Hanging around the garage.

 

Hello all! Been a while, but I have been a busy bee lately. Had to do some house renos and what-not, but I wanted to share this project with you.

I was scrolling through Pinterest, as usual, and came across this pin. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/492581277965603837/

I am always looking for better storage solutions, so I had to make it! And since my husband has a lot of fishing rods, I knew that I would need to adjust for size.

I just happen to have two 8 foot 1x4 that was scrapped from a shed project that I found from a Craigslist ad. I love it when people give away instead of throwing away. This of course meant that I had to do some prep work prior to starting this project. It is always a good idea if you reclaim wood to take the time to remove all the nails and screws and any sharp splinters, if you have the time, so that when you start a new project, you can just grab and go. These boards had lots of finishing nails and had been stained (which was peeling off). Might have been good if I hadn't planned on painting them. So Sanding was a must.

I also needed to buy the hooks. I needed about 40, and the cheapest place that I found them (that were the right size) was at Dollar General. They are called bike hooks $1, and found on the automotive isle. The problem is that most of the stores only stock 8 each, so you have to travel around the city, in search of them at different stores, or you can just wait and order them online.

Once that was finished, then I could start. Using my sawhorses, I laid out the boards and gave them two good coats of interior/exterior paint in dark grey. Allow to dry thoroughly.

Then I  measured out the spots where I would need to drill the holes. You will need to measure the width of the hook and make sure to leave at least that much space in between.
HLT: If you put them too close together, you will not be able to turn then around and be able to screw them into the boards. So measure and then use a scrap piece of wood (or the hooks themselves) as a spacer when you are marking the holes. Leave space at the end for the screws for the ceiling attachment.

You will need to use a drill bit that is slightly smaller than your hook's screw to drill your holes. I used a 1/4 bit. Drill all the way through the board. This will make some mess with saw dust, but clean and touch up paint as needed.

Next, screw in all your hooks. Turn them all the same direction (or different if you prefer). Make sure they have a tight grip, but do not go all the way through the board, or you will not be able to put board to wall.

Next, use a stud-finder and mark all of the available studs in your desired area. This can be difficult on a ladder on the ceiling, and especially if you have popcorn ceilings. WEAR EYE SAFETY!!!! You will need to leave enough space between the boards to correctly hold the weight of the rods, but also, not too much space that your shorter poles will not reach between. I left 4 feet between mine, and it was perfect! Measure and mark the stud distance with a pencil on your boards and pre-drill holes. This step will save you a lot of headache. Then use 2 1/2" construction or general purpose screws to attach. Bring extra hands for this step, because holding a drill, screws and trying to hold up the board is almost impossible. Screw your boards into as many studs as possible for extra support.

Load your rods on your hooks! And give yourself a pat on the back for a job well done!!!!

New looks to old Lights!

Here is a new idea to update those old light fixtures that you have in your house.

First things first - Assess your lights. If they are ugly, but in good working order, then there is potential there. If not, go buy a pretty new one and replace!

 This was your standard brass with white globe, original with the house. Nothing wrong with it(which is pretty good since it was installed in 1982). I was planning on repainting it, but since I decided on a shade, you really wouldn't see it. Ditch the globe. Or save it for another fun project.

Next, find a pretty shade that you love. I found this one at Basket market in the clearance rack. It was missing the bottom trim, so I rummaged through by lace bucket and found this black velvet trim.

Then I had to break out the glue gun.

Start on the lampshade seam, so that the seams will be fluid. Glue a small section at a time and work your way around flattening the trim against the glue to avoid bubbles. I left a 1/2 inch at the top over hang so that once the bottom was glued, I could go back and fold over the edge for support and to cover up the metal ring. Fold trim over and glue down to avoid having a raw edge where you meet the beginning trim.

 HLT: Use a Popsicle stick to press edges down to save your fingers from burning while dealing with hot glue.

Since you cannot insert a lampshade behind the light fixture, you will need to create an opening to place next to the light in the framework of the shade. You will need to measure the base of the light fixture. Mine was 5 1/2 inches across. So I centered it one the frame and marked my points.

 HLT: If your have bolt cutters, this step will take you about 20 seconds. If not you will need a small hack saw. Using a reciprocating saw will vibrate your shade into destruction. (Yes, I tried it)

So I hack-sawed my way through my points. It took about 15 minutes.

Next, you will need to get these handy little clamps. They are called R-type cable clamps. I was lucky enough to rummage though the toolboxes and come up with just enough. Thanks to my parts hoarding behavior. ;) They should be less than a dollar at any hardware store. Also get screws at least 1" long that will fit your clamps. These will need to bypass the popcorn and into the meat of the drywall ceiling.




Place clamps around shade "arms" and place the shade firmly against the ceiling.

This requires a ladder, drill, screws and some finesse to hold all items up there by yourself. Alternatively, you can grab your nearest tall person to hold said shade for you while you do the attaching. As always, be safe. You may also choose to flip the breaker while installing so there is no electricity free flowing.

HLT: Wear eye protection!!!!!! And also keep your mouth closed while doing this. This will keep you from eating the non-food grade popcorn.

 Lastly, screw in securely.

 And ENJOY!

Have fun trying new ways to update on a budget!