We are over the hump in the Better Homes and Gardens One Room Challenge!
We have moved into week 3 and the cabin bed build – the part that I anticipated would take me the longest – is wrapping up this week.
See What’s Up with our One Room Challenge
Week 1 – Introducing the Nursery | Week 2 – Building the Cabin Bed
Week 3 has been the most challenging for me for several reasons:
- I went fishing at the coast – I know, totally avoidable, but I love fishing.
- I had a lot of additional work this week – I do a little web design/blogging on the side for a few physicians, so this week filled up with that.
- I ran short of materials – I make mistakes, you make mistakes, we all make mistakes at some point in our lives. The materials list from the plan just didn’t account for that.
With that being said, I actually was able to wrap up the build part of things and move into my absolute least favorite part of any project – painting.
Lessons Learned from the Cabin Bed Build
I have built just a few pieces of my furniture before – my kitchen table and my headboard/footboard – so I am still pretty prone to mistakes. I quickly learned that the plan I used didn’t really account for many mistakes. It definitely makes the most out of all of your lumber, but if you measure wrong, cut short or try to make your life easier by cutting a long board in half so it doesn’t flop around on the miter saw, you might be up a creek on materials towards the end. So, here are my takeaways so far!
Purchase Extra Lumber
-3 extra 2×4’s at 8 feet
-3-4 extra 1×2’s at 8 feet if you plan to add the board and batten in
-Potentially an additional sheet of untreated plywood at the 23 inches x 4 feet. I messed up my window cut on one of the sides, which was a trickier part for me. Luckily, the hardware stores carry project boards that are just the right size and I didn’t have to have them rip additional plywood.
Get Multiple Boxes of the Self Tapping Screws
My pocket hole system was not working for me in some areas, so I used up quite a few of the self tapping screws. I purchased a box of 125, but I am almost out already and I still have assembly left to go! I would spring for two boxes of those suckers. I also like to purchase the ones with the star head instead of the Phillip’s head because of my lack of alignment when I start to use the drill. It never fails, I inevitably strip my screws because I either don’t put enough power behind it or am coming at it crooked. The star heads really help me out.
Get the Straightest 2x2s Possible
We really tried, but we just could not find many 2x2s that were not twisted or warped. When I was building the roof, that really came into play. One of the sections is kind of like a twisted roller coaster track (ok, it’s not that dramatic) so I am hoping it straightens up when I screw it into place on the main frame.
Know Where Your Pocket Holes Go
Oh my gosh this one took me forever to figure out because I was working off of the paper plan, which didn’t show which side of things the pocket holes go on. I need it spelled out, people! The plan is wonderful, but I am not experienced enough to know that the pocket holes of a certain size/depth should be drilled on a certain width of lumber. So, here is where they go:
I like using pocket holes, when my equipment works properly…
There you have it – Kreg Jig pocket holes placed strategically around the plywood to hook it up to the 2x4s. That part of the process went fairly smoothly.
For Week 3
Now that most of the building is accomplished, I have to move onto the painting. When it comes to painting rooms, I’m fine with it. I just really don’t like the detail work of filling your holes, sanding, priming, painting twice, then finally putting on your finishing coat. I like to see progress faster, I suppose, so that is probably why I enjoy building and renovating things to re-finishing furniture.
I have decided to go with white paint on the main body of the cabin, with stained wood for the roof top, shutters and possibly even window boxes for fake flowers. I will be using my favorite stain color – Special Walnut – which I used on my table:
So, I am probably dedicating this entire week to just painting this cabin bed and picking up the materials I will need for the flooring project next week.
In week four, I will aim to rip out and install new floors as well as paint the walls. If everything goes really well, maybe I will even have the baseboards back up!
Week five I’m saving for wiggle room if the baseboards aren’t up as well as to start purchasing some decorating items.
Week six is decorating week and then the big reveal will be on May 9th! Stay tuned!
Can’t wait to see the finished product!!
Thank you – me too haha!
WOW!!! I am blown away by your skills. I’m not a big DIY-er, but I love manual labor. I thought one time about volunteering for Habitat for Humanity cause I think I’d love building houses.
Very impressed! And now I know why you dont like painting. 🙂 loved the video too! Keep up the great work!
Thank you! I think I stash away energy for a while to build up to want to do another one of these projects because by the time I am at the finishing stage, I am so over it. I saw you finishing your furniture with the waxing accents and everything – I just went with clear wax and am thinking a white frame with the stained accents, but of course I’m second guessing myself.