DIY - CoreyMS

Make an American Girl Doll Bed

August 9, 2014 by Corey Schafer 1 Comment

My niece loves her American Girl Doll. She enjoys changing her outfits, doing her hair, the whole shebang. I wanted to get my niece something special for her upcoming 4th birthday, so I looked at beds I knew she would like to have for her doll. Many of the wooden doll beds were over $125. The design didn’t look too difficult, so I thought, “Hey… I can build that.”

So I jotted down and quick bed design and got to work. In this article, I’ll walk you through how you can make your own. Let’s get started:

Build a Platform Bed Frame

May 20, 2014 by Corey Schafer 2 Comments

When it comes time to purchase a new bed, the costs can quickly add up. The mattress itself is a huge chunk of change, not to mention a new frame. Building your own bed frame is a great beginner project and also saves you a lot of cash in the process. In this article, we’ll build a California King size bed frame from scratch for less than $100. You can change the dimensions of the frame to match whatever size mattress you would like. A California King mattress is 72 inches wide and 85 inches long. Let’s get started…

Make a Raised Dog Feeder

May 18, 2014 by Corey Schafer Leave a Comment

Raised dog feeders not only look nice but they can also have health benefits for your dog. In this article, I’ll walk you through the process of making your own raised dog feeder out of plywood (I am using left over oak plywood I had lying around). This project is very affordable and great for a beginner. Our final feeder will be 21″ long, 11″ wide, and 12″ tall. You may need to adjust the height of the legs according to the size of your dog. Let’s get started…

How to Build a Paver Patio

May 1, 2014 by Corey Schafer Leave a Comment

A paver patio can be a beautiful addition to your yard. It provides a terrific area for grilling, having guests over, or relaxing. Regardless of your skill level, a paver patio is a great project to tackle. In this How-to article, we will be adding a 100 square foot paver patio underneath our pergola build. Since you will be digging, make sure to contact your utility companies to make sure you won’t hit any water or electrical lines. Lets get started!

Quick Tip: Use a Wooden Pallet as a Lumber Rack

April 21, 2014 by Corey Schafer Leave a Comment

Making a lumber rack for the workshop is a task I’ve been putting off for a long time now. As I was cleaning up my shop the other day, I decided I needed to come up with a temporary solution for the pile of lumber on my floor. I’ve had an old wooden pallet in the corner of my shop for some time, so I decided to start loading what I could onto that. It was surprisingly more spacious and sturdy than I had first anticipated.

I loaded as many boards as would fit onto the pallet. There weren’t many left after I was finished. Since the walls in my shop can’t support heavy racks hanging on the walls, this is a nice simple and cheap solution for the time being.

This solution works best for long, thin boards. The nice thing is that you can still slide larger panels in behind the pallet for additional storage.

How to Build a Pergola

September 12, 2013 by Corey Schafer 1 Comment

Building a pergola is a fun and easy project. They are great for adding a nice look to your backyard as well as providing shade for family get-togethers. You can also use them for hanging plants or growing vines up the sides of their posts. We will show you how to build an 8×10 pergola from scratch. The total cost of the lumber, concrete, nuts, and bolts for the pergola we are going to show you to build will be roughly $450. You may need some additional materials, but some of these you may already have around your house.