Carpentry, Woodworking and Home-Improvements

6 Dec 2014

Carpentry, Woodworking and Home-Improvements

I wasn't sure where exactly to post this, as I have many questions to ask regarding this topic:

- Men and women, do you enjoy these types of activities? What is your greatest achievement or the thing you're most proud of? Please share (and post pics)!

- Younger men, do you consider yourself competent in these activities? Are you often told by women that your skills are lacking in this department?

- Women, how is a man's proficiency in these important to you? Is it a necessity, or a mere advantage? Is it sexy, or a dated attribute that's more or less important?

Thanks and enjoy!

6 Dec 2014

I'm retired now and just not physically as active as I used to be. I built ... by myself ... my own shop / machinery storage bldg. in 1986. Even cut some trees to be sawed out for specific pieces of lumber. THAT said, I "could have been" a decent carpenter IF ONLY I had had a bit of training when I was much younger. My shop / shed measures 24 x 76 total. I generally enjoy doing "stuff" as it is often a cost saving endeavor on my part.

http://www.lushstories.com/stories/love-stories/exit-33-trust.aspx

6 Dec 2014

I don't consider myself skilled enough to do the home improvement projects in the main part of the house that will be on display for guests, so we hire a professional for those. Those need to look really awesome to live up to my wife's standards and specifications. But I did put up the cabinets and build the shelves in the attic and I added on to and built shelves and the work bench in my storage/work building, and did improvements to the detached garage behind the house.

6 Dec 2014

Quote by Buz
I don't consider myself skilled enough to do the home improvement projects in the main part of the house that will be on display for guests, so we hire a professional for those. Those need to look really awesome to live up to my wife's standards and specifications. But I did put up the cabinets and build the shelves in the attic and I added on to and built shelves and the work bench in my storage/work building, and did improvements to the detached garage behind the house.

Yeah, I guess that most 'modern' couples are that way (ie. people below 45-year-old): most of them hire professionals for the big majority of home-improvements. I'd say that I'm fairly skillful with my hands (more so than a lot of guys of my generation), but much less than some other men, say like my own father.

My father is quite versatile and skillful in what he can achieve: carpentry, floors, ceramic, electricity, plumbing, etc. He owns a large building with 4 apartments (his own, plus 3 others), and he makes most of the maintenance himself. That's actually how I improved my own skills in my youth, I did many things with him when I was younger: building/removing walls, changing windows, changing baths, installing hardwood floors, etc. My very first job was working in a renovation warehouse, so that helped too: I really had to advise the customers properly, else they'd come back and blame me for 'wasting' all their materials.

The thing is, I really hate doing that kind of stuff. Actually, I can enjoy it if it's done for others, but doing home-improvements in my own apartment just gets on my nerves. I'm a big perfectionist, and so I tend to be quite demanding with myself. Plus, seeing my apartment in such a mess gives me headaches, with materials everywhere and all my furnitures covered with sawdust.

I don't really 'need' to do home-improvements right now as I'm living in an apartment, though I still did a few minor changes here and there: installing moldings, installing a new floor in my entrance, changing the faucet in my kitchen, changing the doors of a cabinet, installing a shelf for my cats below a window, etc.

6 Dec 2014

I've been building for 41 years woodworking for 25 years and i still love it can i help

6 Dec 2014

My boyfriend, David, doesn't build things, but he designs things, and has them built by skilled craftsmen (usually the Amish). Here's a photo of our bed, which he designed, traveled to eastern Pennsylvania to find just the right wood (tiger maple), then had it shipped to his Amish craftsmen up in Holmes County.

7 Dec 2014

Quote by Buz
I don't consider myself skilled enough to do the home improvement projects in the main part of the house that will be on display for guests, .

You are SO still about that... It wasn't your fault. The twins BLUNDERED underneath the bookshelf which collapsed and they died... Accidents happen to even two year olds mate... My wife's mother had a heart attack on scene and died in shock... IT JUST HAPPENED BONO!!! Nobody's fault... On the way to OVERLOOK Hospital the Ambulance careered off the freeway... Nobody's fault... Nobody died... (Actually 24 people did it was fucking carnage... Total pile-up...)

But it's NOT about you not being able to put up a shelf safely in your own house... Nobody blames you... It's not your fault Buzzie... Nobody blames you...... But I remember Stacey and Shane as they reached up for your collection of The New Yorker... (It was something they couldn't imagine...) An ACCIDENT, Dude...

In places like The Iraq little kids die everyday...

Shit Happens...

Forum Mods are NEVER gonna let me get away with this???

xx SF

Buz thought it was funny...

7 Dec 2014

I consider myself pretty handy. I'll attempt anything. I have done retaining walls out of brick and render, I built a large outdoor deck at my old house and hand drilled and hammered in all the nails for almost 500 lineal meters of hardwood decking. With that came the footings and all the correct specs of which a carpenter friend of mine helped me work out. It took a few weeks of hard labour to complete, but the result was so worth it. Now I have been commissioned to do one at my mums overlooking the pool. I did woodworking all the way through high school. Im much better with my hands with tools than pushing a pen in an office. My daily job requires it when it comes to fixing machinery, handling stone and putting a finish on it. I have also done walls and plastering. Hell, why pay a tradie for that stuff. Got the right advice, take your time, and expect nothing but the best from the final result. My attitude is, if you want something done right, do it yourself..so I do..

Our Tumblr

7 Dec 2014

I'm having cabinets delivered tomorrow for a complete kitchen remodel I'm going to do. Ill hire out the plumbing and electrical. I can do that stuff, but I want it done to code.

I am not a tradesman, just handy. I'm an engineer by training and education.

Red is the color of sex and signs that say Do Not Enter

The best thing to hear in the middle of the night - Lick Me

7 Dec 2014

Quote by stephanie

You are SO still about that... It wasn't your fault. The twins BLUNDERED underneath the bookshelf which collapsed and they died... Accidents happen to even two year olds mate... My wife's mother had a heart attack on scene and died in shock... IT JUST HAPPENED BONO!!! Nobody's fault... On the way to OVERLOOK Hospital the Ambulance careered off the freeway... Nobody's fault... Nobody died... (Actually 24 people did it was fucking carnage... Total pile-up...)

But it's NOT about you not being able to put up a shelf safely in your own house... Nobody blames you... It's not your fault Buzzie... Nobody blames you...... But I remember Stacey and Shane as they reached up for your collection of The New Yorker... (It was something they couldn't imagine...) An ACCIDENT, Dude...

In places like The Iraq little kids die everyday...

Shit Happens...

Forum Mods are NEVER gonna let me get away with this???

xx SF

Buz thought it was funny...

I'm going to attach a combination lock onto your liquor cabinet. Poor Stacey and Shane, they should've known better than to read The New Yorker. That was actually a trap. The world is already overpopulated and we're starting by eliminating readers of The New Yorker. They should've been reading Mad Magazine instead, it's more intellectual. Or my favorites Cigar Aficionodo Magazine or Fight Magazine.

7 Dec 2014

Quote by Buz

I'm going to attach a combination lock onto your liquor cabinet. Poor Stacey and Shane, they should've known better than to read The New Yorker. That was actually a trap. The world is already overpopulated and we're starting by eliminating readers of The New Yorker. They should've been reading Mad Magazine instead, it's more intellectual. Or my favorites Cigar Aficionodo Magazine or Fight Magazine.

You should check out "Cigar Aficionados Fight" quarterly. There are great articles about cigars and photos of girls fighting in bikinis while smoking Havanas... (I'd send you a link but I'm making this shit up...)

Loving The Bono...

xx SF

7 Dec 2014

Quote by BethanyFrasier
My boyfriend, David, doesn't build things, but he designs things, and has them built by skilled craftsmen (usually the Amish). Here's a photo of our bed, which he designed, traveled to eastern Pennsylvania to find just the right wood (tiger maple), then had it shipped to his Amish craftsmen up in Holmes County.

Fuck the WOOD!

(How many Siberian White Tigers died to make that bedspread?)

xx SF

Beth: "It's a ZEBRA print, Steph..."

Me: "What's a Zebra?"

Beth: "It's like a stripey African horse..."

Me: "FUCK OFF!"

Beth: "Really... Google it..."

Me: "What's an AMISH?"

Beth: "Fuck off, Steff..."

8 Dec 2014

Quote by stephanie

Fuck the WOOD!

(How many Siberian White Tigers died to make that bedspread?)

xx SF

Beth: "It's a ZEBRA print, Steph..."

Me: "What's a Zebra?"

Beth: "It's like a stripey African horse..."

Me: "FUCK OFF!"

Beth: "Really... Google it..."

Me: "What's an AMISH?"

Beth: "Fuck off, Steff..."

Oh, Steph, of noble principles...you should concern yourself more with the number of injuries sustained by 'guests' being bodily impaled on those pointy acorn finials at all 4 corners of our bed! Lawsuits have been threatened, but David never anticipated my bed-buddies being so clumsy!

14 Dec 2014

I re did our bathroom floor ,sub floor.plumbing and the trim work . gutted the bedrooms and redid ,walls and trim . redid porch and patio roofing.built the grandson a toybox last year for Christmas out of blonde oak.

15 Dec 2014

The project in progress

And it became

And the fun yet to be experienced

200+ boxes from Ikea.

Red is the color of sex and signs that say Do Not Enter

The best thing to hear in the middle of the night - Lick Me

15 Dec 2014

Looking good, buzzbomber52.

200 boxes from Ikea? Wow... is that only for the kitchen cabinets? A lot of these boxes seem to only contain a few planks however, it might not be that bad.

Assembling these things is kinda fun actually, my mother always calls me when she has something to assemble, haha.

Looking forward to seeing your pictures when all the work will be completed...

15 Dec 2014

I rather enjoy woodworking and just working with my hands in general. It keeps my hands and mind occupied at the same time (which is a rare thing these days considering all the tech devices and games). I will usually try to tackle most projects at home as long as they don't require permits. I have built a sexy mission style headboard for my King size bed as well as a few cabinets for the kitchen.

In the past couple of years I have been busy building my workshop in my basement that measures 30 x 20 and stocking it with the tools of the trades. I am not yet proficient with all of them but I'm working on it!!

I have figured out though that I am really, REALLY good at making piles of rich, healthy sawdust!!!

Proud of my Headboard

Flash a Trucker... It's appreciated!!

Read my latest story at; http://www.lushstories.com/stories/exhibitionism/a-weekend-at-the-cottage-part-1.aspx

17 Dec 2014

It started out like this.

And now looks like this

I'm also turning a bar area into a pantry, and putting new cabinets in the utility room.

This is a 30 year old manufactured home that is used as a second home in the mountains to get out of the hot Phoenix summer.

The remaining cabinets will be gone next week and the rest of the floor will be taken up.

Red is the color of sex and signs that say Do Not Enter

The best thing to hear in the middle of the night - Lick Me