For questions involving wood as a construction material, either as lumber or finished features of a home.
4
votes
2answers
211 views
Rotten wood: to fill or not to fill?
I removed the paint from this wood, the top ring of a raised garden.
While scraping I got to a soft part and easily removed this rotten wood, creating the hole in the pictures: it is 2x2x5"
Should I ...
4
votes
1answer
337 views
How to paint a wood house?
I'm looking for good resources for painting a wood house. I'm looking for the proper tools and techniques.
I don't want to hire somebody to do the job, I would like to do it myself. I just need to ...
1
vote
2answers
211 views
Stain vs paint maintenance
I am removing paint form a wood fence door (paint was not primed it seems). The paint was peeling and I wanted to get this door done. Very painful (process of removing paint).
I thought stain is ...
2
votes
1answer
170 views
Used wood stain on a coffee table and it dried with spots?
I read the instructions on the can and it said to let it sit for at least 8 hours. I stained it last night and when I checked this morning it was looking great. But I just checked now and it appears ...
1
vote
1answer
885 views
What adhesive/glue is best to join PVC pipe to MDF?
I'm running a piece of 90mm diameter PVC pipe through a sheet of 20mm thick MDF. I've cut a hole the right diamater in the wood to fit the pipe through, and I'm wondering what the best glue would be ...
3
votes
1answer
69 views
What should I do with this bare spot on the step?
The bare spot you see below used to be covered by a gnarly patch of carpet, but I removed it when I laid that tile down. My intent was to put the same tile design over that spot, but I never got ...
2
votes
2answers
422 views
real dimensions of 2 by 4 in inches/centimeters [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Why are 2“x4”'s really 1.5“x3.5”?
Just by looking at a 2 by 4 plank I can tell that it is neither 2in × 4in or 2cm × 4cm. What are its real ...
4
votes
1answer
561 views
What is the difference between various wood sealers?
I've recently become aware of the existence of various seals for wood. I'm lead to believe that they are necessary, but I am unclear on the differences between the types of sealers you can find:
...
2
votes
1answer
63 views
Small chunks from brush in paint
So I took it upon myself to paint some wood endcaps (very small, about 8 inches long) from their sealed wood color to white. I sanded down the wood, wiped with a damp cloth, then applied a coat of ...
12
votes
1answer
3k views
Which is better for deck flooring: 2x6 or 1x6 deck boards?
My current deck flooring is done with 2x6x10' boards, however they have degraded to the point now where they need to be replaced.
I'm wondering if there are any specific pros or cons for using the ...
4
votes
1answer
451 views
Securing house numbers to stucco
We recently had our townhouse complex re-painted (beige stucco, reddish-brown trim.) We took the house numbers down ahead of time, of course, and now I need to put them back up. Previously they were ...
2
votes
2answers
1k views
Possible to refinish pressed-wood cabinets?
I've got some kitchen cabinets. The wood is very lightweight and the cross-section is pressed wood with what looks like a durable paper-like surface layer. I'm not sure what they're called. They were ...
3
votes
2answers
168 views
Door Repair - 2x6 bolted together
I am purchasing a log cabin built in 1915 with an entry door that appears to be 2x6 boards assembled together. It does have three lights, so I expect it was professionally made, not a homemade item. ...
1
vote
1answer
369 views
Exterior entry door repair
I have a 20 year old flat wood entry door (without mouldings or embellishment). I was going to sand and paint it, but when I sanded, I realized that the wood must have been just a veneer (plywood, ...
8
votes
2answers
9k views
What are the pros and cons of medium-density fibreboard (MDF)?
I heard mixed opinions about making cupboards and beds from MDF. Some said it doesn't matter, MDF is as durable as whole tree or sandwich boards. Some said that MDF is weak, and will not last for ...
3
votes
2answers
168 views
OK to use fallen branch in garden without treatment?
Recently a large branch fell off of one of our trees (a gum tree, ie hard wood). The branch is about thigh thick and parts of it would make a good garden-bed liner or similar as it is quite straight ...
3
votes
2answers
151 views
Guidelines for number of screws used
Are there any guidelines or rules of thumb for how many screws i should use when screwing two pieces of wood together?
For example if i have a 2cm x 10cm plank i want to screw onto a 10cm x 10cm ...
5
votes
3answers
2k views
Why should I use advanced nails instead of wood screws for strength?
Recently I found that there're some superior nails for constructing hurricane-resistant houses - with very clever design for preventing pulling the nails out and tearing the boards off when the ...
1
vote
1answer
81 views
Combined wood and aluminium windows
We would like to have wooden windows in our newly bought apartment which we are renovating at the moment. The apartment is old and we feel that alu-windows does not fit the "soul" of the apartment.
...
1
vote
3answers
377 views
How can I stop a desk from vibrating when I type?
Yesterday I finished building a corner desk for my home office. I have no previous experience with woodworking, but I thought it would be a fun project. The end result is actually pretty good, the ...
3
votes
2answers
157 views
Building custom cigar box - is there a MAYA or 3DSM to wooden cutout service
I am looking to build a custom cigar box, and was wondering if I were to design it in MAYA or 3D Studio Max and the figure out all the different pieces I would need. Is there a metal, plastic, or ...
3
votes
2answers
4k views
How do I treat / maintain IKEA Platta wood patio tiles?
Over a year ago we put a good sized set of IKEA Platta deck tiles on our patio. After exposure to the elements, they are now dis-coloring and becoming a bit 'rough'.
What exactly do I need to do to ...
5
votes
5answers
3k views
What's the right way to sand/shave/reshape particleboard?
My second bedroom has low ceilings. I bought an IKEA closet, but somehow botched the measurements when I was seeing if it would fit. So, instead of having ~10cm of room for the top of the cabinet, I ...
13
votes
1answer
613 views
Why are 2“x4”'s really 1.5“x3.5”?
Just curious as to the reasoning, is it a spec, or is it simply 'backwards compatibility'?
3
votes
1answer
342 views
Installing railing pickets using dowel pins
I am building porch railing, and I'm considering using dowels to attach the pickets so that no nailing is required.
For 2x2 pickets:
What size dowel stock should I use?
How long should each dowel ...
4
votes
3answers
975 views
What are the best materials for non-toxic wooden blocks?
I want to make wooden blocks for my baby girl. If successful, I would like to sell wooden block sets online too.
Requirements: (by order of importance)
Non-toxic
Cheap & readily available
...
2
votes
2answers
442 views
“Treated” wood vs “Pressure Treated”
I recently bought what I thought was pressure treated railing pickets. But now that I look more carefully at the label, there is no UC code. My understanding is that each piece of PT has to be labeled ...
3
votes
3answers
759 views
How should I paint pine furniture?
I built a bed for my son out of Pine (from plans on the internet.) I am going to paint it white. What kinds of preparation do I need to do to the wood, especially considering the 4 posts are from ...
3
votes
3answers
264 views
Dresser/Chest with convex front
I'm contemplating building a dresser and am looking at designs and such to get my creative juices flowing. Today I noticed that some dressers/chests have concave or outwardly curving drawers on the ...
3
votes
2answers
443 views
Fast, easy and simple construction of a log store
We've just bought a whopping great log burner, and so our thoughts have turned to keeping it fed over the winter. I've plenty of ash trees, some beech, and an old sycamore that over the last couple of ...
2
votes
2answers
226 views
Non-Toxic Wood Glue
I've got a cutting board that was left soaking for too long, and it subsequently cracked and split. Is there a non-toxic wood glue I can use to glue it back together? I'm planning on using a quick ...
5
votes
4answers
404 views
How can I find *very* old door/window trim?
Our house is around 100 years old, and during the course of a bathroom demo, the contractor irreparably broke part of the window trim.
Of course, the big box and local lumber stores are completely ...
6
votes
5answers
210 views
Good low cost tools for woodwork
I'm starting to get into some woodwork for building a desk for my home and I need to purchase some tools, but I'm not really sure of what to look for to determine if a tool is of good quality.
I ...
5
votes
3answers
1k views
Wood for boarding a loft?
I want to board out my loft - just for easy storage of things like tools, boxes, old clothes, suitcases, small unused furtniture etc (i.e. nothing too heavy). I am wondering what kind of boards to buy ...
5
votes
3answers
723 views
What can be done to fix a squeak in stairs?
This might be better suited as a community wiki, what do you think?
My parents house has very squeaky stairs. The house is over 100 years old, so it's to be expected. What can be done to fix a squeak ...
