New Project

Need some design help. The main idea is a castle bed for Katie on her 3rd birthday. May end up waiting longer, not sure. I have a main structure idea and hopefully will get around to posting some pics of my sketches, or even screen shots of the model.

I have three towers that I'm not sure what to do with.

I've thought of boring things like shelves or drawers that will be useful for organizing things, but it would be nice if it was geared more to play. A tower is about 2ft square, so there isn't a whole lot of room to work with.

Maybe a ladder on the inside that goes up to a trap door to enter the top bunk?

Maybe a fireman's pole to slide down?

What other features are there to make this more interesting.

The reason there is no forth tower is that I plan to make a tunnel to a slide in the back right corner.

One tower I plan to cut windows in to climb up from the outside. This would be the main way of accessing the top level.

I would like to make a sliding door/secret passage, but not sure where to put it.

What about some board space? Chalk board, white board? Should I put a metal plate behind it so you can stick magnets on it?

What about doors? I was planning on making the front just an open arch, but kids seem to love doors. Windows to the outside of the house will be in the back center, so I was wanting to do some cut outs that would project a fun image inside.

What about a light switch that controls a rope light that runs around the inside?

Right now the design is for the top bunk to be empty, but what about putting a tower or room up there?

Climbing net? Maybe a rope bridge between two towers instead of a wood platform.

Fake fireplace would be fun, not sure where to put it, but probably in the lower section. Though that area I want for sleeping mainly.

So I could use some more ideas as I design this. I have a basic structure design that I like, but want to add more.

What's Next?

Discipleship for Leadership finished with class on Wednesday. Now that class is over, I need to stay on top of scripture memory. I need to continue to review what I have learned, and add to it. I also need to apply what I learned, and an opportunity has presented itself. Not a happy one, but one of great need. Rick died May 29th. Rick is a member of my mini-church, so now we have his wife and six kids that are still here coping with what has happened.

Some of the ideas I have:
*Create a website to help track needs and volunteers.
*Take care of their maintenance (Lawn, car, home) for them.
*Help with chauffeuring the kids.

The funeral is this Wednesday, and I haven't gotten much done. I need to make this happen, but I'm not too sure how. My main concern is that to implement this is going to require work from the family, and it doesn't seem right to try and help but end up giving them a small burden.

I probably just need to try and be available. Maybe set up an evening where we can go over there and do whatever is needed, or get an idea of what is needed.

Need a project

For some reason I love doing projects. I have plenty of things that need to be done, but that is more simple to do items. I enjoy designing. So I have been pondering what project to work on next. I have done several designs for an outside play castle, but I've agreed with the wife that they are too young now and won't really appreciate, so I need to wait a couple years. So then I thought of maybe pursuing the third car garage idea some more, so I looked at it and I can't find a way around the cost. So now I'm in to trying to free up some space in the house. I want to build shelves and organizers.

So the project I'm currently looking at is a built in entertainment center. Right now we have our TV and media equipment on a TV cart. Well, David is now pulling on it to turn on the TV, and this is of course the hazard you read about with kids pulling a TV down on them. So my thinking is that a built in will provide more stability and also look better. We could also think about getting an LCD TV instead of our CRT, that would really change space consideration. We also have the option to simply anchor the TV to the wall with some clips and straps.

On the subject of shelves, I think it would be nice to have some high shelves. Like 18inches from the ceiling. Well, 18" off of an 8ft height makes the shelves 6.5 ft off the ground which I think is a good height, but poor wifey is only 5ft tall. The main use I think would be decorations. Maybe some toys in the kids rooms could be up there.

On a completely different subject, the memory verse for this week is Romans 12:1-2 which several of you probably know, but I was surprised at how much of it I had forgotten. So if anyone knows of a good way to review memory verses I would like to hear it. My current thinking is to review 10 verses a day while learning a new one each day. The problem is that this limits itself to 70 verses for a week. If I went to monthly reviewing that is only 300 verses, and that requires me to be very good about reviewing each day since the next time I review that verse will be a month away.

To put some numbers in perspective:
52 weeks a year, but due to holidays and vacations we will make this 50 weeks for memorizing scripture. So memorize 1 passage a week gives me 50 verses known in 1 year. So weekly review works fine, but half way through the second year I already know too many verses. So maybe the key is to step up the daily review. Maybe if I review 20 passages a day, that gives me 140... still seems to be lacking.

Finished Boat Bed Pictures

Happy boy with his new bed, and a book. The door is closed, which he doesn't get to see this side of it much.

Here is the inside. This is where he sleeps. The door is down on the right side of the picture. The stairs up are already broken. I should have added a stronger edge on this piece, but that is pretty easy to fix, no real harm done.

Here is the top. This is a look at the captains quarters.

Here is a nice overall view of the boat which takes up so much of the room.
Looks like David didn't make his bed this morning.

So much happening

Man, I'm so excited about this boat bed. I have it assembled with the help of Angie, Jason, Dad, and Papa. I finally decided what I want to do for the door and plan to put that on Thursday. Then I need to get some help and pull the thing apart. It has a coat of primer, but one gallon isn't enough to cover the thing. It only covers about 2/3rds.

Haven't been out on my bike recently because I have this annoying cough. I think I may have been a bit sick or something, but I'm not sure. It may just have to do with all the saw dust I've been breathing. But I'm done cutting, and the temperature is rising. So I should be able to ride some more. After I get my lawn mowed. We have had so much rain I haven't had a chance to get out and mow. The plan is to do it today after DFL. We should get home around 8:40pm. But if I don't do it today I may miss my opportunity because more rain is in the forecast for tomorrow/tonight.

The kids are doing well, but they have had some nose issues. David had an ear infection that is over with now, and Katie had a runny nose and hadn't been sleeping through the night. But I think we are all better, or close to it.

Birthdays are coming up now so my next two weekends are going to be busy. I'll need to recruit some help getting David's room ready, getting the mattress, and finishing the boat bed. But everyone I've talked to so far seemed interesting and available, so may try to arrange a full day at my house and feed people and have a good time.

Project update

As stated earlier, I have some pics. The first pic is the step stool I'm making for him. I painted the inside blue, but I think I will go with white or a cream color so it is easier to see inside. The two pieces on the side are the tops that will be attached with hinges.




This next pic is an overview of the project. Moved my car outside to make room for all the material. You can also see my bike in the background that I added some reflective tape to.

Just some basic tools laying around. Miter saw, circular saw, jigsaw. The drill is in barely in the shot on the left. My other drill charger died, so I have to drill and screw with the same unit, which takes way too much time. I thought about buying another one to make things faster. But dad is planning on helping me out next weekend and will bring a drill.

The other pics are just a closer look at the two pieces I have so far.

The big thing on the left is the front of the ark. I think it is looking decent. I still need to add rails and a platform for it.

The big box on the right is the back end. I've started putting in the steps up to the second level. I have the rails here, and I still need to put the top caps on the rails. It has a platform, but it isn't screwed down yet. I decided the opening for the stairs should be a trap door so David doesn't accidentally fall down them.

The two main pieces will be connected with a sheet of OSB on the front that will have a 3ft x 3ft door that I plan to also hinge as a sort of ramp. I still need to cut some windows in the side of everything. I'll also make the top bunk between the front and back, this will be bigger than a mattress, 4ft wide and 7ft long. I plan to build a small cabin on the front of the expanse. The cabin will probably only be 4ft long. I think I have to go 3ft tall, otherwise I hit the ceiling when I try to put it in his room.

Okay, I now have a new respect for those with pics. It takes time to upload them, and then to get the formatting right.

Noah's Ark

Well, I started the project last night. On Monday I went with a friend who has a truck to buy over $100 of wood. So last night I got cutting. I have a basic shell of the back end of the boat put together. Still need to add supports and the platform for it. I think I'll try to tackle the front section next, which in my opinion will be the hardest. The front will be slopped in two directions. It will slope up and out from bottom to top, and come in to a point. That back is just square, so it is pretty easy. When I was out shopping I forgot to pick up the screws, so I ran out of the smaller ones.

Not sure when I'll work on it next, but once my wife gets back I think I may take some pictures and post the work in progress. So far it doesn't look very good, but I think paint will fix that. Taking volunteers over the next few weekends to give me a hand.

I also need to assemble a playset we bought for David's birthday. By the way, that is what this is for. The Ark is a bunk bed. The plan is to have a 7ft long middle section, then put a second platform 4ft up off the ground. We are not doing a lower platform so David's mattress will just be on the ground, so if he rolls out it isn't a big deal.

The boat plans. The back is a 4ft wide by 2ft section. It is 4ft up to the start of the platform which is built by 2x6s. The rails will extend an additional 15 inches. I screwed up and forgot to add in the 6 inches from the platform for my rails, so they are really short. I may need to fix this and undo what I did, but hopefully not. The rails were supposed to be 21 inches up. I also plan to put stairs in here. They will be 12" wide and each step will be 9 inches in height and length for a total of 5 steps plus the top platform.

The front of the boat will be 4ft wide at towards the back of the boat, and 2ft long. I plan to put a climbing net over the side. I have also thought of putting a door in the deck at the front of the boat, but it may be crowded over there, so I may just put the captains wheel and nothing else.

The middle of the boat is mainly for the bed. I'll put a sheet of OSB across for the side of the boat and cut a door and windows in it. I'm thinking of doing a drawbridge design for the door, and having a wheel you turn to pull a rope to open/close the door. At the top middle I plan to build a little cabin that will cover half the top bed (4ft wide).

That is the plan. Not sure how to fix my rail situation. I'm just afraid that 15 inches is too easy to climb over. I'll probably just have to add a 6" extension. I'm trying to think of something I could turn it into to cover the mistake. Maybe cut it short, but a new rail on the outside of it and make it a shelf or bench. Hmmm, bench is a good idea. I'll go with that for now.