Transmogrifie and Me

[Shadoll]

tinted windows (there are screens on the outside)

Bedroom windows in the back ... granite gravel pile through the window the landlady/friend had delivered, she's moving it around the bus and drive for me. Says it's for her 'property improvement' so cool for me.

The piece was about 2" short on the right hand window so I 'pieced' some together from the side piece. Up close you can see it's pieced but I like it more then spending money for another entire sheet.

Was taking some pics of plants around our property...

[Diesel Dan]

Bluebonnets and Yucca plants? Where did you say you were living? Looks like my front yard!

[Shadoll]

Originally Posted by Diesel Dan

Bluebonnets and Yucca plants? Where did you say you were living? Looks like my front yard!

Payson AZ

[Shadoll]

Has anyone ever worked with this? http://www.lowes.com/ProductDisplay?par ... &cId=PDIO1

I was looking at it because the chipboard counter tops seem so heavy and cumbersome. I'd like to do regular wood and Formica for the weight and ease of cutting etc. The young man at Lowe's said it was pretty brittle, especially to transport. But that it cuts easily with the proper (they sell) flat cut scissors ($21).

[Diesel Dan]

Originally Posted by Shadoll

Payson AZ

Well, I'm about 500 miles south of you in terms of latitude, so I suppose that makes sense.

[roach711]

Price out the materials before deciding on building your own counter top. I was going to build my own until I added up the cost of the laminate, plywood and adhesive. It all came to about as much as the pre-formed counter top did and I didn't have to fool around with building the thing.

To build a 6' counter top you still have to buy full 4x8 sheets of ply and laminate. It adds up quickly.

Another option is to use birch or oak plywood for your counter top, cover the raw plywood edge with some matching hardwood then apply some floor rated polyurethane as a finish. The poly holds up real well and if you do scratch it you can give it a light sanding and brush on a fresh coat of poly. You could do this for a bit over half what the laminate counter will cost.

[Accordion]

Last year, I built a countertop in a friend's house. I used a cheap piece of plywood as an underlayer. I then screwed 1X6 pine boards from underneath. Then there was two coats of stain and six layers of polyurethane.

All together. it was under a hundred bucks for the materials. The six coats of polyurethane make it a durable and stain free surface.

Here are the pics.

[Accordion]

More pics of the pine countertop.

[JakeC]

^ That looks nice!! This is mine, if you want to see a super simple approach. It's just 3/4" plywood, stained and a nice layer of poly. It wasn't even the higher grade stuff. I just picked through till I found a nice one.

[Accordion]

Jake, your countertop looks nice.

[JakeC]

Not bad for $20 or so, eh?!

[Shadoll]

Originally Posted by JakeC

^ That looks nice!! This is mine, if you want to see a super simple approach. It's just 3/4" plywood, stained and a nice layer of poly. It wasn't even the higher grade stuff. I just picked through till I found a nice one.

Ooooh.. I do like it.. and not so 'plastic' looking as formica. Thanks. I can do this. Just Polyeurothane or what? I like the softer look of it too.

Accordian I like yours as well. Natural wood is so much nicer and I'm doing the window frames in Redwood. I bet that would be pretty as well. I was thinking of going poplar because.. I dunno.. always liked it. But the poplar and oak boards are so heavy. And I don't want the chipboard so these are some beautiful alternatives. YAY!!

And Accordian.. nice to see you around again.

[JakeC]

Yup, I just sanded it really good and stained it, then coated with polyurethane. If you look close, you can see I have a piece of pine trim on the front, with the edge rounded.

[Shadoll]

Tarp up pic

[Shadoll]

Pretty glass with flecks of copper in it. (Trying it alongside my upholstery fabric) Colors aren't very true on either I don't think. And not that the upholstery will be in the shower.. but..

OK.. so I do things backwards. I saw the cute sink Dogfinn did and went back to Home depot and the stuff I saw on clearance wasn't there so I found something lighter weight and cheaper and I like a whole lot better for my project. So I bought some panels. I find stuff I like and then plan on how to fit them in. The man at HD was so nice in explaining all the layers and how to install. I wanted to take him home with me.

[Shadoll]

Question. Windows and sliding and springs. Is there something that I could use to make the windows slide a little easier. I think the springs are old in the latches. My fingers hurt when I try to hold them open long enough to slide them. Then I force them and smash my fingers. Was thinking graphite on the sliding parts. Same with the latch on the back door for lubricant. Graphite? I'm afraid it will break like I saw someone's on here did.

[Accordion]

Originally Posted by Shadoll

Question. Windows and sliding and springs. Is there something that I could use to make the windows slide a little easier. I think the springs are old in the latches. My fingers hurt when I try to hold them open long enough to slide them. Then I force them and smash my fingers. Was thinking graphite on the sliding parts. Same with the latch on the back door for lubricant. Graphite? I'm afraid it will break like I saw someone's on here did.

Mine were like that. Now, I use WD40. I put the little straw into the slot of the latches. I give enough squirts until they move easily.

I also spray the window tracks. Then I raise and lower the window several times and spray the tracks again.

This method works great.

[lornaschinske]

Originally Posted by Shadoll

Question. Windows and sliding and springs. Is there something that I could use to make the windows slide a little easier. I think the springs are old in the latches. My fingers hurt when I try to hold them open long enough to slide them. Then I force them and smash my fingers. Was thinking graphite on the sliding parts. Same with the latch on the back door for lubricant. Graphite? I'm afraid it will break like I saw someone's on here did.

When we pulled ALL the windows, I stripped the windows apart and washed them all (including the fuzzy pile weatherstipping). That included taking the spring clips apart. Washed the dirt out then let dry, spray liberally with WD-40. Let sit for a few weeks while I rebuilt the windows we wanted to keep using all the best parts. Some of the springs were not in place right (bent, twisted, hard to open). that might be your problem. I also regreased the thumb latch springs with pure silicone spray before reinstalling the springs. The uprights that the window tracks in I have used a pure silicone spray (don't lose the straw as it helps to direct the spray exactly where you want it to go). It's dry and will not collect the dirt like gooey lubricants will. The blanked out windows were rebuilt using the old window parts as a frame with sheets of metal inserted in the framework. We tossed nothing until we were sure we wouldn't be reusing it. I still have window glass stacked up. I have other uses for it. Also used the best of that in rebuilding the windows. Except for the window in the shower. That is the only non-tempered glass in the bus because I couldn't use a full width window there so it's part blanked with a reduced width window frame. The glass is double glue chip (for privacy) that I bought at Hobby Lobby and cut to fit. You can not cut tempered glass.

[Shadoll]

Nice window. And yeah, for a shower that's cool. I don't know if I'll be doing any actual sheet metal work on mine. Have to see. I HAVE to get back to doing more than just cosmetic stuff.

[Shadoll]

WD40 yeah? I have a can of that. Old can. Maybe there was a blonde moment there but I'll try that. They work fine for the most part, just hard.