HANDYMAN PROJECTS
RE-FLOORING THE GARAGE ATTIC
April 2021
For a long time, I had wanted to re-floor our garage attic. The current installation, if you could even call it that, was nothing but various size boards of mixed types and densities strewn across the floor joists. Stepping on it was like playing "the floor is lava." If you weren't careful...
Anyway, after clearing out the boxes, and rand pieces of boards from the attic, I bought plywood, and cut them into square pieces to get them to fit through the attic entrance. I screwed in the boards into the joists as to make them easily removable should anyone need to get in-between the boards.
And safe to say, this one has more stability to step on.
RENOVATING A HOME
April 2022
This was a week and week-end trips long project, and I failed to photograph all the areas I had renovated, but to start, my sisters out in California called me to ask if I wanted to help them renovate the home they just bought. I didn't hesitate to say yes.
I brought my own tools and for a week long, at least 8hrs a day, I had installed vinyl tile flooring in their guest and master bathrooms; floor laminate in their half bathroom; installed a chandelier and bathroom light fixtures; trim moulding; renewed the existing master closet shelves, and many other projects my sisters had me do, like also installing a barn door.
This as by far the most fun project I had because I actually got to use a lot of skills I gained in maintaning my own home, and other construction/carpentry skills I've gained over the years.
BUILDING A SHED
March-April 2024
This project took roughly two-and-a-half months to complete. Story goes my mom wanted to build a shed, and she believed it to be easy enough as going down to Home Depot and buying a kit. I had to correct her to make her realize the planning it would take in order to build a shed. After talking, researching, and realizing the things we could and couldn't do, a plan was finally set in motion.
This particular project came with requirements and restrictions:
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The shed had to fit within a space no larger than 9x10
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The shed had to be at-least one foot away from existing walls or fences, leaving room in-between the shed walls and existing walls.
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The budget had to be less than $2K.
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After measuring, mapping, and illustrating the design of the shed, I was finally able to build, from scratch, my mother's requested storage shed or "she" shed.
The photos illustrate my entire journey from preparing the foundation to painting the walls. THIS is by far my most proudest and most fun project as it has illustrated the many capabilities of construction and carpentry I had gained from previous experiences and teachings. This is the project that makes me assured that, when the time comes, I will be able to build my own home.
BUILDING AN OUTSIDE KITCHEN COUNTER
April-May 2024
After my shed venture, I had much left over wood, enough to make an outside kitchen counter my mom had wanted for quite some time as well. Something that would replace the old rickety table that she had used.
I used our outside porche's existing beams to create a faux wall using all the spare pieces of wood I could find, including old laminate floor board that we had laying around, but never used.
Fun fact, the center portion of the kitchen counter is the old rickety table restored and re-purposed. This counter included magnetic closing doors, and a secret table top door. A small compartment below the table houses a propane tank from the weather, and speaking of weather. Yes, it does sit on concrete blocks.
I made this decision knowing that sitting wood would just soak up rain water and eventually rot. I wanted to make this kitchen counter low maintenance as much as possible. To do this, I first coated all the exposed wood with oil. After the oil set and dried, I wiped it down and applied several coats of a waterproof clear coat sealer to help it resist the elements better.
BUILDING A Dedicated Workspace
February 2025
This project was a long time coming. With the many projects that I do, I needed a workspace dedicated to my tinkering, so I annexed part of the garage and turned it into a personal workshop to house all my tools, materials, and laser cutter.
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For this project, I re-used old and current materials. What was there before were three storage shelves that extended roughly 10ft across. I tore it down and only left the horizontal wooden supports. I then used the re-claimed wood to reconstruct the shelves by first extending the top tier shelf to take up more of the wall space, and then strategically adding shelves for the second level.
On the neighboring wall, I added two more shelves, and created a fold-up table that also doubles as a spray-paint station, using old photography back-drop paper to protect the walls.
The only products I had to buy and assemble were the worktable, black cabinet, peg-boards, and metal shelf brackets. I focused mostly on trying to use what I had. The worktable is placed in the corner followed by the black cabinet, and Laser cutter. Above the worktable is a short shelf for small items, and work lights.