DIY Floating Deck, Part 3: Diagonal Decking

I’m building a DIY floating deck in my back yard! Catch the whole thing, start to finish, right here. In this chapter, I’m covering the details on decking on a 45-degree angle.

Hey hey! I know some of you have been waiting since last month’s post for the next update on my ground-level deck, and here it is!

The last time I posted about the deck, it was a full recap on all of the things required to ensure a solid foundation, water resistance, type of wood to buy for the frame, etc. Since there has been way too much info to cover everything in a single post, I’ve been dividing it all into separate parts.

• Part 1: Planning and Layout
• Part 2: Frame and Waterproofing (+ video)

And now, it’s onto the the next step: decking on a 45-degree angle.

Watch the video

 

This was one of the most exciting completion steps for me, since this is when you start to see the deck really come together.

This deck project is sponsored by Wood Its Real.

Tools & materials used:

• CAMO Edge Deck Fastening System, which consists of a Marksman Pro tool, edge deck screws, and driver bits
• Drill
• Impact driver
• Clamps

Laying the deck at a diagonal:

Getting the 45-degree angle was easier than I thought it was going to be. I think the main reason for that is because the angle was spot-on from the frame underneath. To make sure I kept my alignment correct, every now and then, I’d extend a board with a square edge perpendicular to the 45-degree angle I was laying the boards to. As long as the bit hanging off of the other end was even and not crooked, I was good to go.

(I know it looks like Stella might be having a, erm, private moment here, but this is actually how she sits in the heat. Go figure.)

I planned for a 1-inch overhang on all sides, but it really only mattered when fastening the first deck board on. After that, I just kept the ends jagged and hanging off; I would later trim all of the other sides down to continue the 1-inch overhang.

Using a deck fastening system:

The new decking tool was simple enough to use, and I bought it for two specific features:

• It worked almost like a clamp, expanding itself over the edges of each deck board. When clamped down on the board, its metal tabs provided a consistent 1/16″ gap between each board. I think this is plenty, since I did most of my install between rain storms (this has been the wettest summer!). As the deck boards have since had time to dry out, they have a little bit larger of a gap now. I think if I had gone with something wider initially, it would look too gapped by now.
• Once clamped onto the deck, it had a screw guide on each end to guide one of the specialty screws at an exact angle so as to fasten the deck right at the edge of the board. This makes the whole deck pretty much look fastener-free. It doesn’t work for the very ends when you have a little bit of an overhang, but I don’t mind having just a few screws visible.
• I bought the CAMO materials as separate items, but sometimes it’s sold as a whole kit as well. Note that they work as a system together, so you’ll need to invest in buying the screws that match up to the tool if you go the same route as I did. I had enough screws to last me through my deck, the pub shed deck, and the pub shed bar… so they go a long way! No regrets!
• Since the CAMO screw box comes with two bits to use with the screws, I found using multiple drills and impact drivers at the same time sped things up a good bit. K and I could both work on the same board at once and just pass the guide tool in between.

Seams and supports: fight the wiggle

When I started with the first board, I realized that I didn’t have enough support where the deck went over the patio. It was easily fixed with a few scrap pieces added in, but the rest of the deck’s framework needed no modifications.

The boards I bought were only 12 feet long. The store might also sell 16′, but even that wasn’t going to be long enough to extend over the longest parts of the deck. That meant I would have to lay two boards side by side in multiple places along the deck. It’s probably no surprise that I have notes for you on that, too!

Work in a Z pattern: When one board wasn’t long enough to span a single row, I used a full board, then cut off another piece to fit the remainder. On the next row, I again used a full board, but started from the other end (where the shorter piece from the previous row was). I would usually then be able to use another cut piece for the rest of the row, and so on. Doing this Z pattern of swapping which end to start with a full piece resulted in fewer seams meeting up across rows, so they weren’t as noticeable.

Square up the seam: I found that the edge of most of the deck boards to be slightly off square. Using my miter saw, I squared them up and was able to lay them side by side with almost no perceptible gap. Just be sure to lay the board so that both ends, when laid side by side, are well-supported at this seam. Add another support if not, or move the seam to . Test before screwing them in that you can step on top without any wiggle (that seam will only get weaker over time if so).

Use clamps where possible

Pressure treated wood is often wet when purchased, and the rain continued to wet down my boards as I installed. So, it was inevitable that some of the meticulously-checked straight boards I bought warped a little once they were home and drying out. I was able to fight a lot of it by regularly flipping boards on a flat surface so that they could dry evenly, but I still wound up with a few that twisted on the ends and such. For this, clamps were my best friend. I would also sometimes position the boards so that the warped part got cut off once the deck was trimmed down to its actual shape.

Trim back surrounding plants

Something I know I could have made the job easier on myself, but didn’t: trimming back plants! Installation happened right as my hydrangeas were blooming like crazy, and I hated the idea of chopping them down to make it easier to access one of the corners of the deck. I eventually did, but if you watch the video, you’ll see one funny part where I’m basically installing with a faceful of blooms.

Before long… boom! Deck finished, and time to celebrate. (Psst, for more celebrating shenanigans from Charlie, watch the video.)

Ok, so not exactly totally finished when the decking is in place. In the next part of the deck series, I’ll have to walk you through how to trim the boards to a straight line and round off the end. Then we’ll install some steps, improve the landscaping, stain, and more. But this was a huge step! More soon.

The post DIY Floating Deck, Part 3: Diagonal Decking appeared first on Ugly Duckling House.

More Where That Came From

DIY Floating Deck, Part 1: Planning and Layout

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from Ugly Duckling House https://www.uglyducklinghouse.com/diy-floating-deck-diagonal-decking/

Scrap Wood Outdoor Bench Seat | DIY garden bench plans

Add a little extra seating with this simple outdoor bench made from scrap 2x4s and deck boards. I built it in one night using nothing but leftover lumber from my DIY floating deck build.

Since I whipped this thing together as one of my hair-brained ideas at 9PM (please tell me I’m not the only one who does that???), I didn’t take a single picture while I built. So there aren’t any assembly photos. I DO, however, have some awesome gifs K helped me whip up to let you see it in action.

Leg assembly:

Then bring it all together:

And when you see those gifs, you might already know what that means: there are printable build plans, too! Click below to download them. Woodworking plans are available for FREE to all of my email subscribers (and same goes for my cross stitch patterns). So it’s really simple: if you already subscribe, you can just enter your name & email address for access on the library page (it should pass you right through; I just tested it again today to make sure it works). If not, you can sign up and have access to these plans and all the other free plans I publish.

click here to access the woodworking plans library

How to build this outdoor bench seat / garden bench from scrap wood:

Materials:

• 5/4″ pressure-treated deck boards (I used scrap)
• pressure-treated 2x4s (I used scrap)
• GRK 2 1/2″ R4 Multi-Purpose Screws
• Miter saw
• Exterior stain/paint of your choice (I haven’t painted mine yet, but I’ll probably paint mine black to match the future outdoor sofa!)

Build it:

1. Cut deck boards to length – 25 1/2″ each. These will serve as the bench seat.

2. Cut 2×4 boards to length. These will serve as the tops and middle sections of each leg, respectively.

• 8 boards – 13 1/4″ long
• 4 boards – 11 1/2″ long

3. Use 2 of the 11 1/2″ boards to form the top and bottom of one leg. Sandwich 2 of the 13 1/4″ boards in between these two to form a box. Screw the 4 pieces together using exterior screws (I like GRX for this because it’s self-tapping and sinks into the wood, so no pre-drilling and it won’t stick out when people sit down).

4. Insert 2 more of the 13 1/4″ boards in the middle of the box-leg structure you created in step 3, spacing them equally. Screw together. I used another scrap 2×4 as a temporary spacer to wedge in between each board as I screwed them in.

5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 to make the second bench leg.

6. Fasten the two deck boards on top, keeping each board flush with the end of each leg. This will create a small gap in the middle of the seat between boards.

7. Finish however you like (stain or exterior paint).

Enjoy!

Don’t forget to pin it!

The post Scrap Wood Outdoor Bench Seat | DIY garden bench plans appeared first on Ugly Duckling House.

from Ugly Duckling House https://www.uglyducklinghouse.com/outdoor-bench-seat-diy-garden-bench-plans/

Puff Pastry Pinwheels – Italian Style

Puff Pastry Pinwheels are a mouthwatering appetizer, yet they’re so easy to make. Just a few simple ingredients come together quickly for a treat that’s sure to impress your friends and family.

What’s up everybody? Pam and Sara from Biscuits and Burlap here stopping by again with a yummy recipe for Puff Pastry Pinwheels – Italian Style. Have you noticed that everything we’ve brought to the Ugly Duckling House has been either a cocktail or an appetizer? That’s because we love a party, and so does Sarah! Slap a drink in one hand and a munchie in the other and we are happy campers!

But, the truth is, we’re also known to make a meal off appetizers (and cocktails) on any given night. It doesn’t have to be a true party. It can be a party for two. Apps and a drink just seem to make any evening feel special.

Other recipes brought to you by Biscuits and Burlap

In case you missed it you can catch up by visiting our previous posts:

• Limoncello Cucumber Cooler
• Herbed Goat Cheese Crostini with Roasted Tomatoes
• Spiked Hot Chocolate with Bourbon and Grand Marnier
• Cheesy Chicken Enchilada Dip

Puff Pastry Pinwheels with Prosciutto

Puff pastry is one of those products that is so versatile. There are literally dozens of delicious treats you can make with them including desserts, side dishes, entrees and appetizers like these. If you do a search you can find lots of roll-up or pinwheel recipes, but we’ve come up with something unique with the addition of prosciutto.

And then there’s the added fun challenge of pronouncing it: Puff Pastry Pinwheels with Prosciutto. Try saying that three times really fast. To top it off, there’s also Parmesan cheese. While it may not exactly roll off your tongue, these little treats are promised to make your tongue (and the rest of you) happy.

Puff Pastry Pinwheels are easy – just follow these tips

• Use your puff pastry as soon as it thaws, or straight out of the fridge. It’s much easier to work with when it’s cold
• Use Mozarella cheese that’s finely grated. It will make them roll up more tightly.
• Put the whole roll in the freezer for 20 minutes before you slice.
• Cut with a serrated knife and use a sawing motion
• Bake on parchment paper. This stuff is like heaven on a cardboard roll.

The ingredients are few and simple: besides the puff pastry, you just need pesto (another “P” word), thinly sliced prosciutto, mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. That’s it!

Print

Puff Pastry Pinwheels – Italian Style

An easy, but elegant appetizer. You can easily use two sheets of puff pastry and double the other ingredients to make enough for a crowd.

• Author: Sara and Pam Brand - Biscsuits and Burlap

Ingredients

• 1 sheet puff pastry (found in the freezer section)
• 2 Tablespoons pesto
• About 5 thin slices of prosciutto
• 3/4 cup finely grated mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. roll puff pastry on lightly floured surface to an approximate 10″ x 12″ rectangle
2. Spread pastry with pesto, staying about 1/2″ away from one of the long edges
3. Lay a single layer of prosciutto over the whole thing
4. Top with mozzarella and then Parmesan cheeses, and then pat everything down with your hands.
5. Starting with long edge (the one with pesto all the way to the edge) roll up, keeping the roll as tight as possible.
6. Pinch the edges to seal.
7. Wrap in plastic wrap and freeze for about 20 minutes.
8. Unwrap, trim uneven ends and then slice into 18-20 slices, using a serrated knife.
9. Bake on parchment paper lined baking sheet at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes.

Pop over to Biscuits and Burlap for a visit anytime

We would love to have you. Here are a few of our recipes that we think you’ll like, but there are plenty of others to browse around and check out!

• Bialys Recipe with a Guest Chef
• Cookies with Coconut, Chocolate Chips, Brown Butter & Sea Salt
• Baked Brie with Bacon and Apples
• Stuffed French Toast: An Elegant Breakfast for Two
• Roasted Poblano and Corn Chowder

Don’t forget to pin it!

The post Puff Pastry Pinwheels – Italian Style appeared first on Ugly Duckling House.

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DIY K-Cup Holder | how to stain wood with FIRE!

This small DIY K-cup holder made from scrap wood is perfect for my kitchen’s limited counter space, but it would also look great in a guest bedroom!

I love using scrap wood to better organize my kitchen, such as when I cleaned up my utensil drawer and when made a better bottle opener. This project is no different, except for one twist: this isn’t stained. I used FIRE to darken this piece of poplar, and the tutorial below is going to show you how!

I have a coffee maker next to my fridge and have used it for the last few years. In all honesty, I’m not much of a K cup fan. I can appreciate its convenience, but since I work from home, I usually just make a pot so I can refill as I please.

K however, is a big fan of his Keurig. He loves finding old cameras and other electronics at Goodwill, then cleans them up and/or fixes them. The same happened here, which is how we wound up with a second coffee maker. I don’t really use it, but he does, so it joined the kitchen shortly after him moving in.

I’ve got a plan to eventually move it into the guest bedroom once the Murphy bed built-ins are complete (because it will double as K’s office and will be great for guests to use), so I thought it only fitting to make a K cup holder to go with. In truth, I have a more elaborate one in mind later on, but I wanted to give this a try first.

How to make this mini coffee pod holder

• 1/2″ x 6″ poplar (I used a scrap piece, but you’ll need just under 12 inches in length total)
• Miter saw
• Pencil
• Drill press (optional – I cover how to also do without below)
• Drill and bit (bit size doesn’t really matter, as long as it’s small)
• 1 5/8″ Forstner bit
• Wood glue
• Bernzomatic MAP-PRO torch kit (project sponsor)
• Sandpaper & tack cloth
• Wipe-on poly
• White paint (craft paint is fine)
• Paint brush

I knew to set my miter saw’s bevel to 12 degrees thanks in large part to this tutorial from Bower Power. But, I took it one small step further and cut both the base and the bottom of the front at an angle. That way, when glued together, they would lay flat on the counter.

Cut front piece and bottom angles

• For front piece – 8 1/2″ long on the front – cut at a 12-degree angle so that the front is longer than the back side (in the photo above, the cut is back to front)
• Bottom piece – 2 1/2″ long on the bottom – cut at a 12-degree angle so that the bottom is longer than the top (in the photo above, the cut is bottom to top)

For a good visual of assembly, here’s a closeup of when those two pieces are lined up:

But, don’t glue it yet! It’s a LOT easier to drill through it as a separate piece. I took a K cup to use as my template and figured out that 1/2-inch was a good rule of thumb for all spacing — measuring from the top to the first K cup, sides, bottom, and spacing in between.

Measure center marks for K cup holes (start from the top)

• ROW 1: 1 1/2″ down, 1 1/2″ from the side (right and left)
• ROW 2: 2″ down from ROW 1 marks (1 1/2″ from the sides)
• ROW 3: 2″ down from ROW 2 marks (1 1/2″ from the sides)

You’ll notice that this leaves a little bit wider of a bottom space than the 1/2″ that everything else has. If this bothers you, you can make the piece shorter and shave off a little at the bottom. For me, this slight bit of extra height made it easier to pull the bottom K cups.

As I measured, I marked all cross points. I then drilled through this center point to mark the center of each hole.

How to drill through holes to avoid tear out

It’s entirely possible to drill holes with a drill, but I used my dad’s old drill press (it allows me to clamp the piece down and make sure I’m drilling through at an exact 90-degree angle). I used a 1-5/8″ Forstner bit because K cups are conical in shape, so the bottom is narrower than the top of the cup. This measurement is a midpoint, so the cups won’t slip out of the back or the front.

To avoid tear out, I drilled about halfway through the front of the hole, then flipped it over and drilled the rest. Since I had pre-drilled a hole in the center in the previous step, I could line up the holes perfectly.

Glue and torch: how to stain wood with FIRE

I’ve been a sponsored partner with Bernzomatic this year on a few projects, and this was another one that I thought was perfect to give wood burning a try.

I chose to glue the pieces together before the next step, which wound up working out just fine. As I was torching though, I was very mindful not to put heat directly on the glue joint; the heat would likely cause it to fall apart. At one point I thought I got too close and the shorter piece on the back curled a little, but once I let it cool back down again, it was nice and straight.

Faux Zebrawood

With the way the poplar grain ran almost straight up and down through the entire piece, I wanted to see if my torching skills could give me an almost faux Zebrawood effect (a much pricier and harder to obtain wood species). I think I got pretty close, though it takes a little practice to make sure I kept an even heat on the entire length of the grain; splotchy burn marks are a dead giveaway!

Once the torching was done, I gave it a good sanding and painted the back and bottom piece of the K cup holder with a few coats of white paint. I also applied a few coats of wipe-on poly to the front. Then, loaded ‘er up!

It’s already proven convenient. We recently had one of K’s brothers stay over at the house mid-week. Since I knew I wouldn’t be up in time to make a pot of coffee (my usual schedule is to sleep a little later, work on projects during the afternoon, and do computer work at night), I left this little K cup holder on the counter for him to grab what he needed. Since it takes up such little space on the counter, it was easy to use and then tuck away.

Personally, I think my favorite part is how the heat really popped out the grain and made it look stripey. Would you ever use fire to stain wood?

P.S.: this is also related to a Japanese preservation technique called shou sugi ban; I tried it earlier this year with a s’mores tray for outdoor entertaining. You can also add stain on top. I love how different it makes common woods look!

Don’t forget to pin it!

The post DIY K-Cup Holder | how to stain wood with FIRE! appeared first on Ugly Duckling House.

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from Ugly Duckling House https://www.uglyducklinghouse.com/diy-k-cup-holder-stain-wood-with-fire/

First Summer Garden Harvest | Sneak Peek of Pub Shed

Earlier this year, I grew a small variety of vegetable garden seedlings in my master bedroom. After they were ready to transplant, I built an L-shaped garden bed and began my first-ever vegetable garden. I was pretty darn excited. And now, I’m sharing some of the first glimpses of a happy, healthy garden!

It’s tomatoes. It’s basically a lot, lot of tomatoes.

The other veggies are growing in (a few peppers, some spices, cucumbers, and more), and they will be ready to harvest within the next week or so. But the first to ripen by a long shot are the two varieties of tomatoes. We’ve already had so many, we’ve given some to neighbors, friends, and my parents.

We pick them at the first sign of red, and allow them to ripen a little more on the kitchen windowsill.

If I remember correctly (K ordered the seeds and he’s the one who actually deserves most of the gardening maintenance credit!), we planted both grape tomatoes and ‘Fourth of July’ hybrids. I’m personally thrilled that we’re seeing such success with the garden. Perhaps it’s the only thing about all of this rain I can be happy with; it has interrupted nearly every other outdoor project as of late, but the garden did just fine all by itself!

Pests: You’ll probably notice that we don’t have a cage around our garden. Yet, the squirrels and other pests haven’t yet been much of an issue. This is one of the more frequent questions I’ve gotten regarding the new garden, so I figured I’d share my overall thoughts on what we might be doing right (I wouldn’t really be able to point to anything we’re doing as a deliberate pest-preventative move, but I’m thinking it’s a combination of several things that just happen to be working out for us):

• Stella (the long-haired dachshund) loves to chase and dig for all manner of small animals if they come within the fence line. I’m thinking that she’s a big factor in why our yard has been less appealing to these animals who might otherwise come for our food.
• It’s possible that the scent of her and Charlie’s urine in the yard is a warning. (I’m only thinking this because I’ve heard “predator pee” is something some gardeners use, such as wolf urine, along their property lines.)
• Both K and I are in the yard almost daily to work on the shed, deck, and other yard-related projects. So, we are there each day to also pull off the ripe tomatoes, correct vines that are trying to reach to the ground, remove any dropped fruits to the compost pile, etc.
• I’ve been seeing a lot of the ladybugs that I added last year
• For slugs and other so, K has been using a spray of some kind (I’ll have to double check with him on what it is, but our neighbors didn’t have much success with most of their garden this  year despite a similar setup, so this seems to have made a difference in our results versus theirs).

I tried my first tomatoes from the garden just a few days ago, and they are SO good! For simple posterity’s sake, I uploaded the video clip of me trying them (after a day of working on the shed, so I look like a stinky mess). I don’t have any good recipes to share with them yet, but they are perfect in a tortilla with scrambled eggs in the morning.

I think the peppers will be next, but the cucumbers are quickly coming in, too!

If you have a garden this year, have you harvested anything yet? I’m tempted to DIY my own little harvesting basket soon; carrying it all in one of our shirts at night is easy, but also kind of gross with how sweaty we are with the build projects.

Speaking of, here’s a quick glimpse of the new pub shed! Not complete yet of course, but I’ll have more of that for you later this summer. I feel like I’ve been working on this thing forever. But after getting the paper on the roof, it feels like it’s finally drawing to a close. From all the things I’ve been learning, all the second-guessing, all the problem-solving… that is going to be a LONG series to cover, so be prepared for a number of posts in that series once the deck series is finished!

The post First Summer Garden Harvest | Sneak Peek of Pub Shed appeared first on Ugly Duckling House.

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