Duplexes: Time for 'Full-on Trim'

The Paint is Dry

I put a lot of trim on a lot of birdhouses. My gravestone will either read "I Told You I Was Sick" or "Gord Never Trimmed a Sail But Every Birdhouse Has a Perch".

Today's to-do list: Fence, cat, hydro pole, wee birdhouse, perch.

"Roof edging, roof ridge, windows, chimney - check"

More to follow.

Please link to Duplexes: "Contrasting Lumbers" - Maybe Some Paint?

Duplexes: "Contrasting Lumbers"

Maybe Some Paint?

 "Yes, there are a lot of bits and pieces in a duplex, even a piece one cannot see"*

The roof on the tall unit is made from slats of white pine, nice and smooth. I'm tempted to add paint in order to catch your eye.

"White pine and western cedar look AOK together, in my opinion"

That being said, even without paint, the contrasting colours of the wood seem eye-catching to some degree. I'll think about paint while I assemble the last of three units this afternoon.

More to follow.

*Because the entry hole in the tall unit is approx. 8 inches from the base, I put in a hidden floor six-inches below the hole so birds can build a shallower nest. "Good idea," says the wee fledgling with short legs.

Please link to Duplexes: "A Hodge Podge of Lumber" 1

Duplexes: "A Hodge Podge of Lumber" 1

Some Rescued Lumber, Some Not

 "Tall unit will be about 12 inches high once roof slats are attached"

Half of the duplexes will be made from purchased, white pine barnboard. The other half will be from rescued material.

E.g., the 14- by 10-inch base, and faces for the side apartment will be white pine (to be painted). The faces of the tall unit are roof slats for both units will be from rescued western cedar (Joe Flagler's dock boards, Fenelon Falls). Scrap plywood will also make an appearance.

A hodge podge of lumber may seem like an odd recipe for a birdhouse but that's why Home Hardware in Wortley Village invented paint back in the 1800s. (Maybe it was somebody else?)

I have a birdhouse sale on Saturday so I'm hoping I'll be able to move quick! More to follow.

Please link to Dusty Duplexes 4

Fini: Workshop Chair and Matching Stool 4

Happy Hour was a Happy Occasion

Saturday - 5PM: I set up a brightly painted walnut chair (rescued from a curb) and a somewhat matching stool outside my workshop door.

At 5:05PM I was in relax mode.

"Voila. What I envisioned has come to pass."

Next up - four Rietveld porch chairs w matching table.

Please link to Upcoming Projects "Workshop Chair and Matching Stool" 3

Photos GH

Upcoming Projects "Workshop Chair and Matching Stool" 3

Third and Final Coats

"Only the top needs a third coat. Dry in time for Happy Hour?"

I'll have to start early this morning to hit my 5 PM deadline, but anything's possible in the workshop. I'll grab a refill and pop the lid on the red paint. One hour of touch ups and I should be able to say, "Fini."

"The chair only needs a quick look over. Hopefully, no surprises"

Please link to Upcoming Projects "Workshop Chair and Matching Stool" 2

Photos GH

Upcoming Projects "Workshop Chair and Matching Stool" 2

Second and Third Coats

 "Third coat will be applied today"

Soon I will have a 'voila' moment. That is, second coats will be applied and dried, and I'll be able to sit down and put my feet up. Hopefully, the sun will be out and a light breeze will gently blow through what's left of my hair.

"I can paint first and second coats on the rungs today too"

Three colours, three coats. Patience is required for this project, so I play a lot of tunes in the workshop. I think I'll be sitting down, however, on Saturday, 'bout five o'clock, right around Happy Hour.

Coincidentally, I pulled this message out of a fortune cookie yesterday:

"I will likely be very 'confortable' on Samedi at cinq bells"*

Please link to Upcoming Projects "Workshop Chair and Matching Stool"

*Translation (approx.): You are going to have a very comfortable retirement once your chair and stool are finished.

Photos by GH

Upcoming Projects "Workshop Chair and Matching Stool"

Almost a Perfect Match

"Three or four more days of work before I can put my feet up!"

The walnut chair will look AOK once fully painted. The maple stool (though about an inch too tall at the moment), in a similar colour scheme, should fit right in. For the complete picture, imagine me sitting, with my feet up, outside the workshop at the end of a long and dusty workday.

Yeh, that will be me.

Please link to Upcoming Project "Workshop Stool"

Upcoming Project "Workshop Stool"

"If I'm Already Sitting Down"

Whether inside or outside the shop, this old walnut chair (rescued from a nearby curb) fits me to a T. The good fit is linked to its age. It comes from a time when people were smaller - on average - in height, width and weight. (If the year was 1916 I'd be considered 'average build' at 5'5", and I'd be out for a walk, keeping my eye open for 'flea-market-style' bargains).

The other day I had the following thought:

If I sit myself down outside the workshop at the end of the day, I might as well put my feet up too.

"I will shorten it an inch or two, if required, after a few test runs"

So, another bargain, this time an old maple stool from my dad's private collection, will soon get a face lift.

Stay tuned.

Please link to Upcoming Project "The Workshop Chair"

Upcoming Project "The Workshop Chair"

Ready for Primer

"After all is said and done, I will sit down*"

If I had the patience I would strip this chair and show off the lovely walnut seat and legs, etc., but I don't. As well, I want to use it as my shop chair, very soon, so a new paint job will be fine for now.

"Location, location, location"

After a long day in the shop there is nothing nicer than to sit down outside the door, put my feet up and feel a nice breeze blow through what's left of my hair.

Please link to The Second Batches (2)

*I rescued this chair from the curb several months ago during a walk in Old South. After sitting in it for 10 seconds, right there and then, I said to myself, "Nice fit! This is my chair now." And I carried it home on my head.

Photos GH

Small but Mighty 6 "Voila!"

Packed on a Shelf

These wee wren/chickadee boxes can be called '60-second birdhouses' because that's how long it takes to hang one from a reachable branch in the backyard.

And 'voila' means.... all done.

Please link to Small but Mighty 5 "Six in a Row"

Photos GH

Small PEI Models 6

Voila!

All done. Now I just have to figure out what to do next!

Please link to Small PEI Models 5

Small PEI Models 5

Almost Done the PEI Trim Package

 "The birdhouse sits atop an old walnut chair - my next painting project"

 "PEI trim package - chimney, windows, front fence/perch,

and a hydro pole to supply juice for the flat-screen TV"

"Today I will add the last bits"

Nice day to work in the shop yesterday. A northerly breeze blew all the dust away as I cut and attached trim.

Today I will add the last bit of trim over the entrance, made from rescued cedar. And by 6 PM I should be able to say, "Voila!"

Please link to Small PEI Models 4

Photos GH

Small PEI Models 4

Trim Underway

Second coats - check. First round of trim - check.

Next - sturdy perches for sturdy birds. Rescued scrap lumber has many uses.

Link to Small PEI Models 3

Photos GH

Small PEI Models 3

Second Coats - Check

Such a lovely time I had. Good tunes, a mug of tea, warm workshop, red paint. Second coats were done in a jif.

If all goes as planned today, I will be adding trim to 13 birdhouses sometime in the PM, accompanied by good tunes, a mug of tea....

Please link to Small PEI Models 2

Small PEI Models 2

Second Coats Required

"Nine houses received second coats yesterday. All but the red ones"

A small PEI and large PEI birdhouse differ in two ways. The small one is smaller and has a painted roof. Other than that, people will hardly be able to tell them apart, unless they get up really really close.

: )

More to follow, for example, a full-on trim package (once the second coat of paint is dry).

Please link to Small PEI Models 1

Small but Mighty 5 "Six in a Row"

Paint Jobs Cheer Me Up

"Birdhouses, bare wood, brushes and Bob Dylan. Easy paintn"

It might have been cold, snowy blowy and white outside, but inside the workshop it was warm and cheerfully bright. Five paint cans full of warm colours helped.

My workshop schedule reads: "Second coats on Monday" 

Please link to Small but Mighty 4

Please link to Small PEI Models 1

Small but Mighty 4

Question and Answer

Dear Gord,
Do you use small bits of lumber in any way?

Dear Reader,
Yes. Some bits and pieces can be used for trim and perches. Some pieces (they have to be 5" x 5" at least) can be used for the faces of chickadee and wren houses. Other bits make a nice fire. P.S. Wanna buy a birdhouse? I've got six chickadee and wren houses underway!

More to follow.

Please link to Small but Mighty 3 

Photos GH

Small PEI Models 1

More Grey Barn Board, Please

"Seven models from one 4-foot board. Not bad wood management"

Last year I stumbled upon some fine gray barn board while visiting my sister and her hubby SE of Charlottetown, PEI. From it I built four goodly-sized birdhouses but soon yearned for more of the same. Unfortunately, gray barn board, especially 'gray on both sides', is getting really hard to find.

Recently I came across one solid 'grayish' 4-ft. board and from it I was able to produce seven sets of birdhouse faces (front and backs) for smaller versions of last year's PEI models. They are almost fully assembled (except for a high-end or deluxe trim package). [Insert laugh-track here].

"Seven are stacked but are a long way from being packed"

More to follow.

Please link to Specialty Birdhouse - PEI Lumber 5

Photos GH

G.H. Models 7

Going Back a Few Months

The G.H. model is inspired by the J.R. model, circa 1940s

On December 5th I posted photos of the last G.H. models assembled, painted and trimmed before locking the workshop for the winter. Well, spring has sprung, the grass has ris', and if you wondered where the last three G.H. models is, I say they're done.

Voila! Completed, ready for brief storage.

They are now perched on shelves in the basement, ready for my next birdhouse sale, end of April.

Please link to G.H. Models 6

Photos GH