Enough of COVID...what are you doing to the house?

[crankcall]

So my brainwave of the day, I have on the lower floor a Murphy bed, one of those fold down contraptions from the old movies where somebody is always folded up inside the bed.
Its in an office and not needed, I'm thinking about taking the mattress and mechanism out and putting shelves in it and making a bookcase. Wife says kijiji it , and buy a bookcase. I think its screwed into the wall, already 85% built and essentially free. And nobody cares much about how it will look.

Design is very important, just not in this application.

 

[Trials]

Cheapest, strongest, easiest way to build heavy shelf supports and racks or even a rolling stand to hold something like a sea-doo, is 3-1/4"x4"x8' economy landscape timbers, half-lap the corner joints and bolt it all together with 3/8" threaded rod, nuts and washers. That's how we used to build crates for large animals that were likely to try and break out, lumber and threaded rod.

 

[mimico_polak]

So my brainwave of the day, I have on the lower floor a Murphy bed, one of those fold down contraptions from the old movies where somebody is always folded up inside the bed.
Its in an office and not needed, I'm thinking about taking the mattress and mechanism out and putting shelves in it and making a bookcase. Wife says kijiji it , and buy a bookcase. I think its screwed into the wall, already 85% built and essentially free. And nobody cares much about how it will look.

Design is very important, just not in this application.

I think that's a great idea. Functional, and you already have it. My wife likes to 'upgrade' things often....sometimes within months of buying a brand new item because 'this colour doesn't match as I thought'....

 

[mimico_polak]

@mimicopolak , I'd add some 1x3's inside the 2x4's so there is no sheer load on the fasteners, its all compression on the 1x3's. Its a $5.00 fix , then I'd pop two or three tapcons through the back into the brick so there is no tippy sideways action, altho that looks brick outhouse strong. Faster would be @greyghosts idea of a couple 1x3's screwed into the back to make a triangle. The triangle being the basis of all stucture.

Its not that nails are better than screws in construction, construction screws are sold buy the skid, but nails are cheap, fast, and oh yeah, cheap. And construction of 90% of properties is all about the cheap.

Thanks. I'm going to add some supports for compression. The structure is screwed into the studs on the left as I didn't want to drill into the brick, but may end up doing. There's vertical supports in the back as well. 3 x 2x4s for vertical support.

 

[mbroyda]

jeez, what are you planing on putting on there? while you're at it maybe get a soil engineer in to ensure you have enough bearing capacity in the soil, and maybe pour some reinforced footings for it..... we're talking about a garage shelf for some household crap, no?

 

[mimico_polak]

jeez, what are you planing on putting on there? while you're at it maybe get a soil engineer in to ensure you have enough bearing capacity in the soil, and maybe pour some reinforced footings for it..... we're talking about a garage shelf for some household crap, no?

LoL sarcasm noted and accounted for! LoL I think the overbuilding of this thing is more my concern that it'll come down on the wife/kids while they're in there. But it's sturdy as hell. It's already fully loaded and I'm planning on building a second one along the back wall as I'm really happy with the way this one came out.

 

[GreyGhost]

LoL sarcasm noted and accounted for! LoL I think the overbuilding of this thing is more my concern that it'll come down on the wife/kids while they're in there. But it's sturdy as hell. It's already fully loaded and I'm planning on building a second one along the back wall as I'm really happy with the way this one came out.

You bring up a good point. Most likely failure is a kid climbing the front and the whole thing tipping over . Add a few anchors into the block and you solve the racking and crushed kid problems at the same time.

 

[crankcall]

I've seen so many badly built shelf solutions I'm thrilled to see over built. You build it to hold balls of knitting wool and the next guy puts his collection of bowling balls on the shelf.
Shelves have a habit of just filling up.

Gee thats too well made says nobody ever, but when it falls down......

 

[hdsomeday]

So my brainwave of the day, I have on the lower floor a Murphy bed, one of those fold down contraptions from the old movies where somebody is always folded up inside the bed.
Its in an office and not needed, I'm thinking about taking the mattress and mechanism out and putting shelves in it and making a bookcase. Wife says kijiji it , and buy a bookcase. I think its screwed into the wall, already 85% built and essentially free. And nobody cares much about how it will look.

Design is very important, just not in this application.

If you have the room one side or the other, build the shelves and put one of those sliding barn doors in front of it. If room on either side is short, split the door in half so either side slides away. Covers the shelves if the wife doesnt like them and gives a nice 'what is behind that door?' look. Put some ambient lighting in the shelves so it glows out the sides of the barn door when closed, a nite lite kind of thing, but lights up the shelves when open. Heck, rig it so the lights only come on when the door(s) slide open.

EDIT: If you decide to take the bed out I would be happy to take the mechanism off your hands. I have a use for a murphy bed. btw, Im calling dibs in case it wasnt obvious.

 

[GreyGhost]

 

[mimico_polak]

I'm measuring out the deck today, hoping to start work on the weekend.

Not 100% sure yet, but trying to plan out some lighting for it....recommendations? Thoughts? Small deck 7x11ft so don't need lots.

I may just drill holes through the joists in order to be able to pull cable once we are ready.

 

[GreyGhost]

I'm measuring out the deck today, hoping to start work on the weekend.

Not 100% sure yet, but trying to plan out some lighting for it....recommendations? Thoughts? Small deck 7x11ft so don't need lots.

I may just drill holes through the joists in order to be able to pull cable once we are ready.

I really like the lighting I put on the last deck (I think pics are earlier in this thread). Warm white waterproof led strip dadoed into bottom of rail and 1.5" lights in step risers. Even when you are inside, we had the deck lights on often as it made inside the house feel bigger. IIRC, that particular rail was a 2x8 with ~5 degree bevels on top to prevent standing water (basically max cut a 10" tablesaw can do) and dado for lights cut in bottom (~3/4" wide by 1/2" deep). Friction held the lights up but I put some compatible silicone in the groove because I didnt want to deal with any sagging. Without the step lights it was a little dodgy as you were stepping off into the abyss.

 

[J_F]

12V LED strip lighting
look nice tucked under the top cap on the railing
can put them over the stair treads too
easy to cut to length and install
low energy usage

I see GG and I had a simul-post

 

[J_F]

and I'd strongly suggest whatever you install
run it through a GFCI
an electrified deck in the rain could be a bad deal

 

[GreyGhost]

and I'd strongly suggest whatever you install
run it through a GFCI
an electrified deck in the rain could be a bad deal

Thats another upside to the 12V lighting. Most touch points really shouldn't have lethal voltage. I did run all electrics on that deck through a GFCI breaker because it's a good idea but I never had a trip. With 12V it is also easy and safe for a marginally smart homeowner to add switches if they way. Use a 120V switch to control power to the LED drivers and then switch low voltage circuits if you want multiple areas (for instance deck, gazebo, perimeter lighting). I just used a normal domestic switch in a waterproof housing for consistency of look to control the lights in the BBQ house. It is hard to use enough LED lights that switch capacity becomes an issue.

 

[mimico_polak]

Thats another upside to the 12V lighting. Most touch points really shouldn't have lethal voltage. I did run all electrics on that deck through a GFCI breaker because it's a good idea but I never had a trip. With 12V it is also easy and safe for a marginally smart homeowner to add switches if they way. Use a 120V switch to control power to the LED drivers and then switch low voltage circuits if you want multiple areas (for instance deck, gazebo, perimeter lighting). I just used a normal domestic switch in a waterproof housing for consistency of look to control the lights in the BBQ house. It is hard to use enough LED lights that switch capacity becomes an issue.

We are actually considering putting lights to the Gazebo....it's about 15-20ft away from the shed where electricity is...but I'm not sure how to get the cable there. Previous owner put in concrete slab so it can't run underground. Maybe above ground...but still not sure what cable to use or how to protect it. The posts of the gazebo are hollow so a hole on the bottom, hole to a switch, and we are good.

As for the deck, will check out some LED strips but will need some planning for sure. Thanks @GreyGhost and @J_F .

 

[GreyGhost]

We are actually considering putting lights to the Gazebo....it's about 15-20ft away from the shed where electricity is...but I'm not sure how to get the cable there. Previous owner put in concrete slab so it can't run underground. Maybe above ground...but still not sure what cable to use or how to protect it. The posts of the gazebo are hollow so a hole on the bottom, hole to a switch, and we are good.

As for the deck, will check out some LED strips but will need some planning for sure. Thanks @GreyGhost and @J_F .

Low voltage cable gives you a lot more flexibility in ways to run it without killing people. Most of it is rated for direct burial or sunlight exposure. The trick is to make it look nice. For some parts of the deck, I ended up with low-voltage wiring in conduit just for looks (run from floor to switch to BBQ roof).

https://www.lowes.ca/product/landscape-lighting-cable/southwire-100-ft-14-gauge-2-conductor-landscape-lighting-cable-219024?&cm_mmc=shopping_google-_-6444651998-_-76957851997-_-pla-903811016139&gclid=CjwKCAjwh472BRAGEiwAvHVfGsqIpBS-7goK7QL2436yLo8Ayvp5m8eYG4CgRc5HflV86va6HtDyFxoChjoQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

All of the LED strips I have ever bought were purchased in the US. Not sure right now, but in the past, what was $150 down there was $600+ up here. Most are hitlights. Some sections were starting to fail on the deck lights after four years which annoyed me. If I was doing it again, instead of high density LED strips, I would probably go with the low density strips and double them up so if a segment fails (three lights), you have a dim spot not a black spot.

 

[J_F]

could start with some amazon stuff to see if you like it

Amazon.ca

 

[bakaboy]

Spent the long weekend cleaning up the swimming hole.

 

[GreyGhost]

Spent the long weekend cleaning up the swimming hole.

View attachment 43164

Does it go blue when it settles? How deep is it?