Custom Wooden Squat Rack

I love to lift. I would love to perfect all of the Olympic and Power Lifts like the Deadlift, Snatch, Squats, Bench Press, etc. This requires spending a lot of time in the gym and recent changes in my dog's health requires me to be home more. I can easily deadlift and snatch, but the variations of squats are hard to do if you don't have a power rack. I decided to change all that with this custom squat rack using what I know best- wood.

Traditional garage power racks are expensive and I just don't have that kind of money. Since I know I am no where close to squatting 300#, a wooden squat rack with galvanized steel plumbing pipes will be sufficient for what I need.

Materials

(2) 4x4x8 ft untreated posts
4" Lag screws
Metal brackets (4 each of both L brackets and Ties)
4 Heavy Duty Hinges
Wood screws (1 1/2")
2"x 8" x 6'

I selected a part of the garage wall that had enough space on either side (for the barbell) and made sure I had at least 2 studs with which to drill in the supports. This section of the garage is just about where the driver side door of my car ends up when I pull into the garage, so it was imperative that the design of this rack was such that it would fold into the wall.

Once the wall is determined, cut a piece of 2"x8" to the length that it can be secured to the studs using 4" lag screws. This piece is 40", as the studs are around 36" center to center on that wall. It is important to leave overlap on either end as this piece is what the top hinges of the rack will be fastened to.

The rack was designed to extend 14" from the wall, so taking into account the 1.5" depth of the 2x8, and the 4x4 post (where the bar will be supported) being only 3.5", it was determined that a 9" section of 4x4 post will need to be cut (x4). As seen in the photo below, secure the hinges to the support and use clamps to screw the hinge into the connecting sections of 4x4. A total of 4 of these will be added- 2  on top, 2 on bottom.

A second support, drilled into studs, will be added at the bottom. I used two 2x8x10" sections instead of the 40" support at the top. (see picture below)

The upright supports are 64" tall. Using metal ties and L-supports (found in the lumber section of Lowes) connect all the joints. 

Drill holes at appropriate height for individual needs. I used a 7/8" spade bit to bore the hole and 1/2" (8 inches long) galvanized steel plumbing pipes fit with 90 degree end to support the bar.

I painted it black and added an old mirror to make it look officially official. Have fun squatting!

Custom Lego Table

There is really nothing that compares to the smile on a child's face. This custom lego table did just that for a good friend's young son. And if you want to build one yourself, I want to tell you how to do it! 

I used select pine wood from Lowes for this project. 

The top:

To fit 4, 15"x 15" Lego plates and a Lego piece trough on two sides, I decided to make the table 36" x 36"square. Frame out a 34.5" x 34.5" piece of 1/2" thick plywood with 1 x 3" wood- either with mitred 45 degree joint or end to end. However you choose to do it. Attach the plywood such that there is 1 1/2" above the plywood on top and 1/2" underneath. I used Gorilla Glue and 2" brad nails all the way around to secure. 

This is it after I painted it black:

The raised platform inside of the base will be 30.5" x 30.5", to accomodate the 4 15"x15" Lego baseplates. Lego baseplates can't be butt up against each other tightly (or the legos won't fit properly), so I left some wiggle room for lego structures to be built on all edges. I used 1 x 2's as the supports inside of the base. 

Once you secure the platform supports (I used glue and 1 1/4" screws), cut a piece of 1/2" plywood to sit flush on your supports. I had several scrap pieces that I made fit on the platform and secure it. I routed the edge to make it smooth. I didn't need to add a shelf in the edge, I just wanted to be fancy. Afterwards, I painted it all black with several coats.

 

The Drawers: 

I made three different drawers of two different sizes. I wanted the top drawer to be more shallow, and then two deeper drawers for storage. The top drawer is made using 1" x 4" wood and measures 31.5" x 22 3/16" deep. 

Cut two 1x4 at 31.5" and two at 22 3/16" and join the width to the lengths using pocket holes. Add a piece of 1/4" birch plywood to the bottom using glue and brad nails. I'd suggest cutting it with just a little overlap and routing the edge with an 1/8" roundover on all sides. 

The second and third drawers were made using 1x 6 wood and measure the same as the top drawer. Repeat fitting the plywood to the bottom as before. All edges on top and bottom of all drawers were then routed with 1/8" roundover bit. When the drawers are all finished, give them a sanding with 120 grit and 220 grit sandpaper to make them smooth. Paint them if you want, but I chose to use a Minwax paste to protect them. 

The Base: 

The legs of the base consist of 4, 1x4" x 24" and 2 1x6" x 24" boards. the 1x6" legs run along the back side creating a drawer stop. Connect 1, 1x4 and 1, 1x6 together using pocket screws and glue as seen here. 

The Drawer slides are just 1x2" boards attached 4.75" inches from top of legs, at 12.25", and at 19.75" down the legs. This gives enough clearance for the drawers to be pulled out using hands, instead of adding hardware. 

With each side of the base complete, turn the table top upside down and put a finished drawer and the two base pieces down to ensure the correct measurement for the supports across the back. I have always found the "Measure Twice, Cut Once" mantra to be true. I apologize that I don't have a clear picture of the supports across the back, but they are 1x2" and set inside of the drawer slides you've already installed. These measured about 30". This allows enough clearance on either side of the drawer to slide freely in and out. You can kind of see the supports on the picture below. 

The additional middle side piece was added as an afterthought, because the drawers would get a little off track when pushing it in so these were added to keep the drawers going straight in. It's gonna be used by a 7 year old after all. 

When I was ready to attach the base to the tabletop, I ran a couple pieces of 1x2 across the top of the base and secured it with screws. Then I flipped the table upside down and attached the whole base to the tabletop screwing it underneath and into the bottom of the table. Make sure you don't use screws that are too long! You will probably only need 1" screws for this. Also, it's a good idea to use glue! 

Attaching the Lego Baseplates:

Use some Lego pieces to join the 4 baseplates together and then use construction adhesive to attach them to the raised platform of the tabletop. This ensures that, when building, all pieces will traverse the plates seamlessly. Trust me, this is important! 

Use weights or something heavy to hold down the plates under the adhesive dries. 

I am so excited about this piece. If you are interested in having one built for the Lego Fanatic in your life, please reach out to me at She.Builds.NC@gmail.com to discuss the details. 

Farmhouse Table

Materials:

7- 2x6's

5- 2x4's

2 1/2" pocket screws (between 50-75)

2 1/2" Wood Screws

Wood Glue

Various Tools: 

Kreg Jig

Mitre Saw

Drill

Level

Square

Clamps

Cut 7- 2x6's to the desired length. I chose 48" plus the two breadboard ends putting the grand total length of the table at 59". Drill pocket holes to join the boards together (along with glue). Glue it and Screw it as I say! 

The table legs are a simple Roman Numeral II design. I didn't want to mess with angles and such, so I just made everything nice and square. The table legs used the 2x4's. Fix the finished legs to the tabletop considering room on the ends of the table for putting chairs there. (This is about 12") 

Always check the clearance paint rack because you might find an awesome stain or paint. This beautiful color was $2.50!

The finished table top is drying. I decided to put only one coat of stain on it. I wanted the wood grain to show through, plus some lighter spots so as to make it look weathered.

It was evening when I finally got the legs built and painted, so this picture doesn't really do it justice, but you get the idea. A few coats of clear coat will help to protect this from messy little eaters and rogue drinks. I have yet to get to that as I have been simultaneously building a new guest room bed and coffee table. ;) 

I decided I wasn't going to build the chairs, I was going to find 3 sets of 2 chairs in varying (but coordinating) design. I will take my time with this find, so the card table chairs will have to do for now! 

Follow me on IG @she.builds.nc 

Rustic Country Chic Bedside Table

It's hard to put into words just how much I enjoy designing and building simple pieces of furniture. I often keep scraps from other, larger projects and find myself staring longingly at the scrap pile trying to decide what gem can be emerge from it all.

A friend of mine told me that her sister had been "bugging" her about getting a bedside table in her guest room for when she visits. The story wasn't to see if I would build the table for her, but it did get me thinking about a simple, sturdy, but adorable bedside table using the scraps in my garage. As usual, my mind revved up and my hands went to Pinterest for ideas.

Interested in building this table for yourself? Well, keep reading...

Cut List: 

4- 2"x 6"x 25"

4- 2" x 6" x 12.5"

5- 1" x 3" x 16.5"

Other Materials:

2 1/2" Coarse Thread Kreg Jig Screws

Nails

Wood Glue

After cutting all the pieces, you'll need to join two 25" boards to each other using pocket holes on the Kreg jig and glue. Be sure you have the Kreg Jig settings correct for the 2x6 boards so as to maximize the strength and support between the two boards. Join the second set of 25" boards to each other as you did the first set. **The pocket holes will be on the inside of the table and I set them to the back half of the table.

You'll need to decide at this point what distance you want the first shelf from the top. I chose 10" in this table, but I probably would have done 8" if I had to do it over again. Measure and mark on the INSIDE of the sides of the table. I drilled pocket holes on the underside of the shelf pieces (the 12.5" boards), set the boards on my mark, put glue on the joint, clamped it and screwed the joint together. At this point, your table should like an H. I always check to make sure that my corners are at 90 degrees.

Drill pocket holes on the underside of the other two boards and join them to the bottom of the table with glue and screws. Again, check your corners to ensure they are 90 degrees.

The top of the table uses the 1" x 3" boards, placed side by side, with equal overhang on each side and there will be some overlap on the front and back. This is normal. Side overhang should be about 1/2" on each side. Overhang on the front should be a little more than the back. Glue them down and then put a nail in to secure them.

I used a nice blueish gray stain that I found on the unwanted rack at Lowes. It was leftover from my dining room table project (also on the blog). I painted such that it got a nice 1st coat, but some of the wood grain still shows through. It's  not perfect and that's the look I was going for. It's rustic and weathered and has a country feel to it. It was a quick 1 hour (minus painting) project and super cheap to do.

Happy Building!

If you'd like to purchase this, see me on Instagram @she.builds.nc

Glad I didn't toss this gem!

The Home and Garden outdoor furniture we had was wonderful but we came home one day to the glass tabletop shattered in a million pieces all over the patio. There was no way I was just going to discard the whole set, so I decided to do a little DIY to give my table new life.

Here's the original:

(I wish my backyard looked like this)

Materials:

10- 2x4x8's non treated and I picked out the "good" looking ones

some sort of support boards (I used 2 1x2x6 foot boards, but I might suggest going with 2 1x4x6's instead)

1 1/4" exterior deck screws

metal jigsaw blade

Preparation:

The original table has metal "tabs"that were supporting the glass table top. These will need to be cut off. I purchased a couple of blades for the jigsaw that cut through metal. I tried to cut off as much of the tab as possible right to the inside edge of the table. Most of the tabs, though, still had 1/8 to 1/4" left, so this will need to be factored into the length of the boards cut. 

I figured out that I was right at 36" (a nice even number) and only 1 board of all of them was a snug fit. To make measuring and fitting easier, I turned the table upside down and laid the boards in place as I cut them. I was mindful to make sure that the "pretty side" was face down so that it would be the surface board when you turned the table over. 

It took a total of 19 boards, cut at 36" each to fill the space perfectly. The table length (inside the frame) was 68 1/4" with a little room at the ends where the tabs were cut off. This meant that there needed to be a very slight amount of space in between each board- so small an amount, in fact, that I used a piece of thin cardboard and it was the perfect amount of spacing. 

While it is laying upside down and fitted perfectly, this would be the time to run support boards along the length of the tabletop (they are not shown above). I put 1 screw in each support board into the table top (11/4" exterior deck screws actually) and then on the end boards, I put 2 screws so that the table wasn't able to pivot or move much. This worked well, otherwise you'd have 70+ screws in the thing and, frankly, I think that affects the integrity of it all. 

Due to the structure of the inner frame of the table, the corners of the new table needed to be cut off so it gives it an angled look. Just a little bit of character added to the already charming feel of it all! 

Once finished, I put a Minwax finish on it- not gonna lie, I saw this is the "get rid of it" pile at Lowes and a quart was 3$, so score... It's not the most awesome color for this project, but I knew ultimately I would put a dark shade over it for that rustic feel, so I went with it. If all else failed with the look, I could just cover it with a darker shade. 

So this is the finished product. I took a dark walnut stain I also had in the garage and brushed over the lighter shade and thinned it out. I tried to alternate the brush strokes from one side of the table to the other. Ultimately though, this is supposed to look rustic and weathered, so there should be little continuity to it to give it that feel. 

When the grass comes in (it's dormant right now) and I pull out all the cushions, I'll be excited to post a picture with the table all "decorated and blog worthy".  Stay tuned... and stop throwing stuff away! This went from 'eh' to 'wow' for just about 30$ and an hour and a half of your time. 

Platform Bed

My weekend project consisted of this brand new platform bed to fit the brand new KING sized mattress that I have been wanting to upgrade to for years! I used 1"x8"x8' select pine boards to complete the sides and legs. I connected them using pocket holes. The center support is a 2x6" and the slats are 1x4" and neither have to be the best "show" wood considering they are hidden.

** I would suggest considering how to disassemble the bed for moving. The way I connected everything will require it to be moved in one piece. **

The headboard is wider than the bed is. The purpose of this is that I will be installing wall lamps directly onto the headboard to provide lighting. I used the same 1x8" boards and attached them using the 1x4" remnants from the support slats of the bed frame.

The finished bed is amazing. The colors of the wall and the bed are perfect together. I wanted a custom bed, of good quality, that didn't cost a fortune and that's exactly the vision that was realized here. I attached the headboard to the wall using a french cleat, that you can make yourself or you can by from Home Depot or Lowes. 

I finished the room with a couple of side tables mounted to the wall. I wanted clean lines and no place for the clutter that bedside tables usually attract. Once the lighting is mounted to the headboard, the space on the tables will open up. (see finished pic above)

All You Need Is A Hammock And Some Friends

There is nothing I have come to hate about camping. When I first started adventuring out into the woods, I had a fear of the unknown- the wildlife, the difficulty of the hike, the unpredictable weather- but I have come to develop a healthy respect for all of that which has displaced my fear quite a bit. What I have come to appreciate about camping is the solitude, the serene beauty of the landscape, the welcoming feel of the wilderness and just how big the world outside of my city really is.

This weekend, we decided to head down to Brevard, NC where Pisgah National Forest is easily accessible and the trail system massive. This has to be one of my favorite little towns honestly. It's home to something like 200 waterfalls and it's just nestled into the woods so quietly, it still holds onto most of it's quaint small town charm. I usually have "7 jobs" on these hikes. Most important one is usually planning the route. So I broke out the trusty map and went to work. I'm not a fan of out and back hikes (there is SO MUCH to see that you don't have to double back on anything) so I decided on a shuttle hike leaving out of Black Mountain and ending at Turkey Pen Trailhead. Trailheads were about 7.5 miles apart as the car goes, but the hike ended up being 12.5-13 miles the whole way.

We stayed at the beautiful Davidson River Campground on Friday night, thanks to my "bestie in the westie" Meredith for snagging the last walk up first come, first serve campsite. Car camping isn't this group's favorite thing, but when you are driving in from Raleigh, NC and need a sure place to rest the night before a long hike, you take what you can get.

Saturday morning, we headed over the base of Black Mountain and the Black Mountain Trailhead. Wouldn't you know that on that very morning a huge endurance mountain bike race had started? Lucky for us, we hit the trail at the right time.

Before I get into the trail description,  I want to say this. This first part of the trail is not easy. It's not even moderate. It's difficult. It's 4.5 miles straight uphill. There's nothing about the first part that was pleasant, actually. And that's just being honest. I was dreading my decision to start at this trail. Not even gonna lie. So... we started at Black Mountain and ascended 4.5 miles up to the summit of Black Mountain. Near the top, it intersects with the Turkey Pen Gap Trail. Right at the intersection there is a small campsite on the left, suitable for 1-2 tents and has a small fire ring. We continued past the junction of the two trails to the summit of Black Mountain for a view and lunch stop. This is just a little ways past the intersection of the two trails. It was a "tunnel" of rhododendron that we walked through.



The view was stunning. What you are seeing here is the view from a small rock outcropping at the top of Black Mountain. It was quite windy and cold up here, but we bundled up and got some food in our bellies. From the picture on the right, you can see Looking Glass Rock (middle of the picture).

 

After a long rest, some photo ops, and a packless exploratory hike along the ridge, we saddled up and headed back down the mountain to continue our journey. We took a left on Turkey Pen Gap trail and were very pleased to find that for the next 3.5 miles, there was a mix of uphill and downhill terrain. For this I was thankful because I wasn't ready for any more ridiculous climbs.

At the junction of Turkey Pen Gap Trail and Wagon Road Gap Trail was a small campsite. We turned left down Wagon Road Gap trail and descended about .6 miles to the junction of this trail and the South Mills River Trail. The scenery really changed on this trail. I wish I knew the names of all of the foliage, but I know there was quite a bit of fern growing in this area, which I think is really pretty when the sunlight pokes through the trees and hits it.

About a half mile down the trail, there is a large campsite on the left suitable for a small village. The small stream that runs alongside the trail here sort of dives in and out of the thicket, but it is accessible if water is needed. We dropped pack here, left a hiker behind and headed a little further to see if anything else was available in the way of sites. We got to the junction of the Wagon Road Gap Trail and South Mills River Trail and hit campsite gold mine. This campsite was large and flat with two fire rings and was about 20 yards from the beautiful South Mills River. We immediately dropped pack and hung the hammocks, thankful for a place to put our feet up after ~10 miles of up and down hiking.

 

There are quite a few dead hemlocks at this site which made for ample firewood BUT be careful about where you hang your hammock and your liable to pull one straight out of the ground from the roots. Yes, that happened to us and my tent, dog, and I were almost crushed! You would think that your engineer friend would know not to hang a hammock from a dead tree, but this was not the case.

The next morning, we lounged around for a while as we knew that we had less than 3 miles to the Turkey Pen Gap Trailhead to end our shuttle hike. Immediately after leaving the campsite we headed northeast (turned right) on the South Mills River trail and hit the first of two footbridges we would need to cross on our way back. The first 1.5 miles of this return trip was a flat and fast and there were plenty of riverside campsites to choose from.

 

Made it to the Turkey Pen Gap Trailhead to complete the shuttle hike and headed for our post hike beer and food!  All in all, a great trip. I wouldn't recommend the first 4.5 miles to a beginner hiker, but we made it work and thoroughly enjoyed the whole weekend.