Wall Niche is Complete

Wall niche finished product.

I really look forward to weekends now that I don't have work six days a week. I got an early start on this weekend and continued working on my living room niche. The trim was cut and nailed in place with finishing nails. The shelves were cut with very little plywood left over from the original sheet.

I sealed all the gaps and corners with caulk and am attempting to sand it smooth.

All that is left now is trim on the front of the middle shelves and paint.

Update: shelves are done. Once the paint dries, the tape comes off the borders and voila! Another project for more prepping space is done.

Of course, the kids HAD to check the shelves for durability by climbing up in them and having a sit.

Now to move on to the next project.

OJD

Adding Storage With a Wall Niche



Two niches cut into the living room wall (while the kids
watched an episode of Barney)

 Saturday was a very productive day at the Compound de Orange Jeep Dad. The oldest two daughters were dropped off at church by 7am. They spent a good part of the day volunteering at the Special Olympics in Mesa. Teenage enrichment activity...check.

Back home by 7:30 and planted pumpkins in the front flower bed. If calculations are correct, we should have PLENTY of pumpkins by halloween. Saving money on future halloween decorations and pies...check.

Planted cucumbers and watermelons in the backyard. Down to one small area of EMPTY garden now. Once it is gone, I may start re-planting in the raised box gardens if I don't see more growth from the carrots. Future veggies to munch...check.

Lots of space added where there used to be none

Then the biggest chore of the day. On the recent topic of extra storage, wifey asked me to add some shelving next to the main television. In my usual research fashion, I visited youtube for a quick lesson in carpentry. Turns out what I'm about to create is called a "wall niche."

The rest of the day was spent sawing, nailing, and arguing with wood. The shelves are in. Next will be sealing seams, a final sanding, and painting the finished product. Oh, and BIG trim to cover up my mistakes.

Improving sadly lacking carpentry skills...check.

Update: Wall niche is complete. Click here for the final pictures.

Raised Box Gardens from Used Wooden Pallets.

I've seen pallets around for years and heard of raised-box gardening but I never would have thought it would be happening in my own back yard.

As my wife and I get more deeply active in self sustainability, we are trying more and more new things. This weekend some friends from church came over and showed me how to tear down old wooden pallets and reassemble them into raised box garden frames.

My picture shows the end product of all three frames that were built. About three hours of time, hard work and wood screws were the only necessary ingredients (oh, and the power drill and circular saw!)

I'm sure there are several videos scattered about the internet explaining how to build these little beauties much better than I could explain. Suffice it to say it was time well spent and we now have an additional 9 cubic feet of garden per box to grow additional food for our family.