

I will continue to use this combination of water based poly over oil — I’ll report back if I run into any problems.