Workshop Shelves

This is a small side project and involves recycled materials. You may recall that a month ago I built a wood rack which was the beginning of a larger wood workshop re-org project. The wood rack is complete, loaded up, and has proven to be a tremendous tool to help organize the space. Next up, shelving.

The shelving is 12' long, and approximately 22 inches deep. The bottom two rows of shelves we designed to fit storage crates, so they're a bit taller. The upper three shelves will be slightly shorter, and will be designed as "project cubbyholes" to store all the bits and bobs associated with different projects, or that's the idea anyhow.

The framing is made up of 2x4 & 2x3 stick lumber, some of which was salvaged from other projects. For the shelf surfaces, I'm using remnant pieces of oak flooring. Because the flooring is tung and groove, I'm able to use a lot of shorter pieces to stitch the shelves together and build a strong surface

Having a well organized shop is critical. We often have three or more projects going simultaneously, and things can quickly become disheveled. The new shelving should help to keep the work surfaces clear of stuff

Next up after this project, I'll be completing the wall that separates the wood workshop from the clean studio space. I'll be installing a pair of salvaged french-doors as windows to allow some transparency between the two spaces and cross ventilation. Stay tuned!

From House Project Photos

Shelves aren't quite complete in this photo. Still have to install two more upper shelf surfaces.

Building Central Park

When I put the landscape plan on paper in late 07, I assigned each area of focus a name, and the area right in the center of the backyard is "Central Park". Central Park is one of the main focuses over the next few months as we lay the bones.

Inspiration and resources are critical to putting together a plan. One of my favorite resources is the Sukiya Living: The Journal of Japanese Gardening. This magazine is published once every three months and is filled with traditional Japanese truisms.

The Central Park area is "loosely" based on this garden staging concept:

From 2009 Landscape

...and when I say loosely, I mean loosely. This is the particular image I used to get the creative ideas rolling. I particularly like the way the layout conveys the idea of a hill/mountainside. Also, I'm going for a deconstructed rock wall border, because it feels more natural. Nature doesn't tend to stack rocks in perfect walls.

The next step is to turn this...

From 2009 Landscape

...into a picturesque landscape. Now, if I could just get the weather to cooperate!

Dirt Delivery FAIL!

Two steps forward, three steps back.

In an attempt to stay on target with our 2009 landscaping plan, we had the first delivery of 15 cubic yards of soil dropped. The good news is that the soil is here. The bad news is that the truck that delivered the soil was also still here. For a bit, we thought it might be a permanent fixture in the yard.

If you've read about past projects on this blog, you're aware that our house is built on a wetland. Things tend to get wet and stay extremely wet throughout the entire winter and spring. Our property is primarily clay and combined with a high water table, it makes for a real challenge. That combined with a really heavy truck led to the front-end of the truck sinking in the yard. Looks like I've got a bit more work cut out for me to fix this mess. Enjoy the photos.

From 2009 Landscape

From 2009 Landscape

From 2009 Landscape

Stay tuned for the rock delivery next week. No, we will not be having this truck drop in the backyard!