Finally, the moment we’ve all been waiting for…

Today, Lee & Katelynn show off the beautiful results of all their hard work and creative use of “treasures” in the conclusion of this 3-part series.

You can catch up on the back story here in Part 1.

Enjoy! – Rick

Decorating to suit the venue

With the walls and ceiling white and the floor poured, we were just days away from the big day. All that was left was the setup!

Luckily, after our big cleanout, we had an eclectic collection of old farm stuff. A tub that had been hauled out of the barn for my sister’s wedding was recommissioned to hold a couple kegs from the local brewery. An old washing machine was used to hold extra bottles and cups. (I was surprised to find that there were no leaks from either of these despite their decades of being forgotten).

Setting up the tables in a manner that accommodated everyone and didn’t exclude anyone was a challenge. We began with a CAD drawing of the reception area of the barn, then added tables with chair and people buffers and arranged until we found an acceptable floor plan. In practice, it took a little more effort and problem solving before everything was in a suitable spot.

Once the layout was complete, tables were covered with gingham table cloths in various colours, my grandmother created apple and cherry blossom centre pieces in old pickle jars and milk bottles and jars of jam were placed at each setting as a take-away favour.

At every table, we placed cards and pushpins and our guests were asked to write their best wishes and advice on the cards, then post each somewhere on the barn wall.

In the corner, we setup an apple ladder (which we still use in the orchard to this day) and hung wedding photos of our relatives.  My grandfather (who is now 90 years old) had long ago rescued a 4 foot wide saw blade from my great grandfather’s mill and hung it as a backdrop for the gift table.

Wine was placed on each table, but there were extra bottles that needed a home. My soon-to-be mother-in-law found “The Kelvinator”, an old icebox, in the corner and gave it a nice white paint job. The extra bottles of wine were cleverly hidden away in the Kelvinator until they were needed.  Accompanying the Kelvinator was an old apple barrel, another piece of history we still use on the farm to this day.

Square dancing and fiddling

Following the dinner and dessert, the night’s entertainment was a square dance.  My father-in-law became interested in playing the fiddle after my wife left home (to fill the hole in his heart, she claims), and has attended several Gordon Stobbe fiddle camps in the past few years.  Gordon is an excellent square dance caller, especially for the beginner square dancers, so we were very pleased when he agreed to call for us.

The fiddle music was provided by a group of young fiddlers from the Fredericton area, who requested as payment a donation to help fund their fiddling trip to France.

The square dance area was next to the mow, and almost a foot lower. My father-in-law provided some salvaged wrought-iron railing to separate the two areas and to act as a barrier in case the dancing got out-of-hand.

As the evening drew near, lanterns were lit to illuminate the path from the barnyard.

On reflection

Now that nearly a year has passed since the cleaning process began, we’ve had some time to reflect.  Was it worth it? Yes, definitely.

We had a fantastic venue for our wedding that provided the welcoming farm-y atmosphere that we were aiming for.  We’ve received many compliments since; the best comment being that the whole affair was kind of like being in Alice in Wonderland, without the whole Queen of Hearts drama.

The weather, although cold and somewhat rainy at the beginning of the day, gave an ethereal atmosphere that we couldn’t have planned or executed better.  And now, almost a year later, the barn is an excellent place for gatherings, apple cider making, and storage for the orchard’s u-pick (don’t worry, we keep it organized and clean!).

And if this process has moved anyone to want to do a similar thing,
there’s a whole second level of the barn waiting to be purged!

To read more about the Big Red Barn Dance:

Big Red Barn Dance – Part 1

Big Red Barn Dance – Part 2

For more (and larger) pictures on Lee and Katelynn’s barnstorming adventure check out their “Time to clean out the barn!” forum thread at Old House Web.
Wedding photos: chantalarseneau.com

If you’re just tuning in, Lee & Katelynn, a couple of young engineers, took on the challenge of holding their wedding reception in a barn filled with 50 years of accumulated “stuff”. You can catch up on the story here in Part 1.

Today, Lee gets into the nitty gritty of whitewashing the barn interior and preparing to pour a new concrete floor in part 2 of this 3-part series.

Enjoy! – Rick

Old-time solution

With the barn cleaned out it was time to make it presentable enough for a  wedding reception. Pricing out paint for such a large area can be quite a shock, but there is an old-time solution: whitewash. Used in barns as a disinfectant, whitewash is a mixture of lime, salt, and water that dries to a chalky white appearance. Because of the ingredients it is much cheaper than paint, but also less durable.

There are hundreds of different recipes online with various additives to help make it longer lasting and less prone to rubbing off but we used the basic ingredients, which resulted in a very effective finish.

Prior to applying the whitewash, it was necessary to clean many years’ accumulation of grime and cobwebs from the walls and ceiling. A pressure washer would have been quick and easy, but in May it would have taken too long to dry. A combination of vacuuming and sweeping, along with lots of elbow grease cleaned the walls and ceiling to a point where the whitewash could be applied. Scraping old whitewash off the ceiling with a stiff bristle broom is quite the workout!

Due to the grittiness of the whitewash mixture, some trial and error was necessary before an easy and consistent application method was found. Paint brushes tended to gather dirt from the walls and even industrial paint sprayers clogged up because of their fine nozzles and filters. We found that using a manual-pump garden sprayer allowed us to get a thick coat on quickly without having to stop too often to clean out the nozzle.

When first applied, the whitewash appeared grey, but given a few days to dry, it whitened considerably. If you’re considering doing this, be sure to wear overalls, lung and eye protection as this stuff will stick to everything and is not fun to breathe.

Concrete progress

With the whitewashing complete, it was time to look at the floor. Since the original purpose of the barn was to house cattle, the existing concrete floor was uneven, cracked, and completely missing in some places. We filled in several of the low spots with insulation and levelled the floor with many, many (many!) wheelbarrows of sand.

After laying down a vapour barrier and covering the floor with wire mesh, we hired a contractor to pour and smooth out the concrete. I would say they did an excellent job!

Since the whitewash is based off of salt, it wouldn’t have been a very good coating for the metal support posts and manure trolley track that runs through the barn at ceiling level. Even though the trolley hadn’t been used in ages we thought it was a very interesting piece of history, and after raising it so the taller members of my fiancée’s family didn’t bonk their head, it was given several coats of white paint.

We were only days away from our wedding, and with the barn spic and span we had conquered our greatest hurdle. The last phase was to gather our treasure from the cleanout and decorate.

Check back for the conclusion of the Big Red Barn Dance – Part 3 next week.

Big Red Barn Dance  – Part 1
 
 

As I mentioned in my Stonehaven Life 2012 Preview, Lee & Katelynn, a couple of young and energetic engineers, took on a mission last year that some of us (like me, and apparently Lee’s father) would have likely dismissed as “crazy”.

Today, Lee lays the groundwork of how they transformed a junk-filled barn into a fabulous venue for their wedding reception in part 1 of this 3-part series.

Enjoy! – Rick

Pitching the idea

In early February, as my fiancée and I were sorting through wedding details, I asked, “What if we held the reception in the barn?“, to which my fiancée responded with an incredulous “UGH” – but, before getting into the reasons behind that response, a bit of history is in order.

The barn in question was built on the family farm in 1916 by my great grandfather, Hazen Everett. Two post and beam barns were combined and rebuilt with a gambrel roof for hay storage, concrete cow stanchions, and knob and tube wiring.

My grandfather took over the farm in the 1960′s and had faithfully kept the barn in excellent condition. The exterior shingle siding was coated with a mixture of linseed oil and iron oxide (also known as rust, hence the red colour so prevalent with barns).

Cool reception

Back to the “UGH”.  It’s not that my fiancée was opposed to having a wedding reception in the barn; in fact, we had planned a square dance with live fiddling music as our reception dance, so having it in a barn was quite fitting and atmospheric.

Originally, our plan had been to rent a tent and set it up next to the orchard, similar to my sister’s wedding, which was also held on the family apple farm.
However, if you have ever priced out a 20×30 tent and dance floor you would know that it becomes a very significant portion of your wedding budget and can mean sacrificing things that are way more fun.

So why the disheartening response to my brilliant suggestion? Obviously the size, condition and suitability of the barn weren’t the problem. The problem was what was in the barn.

My grandfather focused on the apple orchard side of the farm, so the barn hadn’t been used as a cow barn for many decades. Over the years it was used to work on farm machinery, as a holding spot for scrap metal and as storage for miscellaneous objects as other buildings on the farm were emptied and re-purposed.

Trash and treasures

Over the half-century since the cows left, the barn had accumulated nearly 2,200 square feet of trash and treasures. To use the barn for our intended purpose, we would have to empty all of this area, a huge task that definitely required help.

  After getting my grandfather’s blessing, we spoke with my father about cleaning out the barn. At first the suggestion of cleaning out the barn was thought to be crazy, but after sleeping on it for a couple nights my father started to see the potential in the idea.

Indoor space is always in short supply on a farm, but by cleaning this space we would get our reception area and my father would get a new space to use (as well as guaranteed cleaning help!).

Everything but the… no, wait… there it is!

Progress was slow at first. Unlike those TV shows, there was no big truck to fill and make everything disappear. Most of the stuff we were dealing with was construction material, old machinery and appliances, or metal to go to recycling. Over 3 months stuff slowly disappeared from the barn with help from friends and neighbours. As we cleaned up we came across many interesting items.

Left: A cast iron sink, about 4 feet long and perfect for our upcoming kitchen renovation. Right: A wooden pung – just needs a bit of repair, a willing horse and a driver with nerves of steel.
 

By this point it was the end of April, and our wedding was less than a month away. Most people would have had their reception area booked and decorations ready, but for us it was time for the next phase: making it presentable enough for a wedding reception!

 
Check out Big Red Barn Dance – Part 2.
 
 
Wedding photo: chantalarseneau.com
 
 

Well, now that we’ve polished off the last of the turkey and we’re scrounging around in the bottom layer of holiday chocolates, it’s time to contemplate the year ahead.

2011 was hectic for some of us and a relentless economic challenge for many others. We were "#Occupied" and pre-occupied by an unprecedented wave of protests, political crises and natural disasters around the globe.

While we’re not out of the woods yet, it feels to me like there are some positive changes in the wind for 2012.

That said, I want to take this opportunity to thank you for following my Stonehaven Life blog and give you a sneak preview of a few things in the works for 2012.

Renovation Projects

Meet Lee & Katelynn…

…a pair of young engineers with a creative DIY streak, fabulous sense(s) of humour(s [?]) and two goofy greyhounds that do the occasional sleepover at our house.

These newlywed homeowners have graciously agreed to share some of their renovation explorations here on Stonehaven Life as we head into 2012.

BIG RED BARN DANCE

The venue for their wedding in spring of 2011 was next to the apple orchard of the family farm. The beautiful big red barn was the obvious choice for the reception and square dance to follow.

Uh… except for this.

Not to be discouraged by a few odds and ends cluttering up the place, they undertook the monumental task of mucking out the machinery, retro appliances and stuff that had accumulated over decades. They tarted the place up with real whitewash and poured a new concrete floor.

Just another day on the farm for them.

In a series starting in January, Lee & Katelynn will share their experience of transforming the barn and decorating it for the one of the best-ever wedding receptions I’ve experienced.

Big Red Barn Dance – Part 1

AND THEN THEY TAKE ON THE KITCHEN

Undaunted by the barn project where they found everything under the sun – including this awesome kitchen sink – Lee & Katelynn are plunging into 2012 with a full-on kitchen renovation inspired by a lack of insulation.

Their home, which was originally a cottage built in the early 1900’s offers lots of opportunities for them to get creative and and put their engineering know-how to work.

Once the dust settles and they come up for air, they’ll be sharing that experience in another series so stay tuned.

Woodworking Plans

WASHSTAND VANITY

I’m finally getting around to compiling the photos, drawings and instructions to complete woodworking plans for the washstand vanity that I built for our bathroom renovation last year.

The vanity is made of stained pine and was designed to suit the age and style of our old farmhouse.

These detailed woodworking plans are now available.

MEDICINE CABINET 

The medicine cabinet is a companion project to the washstand vanity but would be suitable for almost any bathroom.

It’s an easy-to-build project that can be wall-mounted or inset into the stud-space.

Look for these Medicine cabinet plans in spring of 2012.

Dealing with recycling is an everyday event that we all deal with.

It seemed that the blue and grey bins that we put out for pickup were always under a pile of other stuff or stacked on top of each other which made recycling a hassle. So when we renovated our mudroom I designed a cabinet for our recycling bins that makes them easy to use and to get to the curb.

One of my New Years resolutions for 2012 is to make these project plans available on the Stonehaven Life site.

Tips and Ideas

Of course I’ll continue to share the usual assortment of tips and ideas as well.

One of the trends that I see on the horizon is the rise of the "sharing economy" which could shape the way we approach our transportation, housing and lifestyle activities. It will be interesting to see how this develops over the next decade as we adapt to the new realities of the changing global economy.

As always, I invite everyone to comment on the blog and to share your ideas on how you DIY@home.

Happy New Year!

Rick

When we renovated our bathroom recently, it included moving the tub to increase the headroom under a sloped ceiling. Since were we using the same length of bathtub, we had to deal with the space left at the end of the tub.

Rather than just fill the whole thing in, we decided to use the space to our advantage and add a shelf for shampoo bottles and other shower and bath supplies.

Planning

After consulting the plumber, we determined we could safely move the tub 6″ away from the sloped wall without disturbing the existing cast iron tub drain and stack. Even that 6″ distance makes a big difference to a six-footer like me.

The height and size of the shelf was driven by the tiles. We had decided on 6″ x 6″ tiles for the shower walls so I planned the shelf height at about 5 1/2″ above the top edge of the tub – just slightly less than a full tile. This tile line is consistent around the entire bathtub area.

Framing

Once the demolition was complete and the insulation installed, the next step was to frame in the space for the tub. I used 2 x 6 for framing and built a short “wall” that was 5″ higher than the tub.

My plan was to use DenShield backer board for the tub area which is 1/2″ thick, so that was calculated into the overall height of the framing.

The end wall which runs from the floor up to the sloped ceiling was added next. It’s just two – 2 x 6 studs with a 1/2″ plywood spacer between them which made a typical 4 1/2″ thick wall once the sheathing was added to both sides.

The tub framing was nailed to the existing studs and I was fortunate enough to have a roof rafter in just the right place to give me something to nail the end wall to. The house was framed with full dimension rough lumber and I had to add furring strips and shims to square up the shower area prior to installing the tile backer. But that’s another story.

Backer board and drywall

Once the tub was in place and insulation finished, I installed the tile backer throughout the shower area and put regular drywall on the outside face of the end wall. I planned the installation so the horizontal shelf backer extends over the vertical piece below and the wall backers overhang the edges of the shelf sides and back.

I used a couple of cedar shims under the shelf backer to give it a very slight tilt towards the tub so any water would run off the front instead collecting at the back.

Shelf material

My original intention was to put tiles on the shelf surface itself but decided in the end to use a 1/2” thick solid surface material called HI-MACS. You could also use granite, Corian or any other waterproof “stone” or tile material.

Once the backer was installed I measured the space, allowing for the overhang at the front to clear the vertical tiles and mortar bed and a small radius on the exposed front corner. I emailed a dimensioned drawing to the supplier and they ordered the piece for me.

Tile installation

The full enclosure was tiled, leaving the tiles immediately next to the shelf until last. The HI-MACS shelf was installed using thinset mortar, just like laying tile. I then cut and installed the row of tiles between the shelf and the tub deck. The wall tiles were installed after the shelf so that any water dripping down would hit the sloped shelf and run off into the tub.

I didn’t want any exposed or sharp tile edges so I used 2″ x 6″ edge tiles on the narrow edge of the end wall. The roundover edges are flush to the face of the tiles on the shelf side of the 6″ wall, making a nice rounded corner. The outer row of edge tiles is a continuation of the edging that caps off the entire tiled shower area.

After the mortar set, the tiles were grouted and the joints between the shelf and the surrounding tiles were caulked.

Finishing

The lower part of the room has bead board which stops just shy of the outside corner capped with a small chair rail.

I made a corner moulding out of 3/4″ x 7/8″ pine with a rabbet cut in the back shallow enough to keep the moulding proud of both the tile and the bead board and attached it with panel adhesive. The joint between the tile and moulding is sealed with caulk to protect it from any potential moisture.

We’re very happy with how it turned out and it makes an attractive and useful addition to our new bathroom.

 
 
 
Related posts for our Bathroom Renovation

Tiling a Sloped Shower Wall

Do I need “Ditra” under Floor Tiles

Plumbing Access Camouflage

MDF Baseboard Radiator Cover

I can really get behind re-purposing and recycling stuff that might otherwise end up getting tossed away.

I’m also a big fan of creative design ideas that keep us from getting too set in our ways and falling into the “that’s the way we always do it” trap.

Rachael Ranney, host of {Re}habitat on Buildipedia’s “Go Green” Channel, shows how to turn an old chair into an eye-catching piece of furniture in her “Swanky Leather Belt Lounge Chair” video.

Easy DIY project

This looks to be a pretty straightforward DIY project that would work for a variety of chair styles. The main criteria would be to use sturdy wooden chairs with square seat and/or back frames.

If you’re anything like me, you may have a collection of old belts cluttering up your closet to get you started. All kinds of belts are easy to find at thrift stores and discount outlets for a reasonable price.

Belts running side to side are stapled to the inside of the frame on one side, stretched across the seat and stapled to the other side.

Belts that run front to back are woven through the stretched belts and stapled the same way.

You can find the 7 step by step instructions for this project below the video player on the Buildipedia site.

I’m thinking a set of “belted” dining room chairs would look fantastic.

This project idea is the result of a recent bathroom reno. The old steel shroud on our baseboard radiator had to come off to get the plaster, lath and wood shavings out of the wall behind it.

If you’ve taken one of these out before, you know it involves cutting things apart. Damage aside, it was also deemed too ugly to exist in the new decor. So I had to come up with a new cover that would suit the look without a lot of effort or expense.

Why MDF?

First of all, DO NOT DO THIS WITH AN ELECTRIC BASEBOARD HEATER!

This is a hot water radiator so the temperature stays well below combustion levels of the wood components the pipes come in contact with like studs and joists.

I built this from a 12" x 96" x 3/4" piece of MDF that many building centres sell as "shelf" material, usually for less than $10.00.

MDF is stable and easy to work with. You should wear a mask when cutting and sanding it because of the fine particles and resins that bind it together.

Construction details

The pictures and drawings pretty much tell the story so I’ll focus on the few details that you can’t see. Your situation may be slightly different and you may want to adapt some of these ideas to work for your particular site.

All the components were pre-painted before installation.  

• I installed a 7"high plywood back (pre-painted black) directly to the studs behind the pipe before the tile floor and drywall were installed. The drywall and bead board rest on top of this and the joint is concealed by the radiator top.
• The end supports are made of two pieces glued together to make them 1 1/2" thick. I cut the pieces slightly oversized, and made the final cuts after they were glued to get clean edges. Once I determined where the pipe centre was (off the floor and wall) I drilled a 3/4" hole centred on those measurements. Then I used a jigsaw to cut a channel in the least visible location so the ends can slip over the pipe. I had a to cut off a few of the aluminum fins at each end to make enough space.
• The end supports were drilled and screwed to the baseboards using 2 1/2 screws.
• The rabbet on the back edge of the top makes it easier to get a tight fit to a wall that’s not perfectly flat. Ours bows out almost 3/8" in the middle. I marked a scribe line on the top and sanded to the line using a palm sander. Sanding off a 3/8" edge is a lot less work than a full 3/4". After a few test fits I finally had a result I could live with.
• The 1/4" MDF cleats keep the front cover vertical when it’s snapped into the roller clips. I located these so the front cover is just slightly recessed from the face of the end supports.
• The top is attached using 3/4" angle brackets. Each end has a bracket and three more are spaced evenly along the back edge to keep the top from sagging. The brackets were fastened to the top before installing it.  

What about corners or long runs?

Well…. this was a short, straight run and as simple as it gets. I have other rooms to do in the future that have one or both of these situations.

For a longer run, my inclination would be to add one or more "end" supports in a logical place – possibly centred on the wall or dividing the run in three depending on the situation.

As for corners, I would either redesign the end supports to eliminate the 20 degree slope, add a 1" x 1" block to fill in the gap at the slope or see if I could mitre the meeting edges to make a corner assembly.

If you’ve got more ideas why not share them in the comments.

Related Articles on our Bathroom renovation:

Tiling a Sloped Shower Wall

Do I Need “Ditra” Under Floor Tiles?

Plumbing Access Camouflage
 
 

The Build No-Sag Gates for your Porch woodworking plans are a big hit with pet owners, and the interest and feedback so far has exceeded my expectations.

I want to thank the fine folks who have purchased Stonehaven Life Woodworking Plans over the years, and to extend my appreciation to all my regular readers.

If this is your first visit, I invite you to have a look around.

I also thought this would be a good time to share some ideas and tips that I’ve discovered since I completed the Pet Gate plans.

Modification and Maintenance Tips

I just received some pictures and suggestions from Michael, an engineer and hobby woodworker, who recently finished and installed his pet gates built from my original plans.

Michael made some practical modifications for his gates that I felt would be helpful for those of you who are about to build your gates or are considering purchasing the plans.

BALUSTERS

Michael didn’t have ready access to 1 1/2″ stock for the balusters so he used 1 x 2 (3/4″ x 1 1/2″) stock instead. I didn’t even notice it from the pictures.

The 3/4″ thick balusters are centred (front to back) on the top and bottom rails and the 1 1/2″ width still contributes to the strength of the gate to help prevent sagging.

SQUARE EDGES (NOT ROUTED)

The routed edges on some gate components as shown in the plans are purely an aesthetic feature designed to match the porch railing details in our Porch Companion Plans .

Michael’s gates look great without routed edges or chamfers on the balusters.

There’s no question that going with a simplified look would reduce the amount of work involved and may be the right choice to suit your existing railings. The pictures show how these gates look with just slightly eased edges on all the components.

Slider Bolt Sleeve

Michael first contacted me to tell me about his idea to add a metal (or plastic) sleeve on the bolt for the slider knob. This has two big advantages:

• it protects the edges of slot in the Cap Rail and will prevent the threads from gouging the ends of the slot if the slider channels are a bit longer than intended.
• acts as a spacer to keep the knob slightly above the top of the rail (1/8″ – 1/4″ is good) and provides a positive stop to keep the knob from turning.

And I wasn’t at all surprised to read this in Michael’s recent email:

“Everyone has commented on how fancy the latch is!”

Great job Michael.

Side-mounted slider option

In the past few months since I published these Pet Gate plans I’ve also considered the possibility of locating the slider knob on the outside edge of the top rail. My reason for thinking about this option was for people who have large dogs that would be likely to put their paws up on the gate and could “learn” to open the slider.

I haven’t looked closely at what alterations are required for this, but if you’ve got a “jumper” that you think could make a great escape, let me know and I can help work out the details with you. If you’ve already done something similar, I’d love to see some pictures.

I also had an inquiry from a purchaser who was concerned about water sitting in the slider channel. The side-mounted slider knob would also minimize the amount of water that might get in.

An easy solution would be to drill drainage holes in the bottom of the slider channel. They would need to be located to drain between the balusters.

Even though our gates are protected to some degree by the porch roof, they get quite wet due to the prevailing wind. It hasn’t been an issue for us. We don’t use the slider in freezing weather for the same reasons we wouldn’t use any other type of latch.

Basic Slider Maintenance

As with anything mechanical, you need to do a bit of maintenance now and then to keep things working properly.

Our gates have been in place for over three years. This spring, the slider was a bit sluggish, so I removed the Cap Rail assemblies from the gates (leaving the gates in place) and disassembled them.

I gave all the contact surfaces a light sanding and applied a few more coats of paste wax.

I put them back together and reinstalled them on the gates. The whole process can be done in about 20 minutes.

If you’ve made modifications or improvements when building your No-Sag Pet Gates or have questions, you can share them using the comments section below or though the Stonehaven Life contact form.

Happy Woodworking!

Rick

I needed to provide access to the bathtub "wet wall" plumbing during a recent renovation. It had to be located in a highly visible place – right beside the flush where it was subject to close scrutiny.

Since we planned to add bead board panelling to the lower part of the wall, I figured I’d use it to my advantage to make an easily-removable panel to access the shutoffs if required.

Planning

Even though the original idea was conceived during the planning process, the actual logistics of how to accomplish it came into focus over the course of the reno.

I usually find good ideas get even better when you let them percolate for a while and visualize each step of the process, usually while doing some mundane task like pulling nails or painting. By the time I got to the drywalling stage, I had my plan.

Plywood frame

The opening is framed by a piece of 1/2" plywood to match the thickness of the drywall above it. The width and location of the access opening match the framing, so the roller catches that hold the panel in place could be attached directly to the studs.

The bottom of the opening is below the 5 1/4" baseboard height, which keeps the bottom of the panel in place.

I cut the access opening in the plywood with a jigsaw. I trimmed about 3/16" off each edge of the cut out piece on the table saw to make the backer panel for the bead board. This also gave me something solid to screw the toilet roll holder to. The plywood frame is screwed to the studs with 1 1/4" screws.

Installing the backer panel

Once the floor was finished, I installed the pre-painted bead board panelling, baseboards and chair rail moulding throughout the room, leaving the access panel to the very end. I also left the baseboard off below the access, to allow me to make adjustments as I was fitting the panel components.

The next step was to install the roller catches to the backer panel and make sure it would work as intended.

Before going any further, I drilled a 3/4" hole in the upper part of the backer so I could stick a finger in to pull the panel off again. I also added a couple of small cleats just above the baseboard to hold the backer panel flush to the back of the baseboard and keep it in place when I applied the beaded panelling.

Once the catches were in place and the backer panel fit was OK, I attached the baseboard with panel adhesive.

Bead board panelling

In order to fit the panelling, I first had to add a corner moulding. This was made by ripping a 7/8" wide strip from 3/4" stock and cutting a 1/4" x 1/2" rabbet in the back. The moulding is 1/8" proud of the 1/4" thickness of the bead board and the shower tiles.

The pre-primed tongue & groove beaded panelling is made of MDF and comes in 8 foot lengths that are a bit less than 8 inches wide.

I needed two widths, so I cut a couple of slightly-long pieces to start, since I knew the area was a bit out of square. I determined where the logical cut points would be to allow a joint somewhere near the middle. I dry fit the panels together and sanded the edges until I was happy with the fit.

I applied panel adhesive to the backer board, which was clipped into place, and pressed the panelling into the adhesive. I wedged a couple of thin cardboard shims under the bottom and at the corner joint to maintain a consistent gap around the edge.

Toilet roll holder

Once the adhesive was dry, I marked the position for the toilet roll holder and attached it according to the instructions.

Even up close, you can’t tell it’s removable.

All it takes to remove the panel, is a gentle tug on the toilet roll holder – which doubles as a convenient handle.

If you’re a hardy DIYer looking for a cheaper alternative to stone or other solid surface countertops, you might want to consider this unique alternative – concrete.

Concrete has almost unlimited creative potential for design ideas, colours and shapes.

I worked on a kitchen project a couple of years ago that featured a concrete island top with a sloping, curved shelf that rose out of the top at one end and rested on 6" high chrome supports like a turnpike ramp.

You can’t do THAT with Granite! 

Not for Everyone

While this is an intriguing idea, it’s obviously not for everyone. Here are a few things to consider before jumping in with both feet.

• Tops of typical sizes need to be about 2" thick (vs 1 1/4" for typical stone tops and 1 1/2" for Corian)
• Concrete tops are heavier than regular stone tops, so floors and cabinets need to be able handle the weight without sagging
• You need about 10 days to two weeks for proper curing and finishing
• You’ll need 3 or 4 hefty helpers at various stages of the process to help with the pour, flip the cast tops for polishing, and to install them

How it’s Done

Just like any other pre-cast concrete job, you need to start with a form.

Concrete tops are poured upside-down in a custom form – melamine works well because of it’s very smooth surface. Any imperfections in the form will translate directly to the finished surface, so it needs to be precise to minimize polishing.

Instructables has a very detailed step-by-step how-to article with lots of pictures on building a concrete island top.

Professionals Do This Too

If you want to explore the concept of concrete counter tops without all the mess and heavy lifting, there are professionals who can work with you to design your tops and then take care of the rest. I’m not sure how the cost would compare with installed stone tops, but I guess it’s really an apples and oranges thing anyway.

Instructional Materials

If you’re interested in taking on this level of DIY project,  Fu-Tung Cheng at Concrete Exchange has an extensive resource of videos and books that detail exactly how to do it. You’ll also find examples submitted by DIY homeowners and award-winning projects by professional designers.

It’s definitely worth a look.

Images: DoYourOwnConcrete; Instructables; Concrete Exchange