May 30 2007
Some minor renos
At the end of our driveway we have a strange little angular shed the roof of which connects with the house wall. It looks like the remnants of what was once a carport, but it provides a nice little shelter from the elements for the usual household details like garbage and recycling.
The shed had very little natural light as there were no windows, and the only light would originate from behind anyone entering the shed via it’s one door under the overhang. Additionally the blank wall staring up the driveway was always a sore point for me, as it’s bland as hell.
Yesterday saw the first in a series of minor modifications to this shed to make it both more usable and less of an eyesore. I cut a 16″x34″ hole in the front face and installed some glass brick (or glass blocks) and then threw a bit of trim around it. The second stage of “beautification” will have to wait until the shed is painted, as the plan calls to add a trellis up and around the newly created window.
If you look at the picture there is a second blank wall behind the strollers (on the right), we are considering adding a second glass brick window to this wall (as a real window would give us a fantastic view of the truck our neighbors have had parked there for the last year), but we’re not 100% on that just yet.
Looks excellent! I would never have thought of glass block for that application but it suits it really well…
“beautification”? … Come on … admit it … this is just an excuse to go out and buy yourself some kewl power tools
Looks different from what I expected … actually is surprisingly effective. I’ll have to pop over and see how much brighter the inside is.
My memory sucks, so it looks like it’s always been there. But dad taught me that’s a compliment for renovations.
It’s a lot smaller than I pictured it in my minds eye, and on it’s own it seems rather tiny, I keep forgetting latticework will soon surround it, and should break up the big flat boring wall thing pretty effectively.
Dad: Beautification? Nah, that’s accurate. The idea is to transform as much of the rear perimeter of the house into our “urban garden“, and this serves as the transition point from the front to the rear. We’re hoping to give the shed a bit of a “cottage” look, and will likely install a few planters along the foot of the shed for more vines to climb up the lattice work.
The power tools are needed anyway for the basement work so they were a forgone conclussion anyway. I’m getting tired of asking people to borrow their tools, it adds all sorts of dead time to a project.
-GRIN-
It was a nice intro to basic woodworking, and I’m feeling a little better about tackling the basement. Still pending for the shed is the relocation of the exterior lighting for the house, a light inside the shed and some organization of the interior (shelving and other little odds and sods to maximize the use of space inside).
The window in the second blank wall is in question mainly because I was considering mounting some bike racks to hang the bicycles we’re supposed to be picking up, and I don’t want a window covered by bikes.
Going to need some measurements before tackling that idea.
KD: I love glass blocks. LOVE THEM, they carry light really well and offer a private and secure alternative for windows. The few B&Es I’ve come across at work where bad guys tried to go through glass block typically resulted in what we term an “attempted actual” and significant loss of blood for the poor bad guy.
The basement windows are next in the glass block queue, but they’ll be a tad more irritating as I’ll have to use cement for their installation.
Mike: Thanks man! And Ted Sr. is right, I’m a little bummed that it fits well. it’s only inside the shed that the new lumber stands out.
This is all just a build up for the basement, right?
Looks great BTW.
Piet: Ayup. Lisa and I were discussing the basement last night. Need to figure out the floorplan of the rec-room to coincide with my workshop (door placement), but we’re going to be shifting everything out of the basement and tearing down the existing drywall (both to locate two small leaks we have, and to install some proper power/phone/data connections - presently there is ONE outlet in the two “finished” walls. Not one each mind you, just one. We figure this is inadequate for both the rec-room and the workshop.
You can count on me documenting that project as it goes.
When it’s all said and done, wont it be nice to have a place you can lock yourself in, turn up the Pouges and play with shiny things?
Have you been thinking of a name, like the Bat cave, cone of silence,
fortress of solitude? I only ask because my areas have cool names, like “the garage” and “the bathroom”.
Hehe, cool names? How about “the grave“, it’s underground and deals with the undead…seems fitting.
My shed is called The Governor General’s Mansion. No chicks allowed. No chick stuff. If I can’t kill you or myself with it, it’s not allowed in the GG’s mansion. My wife pointed out that I can’t kill anybody with motorcycle oil…that’s why she’s not allowed in. She rules the rest of the Urban Peasant Conscript Militia Compound as the Prime Minister(You see, I have all of the theoretical power and authority, she has the real usable authority and people actually care about her opinion. Me, I just sign and rubber stamp things. It’s been pointed out that I probably shouldn’t take any more political science courses).
Back to point, that looks quite nice. I might just do some similar mods to that around our place.