# Guy and Gina's New Home



## MT Stringer (Aug 15, 2012)

Our kids bought a home just outside of Tulsa, Oklahoma. It is not new, but it is a custom built home. The previous owner built it from the ground up. He is a contractor and said "I know where every nail is in this house." :grin:

It does look nice, until you start looking really close at all the details.

After a few hours and a good tour, we all now realize he built this house using a lot of stuff left over from previously built homes. The kitchen is custom built - no factory built cabinets, and it looks really nice.

So what's up? Several things.

1) Lots of electrical outlets all over the place don't have cover plates; in the house and the shop.

2) The base board trim in several rooms is either partially done or none at all. As is the base boards in one closet.

3) There are only a couple of doors in the whole house.

Today, we started by unloading my tools and started setting up shop. Speaking of shop, that thing is huge! :surprise: I could only wish for something this big to work in. AND that is only the front part. the back part had two car lifts in it and was the mechanical portion. It has three large overhead doors for access to the rear of the property!

I set up my portable worktable and another table Guy had that I had given him previously. Fortunately, the previous owner left his table saw for us to use for now. He will come get it in a couple of weeks. He also left a Craftsman radial arm saw. That stays. UGH! It is basically frozen. We can't get it to move to make angled cuts, or bevel cuts, or re-position the blade for rip cuts. But it does make good cross cuts and the motor runs just fine!

After a trip to the big box store, we came home with base board trim, lots of elect covers and a few other things...like a new air compressor! :grin:

Guy was exited to begin setting up his shop tools and dove right in. Even though they have been here for 6 weeks, they are still moving in and bring one load at a time from their farm about 50 miles south east of Tulsa.

My sweetie and her daughter spent a while installing the cover plates. This place is a lot safer now.

I cut and installed the base board in the closet and my sweetie filled nail holes and caulked the trim. Other trim pieces have been primed and will be ready to install tomorrow.

Tomorrow is looking to be a good day for the trim and paint guys as we move from room to room finishing up the details! :surprise::grin:

Finally, my cabinet installer noticed some of the doors in the kitchen needed to be adjusted. She spent about an hour working on them. They look nice now! :smile:


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## Bushwhacker (Jun 16, 2009)

MT Stringer said:


> Our kids bought a home just outside of Tulsa, Oklahoma. It is not new, but it is a custom built home. The previous owner built it from the ground up. He is a contractor and said "I know where every nail is in this house." :grin:
> 
> It does look nice, until you start looking really close at all the details.
> 
> ...


I hope this isn't where the closet doors need to be cut off???


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## difalkner (Jan 3, 2012)

That shop is huge, Mike!! You could probably put mine and yours in there a few times and still have room left over. 

I'm surprised it passed inspection to sell with outlet covers missing. 20+ years ago I had a rent house (my old house) and when I sold it the inspector made me replace a couple of cracked outlet covers (the last tenants were rough!). Cracked, not missing - I think he would have croaked if they were missing! LOL!


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## JFPNCM (Dec 13, 2009)

Agree with David on the inspection question or was one not required? Definitley would be an issue in Oregon unless it was a straight cash sale.

Great shop.


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## AndyL (Jun 3, 2011)

Wow, that workshop is quite a space. That portable work table looks really handy.


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## chessnut2 (Sep 15, 2011)

I'm sure that Guy is tickled pink with the place, having that great garage. Gina, not so much. But when you get done finishing up the inside, I'm sure she'll be a lot more comfortable. I just hope that the things you can see are the only problems there. My son buying a house "as is" is how come I know some about plumbing, wiring, and floor joists. Good luck, and have fun working with your loved ones.


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## crittergitter (Nov 16, 2011)

*Craftsman Radial arm saw recall*

FYI..Craftsman RAS are no more safe or dangerous as any radial arm saw of the era, but Craftsman was singled out for a class action law suit and lost. Emerson tool was Craftsman's main power tool supplier during the 50s-80s so they were hit with the action. They set aside funding to retrofit all previous craftsman radial arm saws with current guards and anti kickback devices. Any that were too old to be retrofit were subject to buyout for $100 apiece. They have since run out of most of the retrofit kits so now they will give you the choice to keep the saw as is and acknowledge that it is unsafe, or render it unusable (by shipping them the motor and carriage) and they will give you $100.

google ...radialarmsawrecall
Craftsman Radial Arm Saw Recall


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## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

You scared the heck out of me Mike , as I thought you were going to tell us you had to build another kitchen 

That shop is insane ! What a dream it would be to have one like that .


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## thomas1389 (Jan 4, 2012)

chessnut2 said:


> I'm sure that Guy is tickled pink with the place, having that great garage. Gina, not so much. But when you get done finishing up the inside, I'm sure she'll be a lot more comfortable. I just hope that the things you can see are the only problems there. My son buying a house "as is" is how come I know some about plumbing, wiring, and floor joists. Good luck, and have fun working with your loved ones.


Uh, Chessnut2, just to clarify, do you mean Guy is tickled pink to have the great garage, but not so much tickled to have Gina?
Or do you mean Gina not so much tickled to have the great garage?
Please excuse, I just wanted to be sure.


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## MT Stringer (Aug 15, 2012)

difalkner said:


> That shop is huge, Mike!! You could probably put mine and yours in there a few times and still have room left over.
> 
> I'm surprised it passed inspection to sell with outlet covers missing. 20+ years ago I had a rent house (my old house) and when I sold it the inspector made me replace a couple of cracked outlet covers (the last tenants were rough!). Cracked, not missing - I think he would have croaked if they were missing! LOL!


Yes, there was an inspection, and actually, the previous owner had his a list and it was longer than the inspection list! They got it all worked out. The folks are actually building a smaller house just next door by a couple of acres. That is why the guy left the table saw. It has a BIG work table built around it and he comes over every now and then to make a few cuts.

We gave up on the radial arm saw. it is frozen. Crosscuts only. I even made a sacrificial top out of plywood scraps so I could use it. But today, I went to Harbor Freight and bought a new 10 inch miter saw. Set it in the place that held the previous saw and shimmed it to meet the long outfeed/infeed table. Made a few cuts and the joints look good.


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## MT Stringer (Aug 15, 2012)

Here are a few more pics of the woodshop area. Big work area around the table saw. The old fellow said that saw had been his dad's saw so it will eventually get moved but the work area stays.

I had no problem adjusting to the saw...and my Incra miter jig fits perfectly!

I got tired walking back and forth to the work bench to get my tools! :surprise::grin:


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## MT Stringer (Aug 15, 2012)

And here is the auto portion of the building. The guy had a car lift with a couple of old cars.
sorry for the blurry pics. The light was bad.


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## Nickp (Dec 4, 2012)

I'm moving in...


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## old55 (Aug 11, 2013)

Nickp said:


> I'm moving in...


I think we might all fit. It's enormous.


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## MT Stringer (Aug 15, 2012)

I stepped it off today from the front door to the opening leading into the back section...48 feet! :grin: And it is insulated!!! :surprise:>

And electrical outlets everywhere!

I think I may have Guy talked into a new table saw! Feel bad because he doesn't know how to use one. But I bet I could teach him. :surprise:


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## MT Stringer (Aug 15, 2012)

More piddling around! Yesterday, the girls painted the two closets. Out in the shop, the shelves were modified with a stiffener across the front edge. Makes 'em look purdy! And helps from sagging in the long run.

Gina did the finishing process on the baseboards and trim that will be installed shortly. Basically, it is a base coat and then a glaze that is brushed on and then brushed off with a dry brush.

Out in the shop, my sweetie and I spent about an hour shoring up a work bench in the auto shop portion of the building. I still don't know why that old fellow split the top of the bench over the span but he did and just screwed a piece of plywood scrap underneath. Well boys and girls, that is not the way to do it! When I checked it with a level, it was over 3/4 inch sagged in the middle. We attached a brace to keep the top level while it was being worked on. 

You can see from the pics that we attached a support block to a wall stud and then, cut an angle piece to fit under the table. Pocket screws to the rescue. I brought several lengths with me on the trip, so I used the 2 1/2 inchers to attach the brace. Now the bench is level and much stronger. My plan is to rip a piece of plywood and glue and nail it to the front edge to provide more strength. Doing things right! 

Today is trim day. The office needs the base boards and trim installed, so that is our plan...after sleeping to 10AM! :surprise::grin::grin::grin:


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## MT Stringer (Aug 15, 2012)

The closet shelves are back in place. The office has been trimmed out. My sweetie has been busy cleaning and lining the shelves and drawers in the kitchen with new liner material.

Out in the shop, I had two projects going today. I have started cutting the parts and sanding them to build a pair of saloon doors for the master bathroom that has no doors! And I started breaking down a sheet of maple plywood to build 6 pull out drawers to go in the custom built cabinets in the kitchen. The weather forecast is for cold and rain tomorrow, so we went shopping on Guy's nickel yesterday. Now we have all the goods to work with regardless of the weather outside.

On a side note, we went back to the big box store this evening, and came home with a new shop vac...and a new Rigid 10 inch table saw (R4512)! I guess we will be putting that thing together tomorrow! No doubt, I will be doing some teaching (table saw operation) over the next few days.

We might end up staying another week! :grin:

I have attached my drawings of the new pull out drawers. They are generic. Each cabinet will have to be custom fitted because no two cabinets are alike in this kitchen. :surprise: And we agreed to make the drawers with 8 inch sides instead of 9 1/2 as shown in the drawing.

When you build your own home, as the previous owner did, you can draw your plans any way you like! :surprise: I found this in one of the closets we painted.


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## MT Stringer (Aug 15, 2012)

It was a struggle, but we got it. :surprise::grin::grin::grin:

No one ever accused us of being engineers! :smile:


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## woodknots (Mar 7, 2012)

Necessity is the mother of invention - good thinking Mike


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## MT Stringer (Aug 15, 2012)

Spacers and drawer slide hardware being installed in three cabinets. My cabinet installer was hard at work!
The jig made installing the hardware a no math job.

Tomorrow I will be building the six drawers.


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## woodknots (Mar 7, 2012)

Nice work Mike - good thing your installer is so young - that position would just about do me in - not sure I'd be able to get up again.


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## MT Stringer (Aug 15, 2012)

vchiarelli said:


> Nice work Mike - good thing your installer is so young - that position would just about do me in - not sure I'd be able to get up again.


I wouldn't be who I am today without her!:surprise::grin:

The pot rack got delivered so it got installed also. :smile:


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## MT Stringer (Aug 15, 2012)

I spent some time today milling the parts for the six drawers.

So what do you do when your dado stack is 500 miles away. With 24 rabbets to cut, I went to the big box store and bought a 5 pack of circular saw blades (24T). I put four of them on Guy's new table saw and commenced to cutting rabbets! :surprise::grin::grin::grin:

I probably could have added the fifth blade but didn't want to stress the new motor. :smile:

It worked great. I made three passes for each rabbet.

Tomorrow the drawers will get assembled and installed. Well, after a little touch up work in the paint department.

I hope to finish the drawer job and move on to the next project(s). :surprise:


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## MT Stringer (Aug 15, 2012)

We have had a little help with our projects in the form of our great-great grandson. :grin:


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## honesttjohn (Feb 17, 2015)

Great great???????? There's an explanation there, yes?

Great originality on the blades. Looking good!


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## MT Stringer (Aug 15, 2012)

honesttjohn said:


> Great great???????? There's an explanation there, yes?
> 
> Great originality on the blades. Looking good!


OOPS One too many greats! Sorry about that.


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## MT Stringer (Aug 15, 2012)

And the beat goes on!

Too cold for me this morning (32F) so we slept in. Then it was all hands on deck. We got the drawers assembled, brought into the house and touched up. Man, I am liking all of this help.

Even got a shot of the Paint Dept putting the finishing touches on the drawers. Next up is to install the slides and put em in the cabinets.

All of the spacers are in place and ready for the drawers to be installed. Each cabinet was a little different requiring custom spacers. The doors will remain in place.


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## MT Stringer (Aug 15, 2012)

AND...we are done with this project! :smile:

The drawers slid right in with no problems. They look right at home!:grin: No more digging for stuff back in the back of the cabinet!

On to the next project. Stay tuned. :grin:


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## woodknots (Mar 7, 2012)

Nice job by the entire crew, Mike.

Off-topic and I don't mean to hijack your thread, but, you think 32F is too cold? This is what I faced this morning: -7C (that's about 19F) and a ton of snow. Yup, that's me blowing out the driveway today - remember that I just spent 5 weeks in Florida


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## honesttjohn (Feb 17, 2015)

Never could put drawer slides in so they looked and worked right. Good Show. 

Your Supervisor should get a bonus for getting it done on time and passing inspection. Now, was it within budget?? lol


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## thomas1389 (Jan 4, 2012)

MIke, For Pete's sake, slow down. I'm worn out just looking at your accomplishments. Very nice job, though, and it must feel great to have everyone around you, helping or not. That's what life's all about.


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## MT Stringer (Aug 15, 2012)

thomas1389 said:


> MIke, For Pete's sake, slow down. I'm worn out just looking at your accomplishments. Very nice job, though, and it must feel great to have everyone around you, helping or not. That's what life's all about.


Ha ha. Thanks. But we are running out of time. We are thinking about staying a couple of extra days. :grin:


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## JFPNCM (Dec 13, 2009)

@vchiarelli

Reminds me of my days in Wisconsin.


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## MT Stringer (Aug 15, 2012)

So...I needed to make some trim for a door.

I cut two pieces of material 6 inches wide x 62 3/4 inches.

Then I clamped the boards to the work table and ran the router around three sides, flipped them around and routed the other side. A cove bit was used to cut the profile.

Next, I set the fence at 2 3/4 inches and ripped two identical pieces from the board. That resulted in the four pieces I needed.

Finished install will come in a post soon.


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## MT Stringer (Aug 15, 2012)

Happy Birthday to Gina. She turned 41 this week. While all the projects were going on, and their daily life in full swing, and still moving stuff from their farm to the house, I cut out the parts to a bench I designed in Sketchup. She had no idea I was working on it. In fact, she came out to the shop yesterday evening to get a sanding block and caught me sanding the top. :surprise: Again, she had no idea of what I was up to.

This morning, they made another run to the farm with trailer in tow and more help. While they were gone, we assembled the bench and finished sanding and set it in place.

Needless to say, I got a big hug!:smile:


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## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

Nice work Mike . Amazing what you can build with a minimum of tools . That top with the bench dog holes and your small pocket hole jig , and your building some nice furniture


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## MT Stringer (Aug 15, 2012)

I am leaving the portable worktable setup here for the next visit. :surprise::grin: ... and a pair of the modified clamps so Guy can use the table. He has a small welder and both he and his son in law know how to weld so they can make more if needed.


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## MT Stringer (Aug 15, 2012)

And with this post, our visit here is complete. The final project was the original request and one of the reasons we came to visit.

As you can see in the pics, the master bathroom didn't have a door. The design is the best I could come up with after an internet search and a brainstorming session over dinner.

The bottom line is they like the swinging doors. And they are level! :surprise::grin::grin::grin:

They decided to do a two tone stain and the finish is yet to be applied (except for the boards attached to the wall). Gina will finish it. I told her I will be waiting for a final pic.

The opening was trouble from the beginning. One side was off plumb by at least 1/4 inch or more. The other side was off by the same, but the opposite. The first order of business was to get the two mounting boards installed plumb. Once installed the opening was 31 3/4" at the top of the board and bottom! :smile:

We used double action spring hinges from the big box store to create swinging saloon style doors. They were easy to build but a pain to install. I hope I don't ever have to do this again. I made a jig to insure the boards were mounted to the wall in the exact same spot. A second jig acted as a spacer for the door to sit on as it was installed. At one point we all had a hand on the door, spacer, level or drill driver! :surprise:

I made some trim so The frame could be cased out. Now the gaps are hidden and everything is plumb.

I included a picture from the internet that gave me inspiration for the doors.

Packing up and heading home tomorrow. It has been a quick two weeks, but it has been fun. I need a new sign "Will work for food"! :surprise::grin::grin::grin:


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## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

Well Mike , could you take a day off when you arrive home . Your sure making me feel guilty


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

Great projects Mike. Fun to do stuff on a family visit.


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## roofner (Aug 1, 2010)

Hey mike that's a nice bench could you post your sketchup file?


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## AndyL (Jun 3, 2011)

You certainly have got a lot done in just 2 weeks Mike. I do like those doors, and the bench is great too.


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## MT Stringer (Aug 15, 2012)

roofner said:


> Hey mike that's a nice bench could you post your sketchup file?


Thanks Gary. We are on the road today. I will post it when I get home later this evening.


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

Nice job on the saloon doors, both making and hanging. I have only had to hang one set in my career, alone, and agree they are a bear. They have to be fastened good as they take a beating in use. (lots of backing for the hinges). You figured out a good way to trim them out.
Thanks for documenting the project.

Do you get a breather, or have a new project already lined up?

Herb


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## roofner (Aug 1, 2010)

Thanks mike love your work very inspiring my project list keeps growing. Hoping weather finally striating out.


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## MT Stringer (Aug 15, 2012)

@roofner - Here ya go, a created a new post so folks don't have to wade through this one. The Sketchup file is attached to it.

Good luck. I hope some of ya get some inspiration from this project.
Mike

http://www.routerforums.com/project-plans-how/110849-simple-bench.html#post1506737


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## roofner (Aug 1, 2010)

Thanks Mike quick response . I wanted something like this for shoes at my front door.


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## MT Stringer (Aug 15, 2012)

Herb Stoops said:


> Do you get a breather, or have a new project already lined up?
> 
> Herb


Ha ha. Actually, I do have a project pending. If (and when) I get my tools back in their assigned places, I have some shelves to build for a trailer. :smile:


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## kklowell (Dec 26, 2014)

You did more in two weeks than I would in 6 months... after I spent a few months learning how to do it in the first place!


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