Monday Monday

DIY, Home Repair, Woodworking 81 comments
You can’t see what she sees, but it’s a bunny.

I spent a lot of time in the shop this weekend, so not a lot of time for writing, unless I tell you about that work. I’ll try not to do this too often, but you know what they say about Mondays…can’t trust that day. One of the projects I am working on is the doors that allow access to the storage space in the attic of the garage. If you’ve been following my Thursday Doors posts for a while, you may remember a post about attic access doors. We like the look of those doors, and they work really well, so we decided to replicate them on the garage.

Of course, the previous doors are inside the comfort and security of our home. The new set will be exposed to the weather, and creatures curious and nefarious. Weather-proofing will be accomplished with a PVC skin. Security remains a mystery for now. I hope to avoid having to set up a ladder to unlock the doors.

As you can imagine, I’m going to wait until the doors are completed, maybe until they’re installed, before featuring them. Today, I just want to show some photos of the initial construction and give all those people who hate it when I get mathy, a chance to giggle at my expense.

The initial plan for these doors was to match the style and shape of the interior set. The doors were going to have to be shorter and sit lower on the wall than the existing doors, because I want to add a small overhang to the gable end of the garage. We didn’t think that would be a problem. Then, I noticed the upper doors on the barn in Georgetown, MA that was included in last week’s Thursday Doors post. I like that shape, the editor likes the shape and it would allow us to make the doors almost as tall as they are now.

My first task was to determine the angle of the roof. I won’t go into all the measuring and calculating involved, suffice it to say, it’s 31-and-a-few-pieces-parts degrees, which is convenient because my power miter box (Word wanted to change that to ‘litterbox’ – who has been using this laptop…MiMi?) has a preset ‘detent’ at 31.6°. A ‘detent’ for those unaware, means that the saw clicks into a stop that is at exactly 31.6°. That detent is used for cutting Crown Molding, but what the hey?

5 times 31.6° is not good math for a doorway.

As I am prone to do, I made a mock-up. I’ll cut myself some slack and say “it was hot, about 94°f (34.4°c).” Still, without really thinking, I cut five pieces of wood at 31.6° angles and…oh no, that is never going to work, unless, as my wife suggested, we were going to rent the garage to M.C. Escher.

What I needed was a series of angles that would ultimately put the top of the door jamb, at a 90° angle to the side of the door jamb. Since one of the angles in the series needs to be 31.6°, surely the other has to be 58.4° – but none of the angles are 31.6° or 58.4° since there are two boards that are joined to form that angle. The angles I needed are 15.8° and 29.2°.

This is why you always make a mock-up!

I made a better mock-up. More measurements were mathed. Actual boards were cut at the proper angles. Jigs were made to hold things in place. Cleats were screwed to the table to keep everything in line. Clamps were used to hold everything in place. By the way, if you ever need to buy a gift for a woodworker, you can NEVER have too many clamps.

The threshold needs to extend beyond the siding so that water falling/running onto the threshold doesn’t get behind the siding. The threshold is cut from a piece of 1” composite decking. The bottom of the door jamb is cut at a 10° angle so that water will run away from the door. 10° seems to be the angle Noah used on the main entrance door to the ark. It’s been forever.

The gallery has a few of the woodworking photos and a few of the standard weekend fare from around this place. I hope you all have a great week! The song hinted at above is under the gallery, just in case you need it.

“I’ll just lay here and keep an eye on that bunny.”
Just making sure
It’s the 90° between the side and the top that I have to check.
Neighbor’s day lily poking through the fence.
I was happy to see this setting until I realized that I can’t use it.
That’s a lot better. I’ll save the mock-up since I have to cut trim and backer boards.
Happy pup!
The joints are held together with glue, screws and biscuits. Biscuits are little oval plates that fit into slots that are cut by this little machine.
52 and 9/16ths – we need to find that same measurement at the other end.
The Rose of Sharon is blooming and it’s something to look at while out with Maddie.
Complete jamb and threshold, ready to be tested on the wall.
We are lowering the height of the threshold by about 4½” – I think it’s going to look good.
That looks big enough to get most of the stuff in the attic in and out.

 

81 comments

  1. Haha…to me this post of yours is a test of my geometry… look at the measuring tools, too professional…haha…the door frame looks great! But between the picture of this craftsmanship project and Maddie, I will have to vote for Maddie…. She looks like a queen, especially from the side angle! I bet she was watching you work the whole time😁

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  2. I think it’s going to look great. You lost me with all that calculating. But the flowers and Maddie kept me going. 😉I fully trust it will be a perfect set of doors or you will not stop until they are! Have fun Dan.

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  3. My DIY pulse quickened at this post because I always enjoy your projects, and I LOVE that door. It is a beautiful architectural element. But, I wouldn’t want to have to access it by hauling stuff up the ladder. I would have a meeting with the Editor and Faith and unless both agree that an item was to be stored up there, it would go to Goodwill. :-) Before we made the cross country move, we had a large attic over the two-car garage that I accessed through the garage on a ladder (I was younger then). When we got ready to move and I reviewed whether to move or pitch, I found that all those treasured items were not treasures to anyone else in the family so almost all of them were donated. Keep us posted on this because it is interesting to watch a professional carpenter work. Maddie looks pretty happy with you being outside as well. :-)

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    1. Thanks Judy. My daughter is waving the Goodwill flag, but we do need some storage up there. Not to worry about hauling up and down the ladder, I am also planning to add a winch to the deal so I can pull things up without too much trouble.

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        1. I’ve been using a portable winch (that my wife bought for me) in the garage to get full sheets of plywood out of my trailer. I’ve gotten spoiled, so a winch to that doorway is definitely in the plans.

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  5. Love the door frame. Nice shape and proportions.

    But I’m intrigued by the 31.6 detent. You said it’s for crown molding, but sitting here in a clients office many kilometers (miles :-) from my workshop I am intrigued as to what this setting is for, and if I have the same on my saw!

    Les

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    1. Thanks Les. If you’re cutting crown molding using the compound angle method, you use a 33.9° bevel and a 31.6° miter. Most people either put the molding in upside-down or use a jig to hold it at the angle it will be installed and use a straight 45° cut. I’ve never had luck with the compound angle method, because if the walls aren’t perfectly square, I can never figure out how to adjust. Plus, trying to tweak the angle around one of those detent stops is never easy.

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  6. I didn’t need the reminder for the song…the title of your posting was way too obvious for someone of my generation. The door is amazing. Like so many others, I got lost in the complex calculations. I think the only role I could play in the process is Maddie’s.

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  7. Oh, we have clamps! It is amazing what makes guys happy. Ha! I had to laugh at MiMi taking over the litterbox…I mean miter box. How funny is that. Seriously, Dan, your woodworking skills are amazing

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    1. Thanks Lois. You have clamps, but do you have enough clamps? When I was doing this project inside, I had MiMi as a helper/inspector and tuxedo tool thief. She can’t resist pawing around in my tool bag.

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  9. I think it looks great! Yes I did nod off for a very wee bit but I did like the door. Maddie was guarding your work from the nefarious Bunny Squad and their evil ways! Good girl!

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  11. 1) Math. *giggle* Ugh. *giggle*
    2) I’m looking forward to the finished project. I’m positive it will look fabulous!
    3) M.C. Escher. Hmmm…learn something new every day. Bonus points to myself for learning on a Monday.
    4) Maddie is so adorable.
    5) Tell Mimi if she’s going to play on the computer, she should order Gibbs some cat food.
    6) Math. *giggle* Ugh. *giggle*

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    1. Enjoy the humor at my expense. I’ll add a few more bonus points for looking up MC Escher and a 5x factor for doing it on a Monday. MiMi has attempted to gain access to our laptops, but I don’t think she has access to our credit card. Then again, she did hear that you weren’t feeding Gibbs early enough or often enough.

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      1. I had to look up Mr. Escher to understand what you were talking about. I frequently read about people like this via Google and their random selection of birthdays. Not that I remember all of them, but it’s interesting at the time.

        Gibbs is getting his share of food (from my viewpoint). I can’t overdo the canned stuff or he pukes all over the bed (I had a mess two nights ago that I don’t want to repeat). Tell Mimi that Gibbs is fine and not starving, no need to worry.

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  12. My brother has a master’s in mechanical engineering – (of course he works as a computer programmer). When another of my brother’s asked for help building a deck that was all odd shapes and angles, the engineer brother brought his protractor and calculator to work out the cuts.

    Everything fit perfectly.

    When they were done, the non-engineer brother said, “I suppose you do that all the time.”

    “Not really,” said the engineer, “in fact after six years of school and ten years on the job, that’s the first time I ever did anything like it.”

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  15. I always marvel at your math, measuring, reading a ruler and figuring out the degrees at which something will work skills! My mind begins to get a fog that dims to black after a bit, but I marvel at your skill and talent!
    The door frame/jamb shape looks great! For me it would be mostly a cosmetic feature to the garage b/c I wouldn’t want to be hauling anything too big up a ladder to store up there. Can you image trying to haul up a 7 foot artificial Christmas tree in its storage bag? I’d definitely want a bigger winch. :)

    You cracked me up when you said,” spell wanted to change miter box to litterbox! MiMi has been at the computer.” That’s funny!

    Maddie is gorgeous. She must have been busy keeping an eye on both you and the bunny.

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    1. Thanks Deborah. There will be a winch for that Christmas tree box, and for the decorations. I’ve hauled them up and down a ladder too many times. I stopped hauling my bike up there, but I don’t like having it in the garage all winter. MiMi has opened hundreds of windows on the Editor’s laptop. We’re not sure if she walks or sleeps on the keyboard. We’ve also come home to multiple login attempts if the laptop was locked.

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  17. Your angles and cutting took me immediately back to a “year” of crown molding installation in our two story house in San Diego…my youngest helped me (the only one of the three girls that enjoyed my numerous construction projects around the house) figure the angles for each of the cuts…yes we made our fair share of mistakes, but challenged our math skills!! Have a great week Dan!

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    1. Crown molding is a challenging project. Unless you do it all the time, it’s hard to keep the angles straight. My worst crown molding mistake was on a project when I had my cabinet shop. I had made custom walnut crown molding to wrap around a walnut bookcase. I cut the angle in the wrong direction and scrapped the longest piece :(

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  18. I do math … sometimes … but I definitely don’t do geometry. In fact, I even avoid saying the word if possible.
    I’m just going to nod my head and pretend I understood anything of what you said – although Maddie and Rose of Sharon I get. No need to explain them :)

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    1. Thanks Damyanti. I tried to keep the math at a minimum. I thought you guys might get a kick out of my mistake. I always include Maddie if I’m not sure if the other photos will work ;-)

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  25. Oh oh oh, you’re losing me in the details. I have a feeling that my mind and yours are diametrically opposite. But I’m sure you’d get along with my technical Amore perfectly. And I might have a word or two with the Editor. :) Even though sitting and looking at the bunny sounds just perfect too.

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  26. OK… I finally realized that it wasn’t a fluke. WordPress was sending me your posts the next day… Hopefully I’ve fixed that. Because this is my favorite Monday song. Mama Cass was amazing.
    I love seeing the photo details of how you build things, Dan. I’m always fascinated. Hugs.

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    1. Thanks Teagan. WordPress has been on a tear lately with me. I’m trying to figure out if I did something wrong :)

      I love how animated Cass was in the videos. I love her voice. Hugs back at you!

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    1. Thanks. I took a quick look at your page. It looks like there’s some interesting stuff there :)

      I enjoy woodworking very much. Most of this project will be construction, and I will be taking some shortcuts on the woodworking (like biscuits and screws vs. 29° mortise and tennon joints). I am also under some time constraints, as I really need to get the walls sided around these woodworking projects ;-)

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      1. Thanks for stopping by. Our next project is a King bed frame with drawers for the son and a few smaller pieces of furniture. Plus we’re hoping to do an addition on our house. I’m with you on the biscuits and screws, I hate doing mortise or even dove tail joints. They’re so time consuming. We usually have to wait until summer calms down to get at building projects.

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        1. At least with dovetails, you have something to show. Mortise & Tenon joints are so much work, and then there’s nothing to point to and say “I did that!” I know, it’s not why we do woodworking. I use M&T joints often because they’re so strong, but I take a lot of pictures, too. Good luck on those projects.

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  28. Oh wow, I am SO impressed, Dan. And hey what do ya know I knew what a *detent* was!! I learned that from our AC control unit. Well wonders never cease! I LOVE geometry yet I goofed on my one sad post about a certain angle saying the wrong size angle. And here you are spewing out math as if it is your native born language. I LOVE LOVE LOVE that door …. oh man, when you are finished could you come on by and see if you could put one of those on our house somewhere? You are not only talented with the word, but talented with the wood. Amazing what you are doing and I mean that with no pun intended anywhere. I am really and I mean really impressed. I do things like … when we were installing our wooden screen door last summer hubby made a model but it didn’t work. So I looked at the angle and the size and I thought …. and what I thought I told hubby to do to fix the model and it worked. But because I am so rusty with math I couldn’t explain how I figured it out (sad face) when once upon a time I aced geometry. OOOO you’ve got me itching to throw myself back into math and that is no lie!!! Cool pics, very cool! 🤗🤗🤗

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    1. Thanks! I had a lot of trouble in school because I could get the answer but not show the work. Some people just see the answers, Amy. It’s not a failing. My wife often offers an answer that makes no sense, but is somehow correct. Hopefully, I’ll get the doors made to fit inside that jamb.

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      1. IF I didn’t have the math knowledge I do hold deep somewhere in my brain, I wouldn’t have been able to solve the door problem like I did. Yes I did have trouble at times in school as well cause I knew the answer and was very impatient to have to show all the work longhand. And yeah, in those days it was longhand. And nothing else. LOL You and hubby need to confer with one another cause according to him he needs PROOF in order for something to be right. That one time with the door he for some reason believed me and went with it. He needs to do that more often. Hehehehehe ….. It honestly would save him a lot of time and a lot of headaches. Right, Mrs. Antion? 😂

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  29. Pingback: Safe and Easy | No Facilities

  30. Your reference to Escher made me smile! :)
    There’s an older strange black and white movie The Name of the Rose with Sean Connery and a very young Christian Slater film that has stairs like Escher.
    Good luck on those degree angles, Dan. 🍀
    It is a week that was so, so busy! You sound stressed and it was fun in evenings packing up stuff for my oldest daughter’s 2 boys, trips to Goodwill. . . Last day of month today and still a couple runs for them after work. Of course, unpacking comes next. Their sweet new home is on a culture de sac drive. Yellow and gray. :)

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