the pedal case

soooo, this was an old project, I think I did it about 3 or 4 months ago, and it came about because I had purchased a new pedal ( I play bass), and wanted a case to hold all of the ones I now had.  Again, just like all of these projects, this is a first run, and the second will be WAY better now that I know what I would improve.  That being said, this works wonderfully.

To buy a pedalcase in the store, you would be looking at a minimum of 100-200 dollars I would say….this one cost me $20. (My photos suck)

I set out to find an old briefcase, second hand of course, which was not as easy as it sounds.  I ended up finding one at the Salvation Army in Parkdale.  That was after looking in three value villages and other random spots.  Once I found the case, I layered the top and bottom with foam (note that the top of the briefcase became the bottom, where the pedals sit).  I put fatter foam in the fatter part of the case, and thinner foam where the pedals went, then just cut out the appropriate sizes so that they slid in.  I did also notch out where the power cable and patch cords enter the pedals for ease of use.  All you need is an exact-o blade.  I also decided to Velcro the pedals down, as I tend to consistently trip over my patch cord yanking them out of place.  Some of you may really like this, others may think its ridiculous.  I certainly dig.  The briefcase also locks which is nice, and its unassuming when all closed up.  Not too many people would know theres all that stuff in it. (Good thing no one reads these posts)

Oh, and to get foam, go into most electronics stores or a packaging place and they will most likely have scraps.  I had this foam leftover from something, I dont remember.

I still have to make you one Kralik.  A new and improved version.

the deck

Hey there, long time no talk!

So we needed a deck, and looked at a few options until I decided to just take it on.  The main issue was that the shingles on the roof that the deck was going to go over needed to be replaced.  I got a quote from someone to re-shingle the roof which is 12ft x 10ft, and it was going to be $1000.  Then from there, I requested that a contractor come in and build just the frame for me, and I would finish the planking and railing myself, that would have been $1500, then another $500 for materials to do the planking and railing. A grand total of $3000……not fresh.

So I had Nicole’s dad drum up some blueprints for us, and I went for it.  The shingling wasnt actually that hard once the FOUR layers of shingles were stripped off.  I took them right down to the wood, rather than laying them right on top.  It was pretty nasty.  This took about 6 hours, and it was fairly dirty.

Once the shingles were ripped off, it was simply exposed wood (No pic, sorry).  I then just rolled down a peel and stick waterproof membrane which is amazingly simple.  I made sure there were no sharp nails sticking up, and I ran the membrane about 6 inches up the side of the house, under the siding (just to be safe).  Once that was down, I began laying the shingles.

Shingling is fairly easy.  I wasn’t that concerned about them being perfectly straight since the deck was going over it, but if you google it, there is plenty of info on technique.  Just make sure that you cover all of your nails with the layered shingles, and that if you happen to leave any exposed, put some tar over them.  No one likes a leaky roof.  Oh, and fasten some aluminum flashing against the house, also extremely easy.

Then came building the frame.  When I had the shingles off, I found and made note of where the roof rafters were, so that I could fasten the 4×4 posts to them.  On the other end of the deck, the entire structure was fastened to the studs of the house, using 6inch wood screws.  I should really scan the drawings and put them up.

I used pressure treated wood for the frame, and built it out of 2×8’s.  They were cut on a bit of an angle leading up to the house to follow the slope of the roof. Again, I will post the blueprint.  Oh, and the 4×4 posts, when I drilled down into the rafters of the actual roof to secure them, I made sure to use plenty of tar, to prevent those not so fun leaks.

Initially, I wanted to finish the deck with wood found on skids, however was unable to due to structural issues.  The planks that are laid on top give the deck rigidity, and prevent it from skewing, so having planks that run the full 12ft of the deck are necessary, making it solid as a rock.  I was a touch disappointed, but must say, the cedar looks and smells rather nice.  Here it is planked.

At this point I was fairly surprised at how sturdy the deck was.  To be honest, I thought for sure I would screw something up, but it felt great.  Once it was planked, there was zero shifting which is always nice!  The railing some may disagree with, as its theoretically not too code, but figured if we ever sell the house, I can make it code.  All I know is that it looks nicer than a conventional railing, and its pretty damn sturdy.  I fastened the two ends to the house, using 3 inch screws and hangers, and then lag bolted all of the 2×4’s that you see to the frame of the deck.  So here you go:

Although this project took me about a week, since I took breaks, didnt work full days, and had the flu for a bit, I am confident that it is a weekend job, or 16-20hrs.  All of the materials that I used, including screws and nails ran about $1000, rather than $3000.  Basically, I look at it as earning $2000 in the 20 hours it took to build.  This is certainly one of those projects that once you undertake, if you take your time, and do your research, it gets easier as you go along.  You will then teach yourself skills that will last you a lifetime, and in the longrun, save you money.

the skid

My pal and I have always been intrigued by the amount of scrap skids that are seen out back of buildings, and tried to think of ways to use the wood to our advantage.  I was inspired to make this from a design blog that Nicole showed me, it had this nifty drawer unit that used milk crates as drawers.  Since we were looking for a piece of furniture to go under the window sill, I thought this would be a good option.

Using reclaimed wood from skids found around town and two milk crates I built this little guy.  It cost between $8-$10 for screws and because I had to buy felt feet for the bottom.  The drawers work great, one side hides our modem and router, the other our DVD’s.  The monitor is going to be replaced by plants this week.

Keep in mind I am not a carpenter, nor do I have a design background, so the structure may look a little weird, but I have recently spoken to some friends that are willing to help me out with improving the design.  I would like to make a 4 drawer version.

Want one?