Man, I LOVE having 4 days off every week. It may just be the best schedule on earth. Sure, some sort of rich or famous person who gets every day off may think they have it better, but honestly, I get bored out of my mind after a few days and need to get back to work. Then, sure enough, the long weekend rolls around and I feel like I deserve it, every time. I am so lucky!
This month I am trying to save money to pay down credit cards with Burning Man stuff still on it, and ski season, etc. So, instead of going shopping on my long days off alone, I decided to stick around the house and make stuff. We have been needing a firewood rack for out front. Last year we just stacked firewood in front of the house, but I learned that that can introduce termites. Also, the front (and just the front) has a new paint job, so logs can't go near it!
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| Wheelbarrow firewood rack, with Mo the neighbor dog. |
We need some wood to be dry, so under the patio roof thing in the front of the house is the perfect spot. I started off just using this wheelbarrow, which worked well, but I missed having a wheelbarrow. Plus, that's enough wood for maybe two nights. I perused some online racks, so nice. Brandon wanted a super modern half-circle steel one, and I had my eye on this cheap-o. But still, at $80, I knew I could do better.
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| Rack for $$$ |
The cool thing is that now we've been here almost two years, and have stockpiled the garage with leftover wood from other projects, and the Dewalt chop saw from the farmhouse table project. I'd been too wimpy to use it before, but something moved me yesterday.
I started by googling DIY firewood racks, of course, and combined what I saw on Google Images with crap we have laying around the yard. I am not a perfectionist, and as with every project, there is a learning curve. I tend to just jump into things without much of a plan, and make it up as I go along. Fun! I think this turned out pretty good. My design is solid, but the sturdiness is a little lacking-- we'll see if it lasts until spring. I could use a couple L brackets from Home Depot or somewhere, but did not have them on hand. The chop saw-ing was EASY. It was the screwing and nailing that was hard. The darn screws kept getting stuck, and when I tried to drill pilot holes my drill bit would get stuck. Some worked, and the ones that didn't, I just chopped off their heads with this chopper thing we have, and bent them over. Ha!
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| I need to work on technique.... |
Ugh. Don't look at that part! The rack as a whole looks much better than that. And it is sturdy enough to hold a bunch of logs. I covered it with a Minwax stain, something dark and leftover from I don't know what. The idea was to match the trim without using my precious paint.
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| Frame |
Awesomeness. Free. Looks pretty great too. So now, onto those chair cushions! Peach and red don't really go so well. What color should I make the cushions?
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| Finished frame! |
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Finished frame, with Mo.
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