We’ve been wondering what to do with the big blank wall in our loungeroom for some time now. We had an all-in-one picture frame collage thing we found at the meatball place hanging on the wall on our son’s room and that gave us the idea that we should make a real collage using our own frames. So that’s what we did!

Having an engineering background using CAD and spreadsheets, I naturally turned to those tools to help lay the collage out. I figured others could benefit from those tools too so I’ve made a video guide to making a picture collage and using a spreadsheet to precisely calculate where on the wall to put your picture hooks (or screws as in my case).

I’ve made the spreadsheet available here for anyone who thinks they could use it to make a collage for themselves. i’ve included both the blank spreadsheet and the one I used myself with the dimensions of all the frames I used.

Did I mention that I hate painting? That’s something you need to know about me. I guess that’s my excuse for our latest video taking so long to be finished.

I guess the way I did it was a little unorthodox but it certainly left me with a much cleaner finish than I would have had I listened to conventional painting discourse. 

So anyway, I’ve spent the last few months chipping away at the trim in the shed in the hopes of creating the oasis away from everyday life that I’ve been dreaming of. Then I took a bunch of it back down to paint it and screwed it back up. Sometimes I felt like I was going around in circles but finally I’ve reached the end. At least as far as painting goes.

The shed fitout is really starting to come together now that all the wall linings are up. The timber feature wall was quite the monumental task as it turned out. I’m really happy with how it turned out though. It really captures the rustic look I was going for. Check out the video to see how it turned out for yourself.

The fourth and final stage has already begun, having acquired the timber trim pieces I need to tidy up the look of the place. Once that’s all up it will be time to paint it all. I’m thinking the back wall will be black and the rest of them an off-white colour. The timber wall will receive a nice coat of oil to bring out the grain colours.

It’s been a while since I’ve released a new YouTube video but that doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten my viewers! It’s just a matter of having limited time to get jobs done and filming it all near enough doubles the time it takes to do those jobs. But hey, it is what it is and I’m still enjoying both getting work done on the shed and making videos about it.

This video is all about insulating and lining the shed walls using a polymer based insulation batt and sheets of 9mm ply. I’ve included as many tips as I can to make the video interesting enough to anyone butt mostly to those interested in lining their own shed.

So I hope you enjoy the video and will return to see more in future. Once the shed is done it’ll be time o move on to some more interesting projects including decking out the workshop, starting work on my rack car and other woodworking and metalworking shenanigans.

Wow, it’s been slow progress with all things shed related. I’ve been plugging away at the insulation in the roof and I’ve managed to build the frame of the partition wall that will separate the garage from the main workshop area. It’s been a while since my last upload but I feel like I haven’t stopped working on the many projects I have planned that will become YouTube videos.

I hope you enjoy this video despite the sight of my belly hanging out of my shirt. The follow-up to this one will feature the wall insulation and linings. The Northern wall will be treated to a covering shiplap hoop pine planks that we pulled out of the house during renovations. I’ve been running them through the thicknesser and table saw to get them ready to screw to the wall. I hope it looks as cool as I envisage in my head. 

Enjoy!

I had the idea to build a treasure chest for Emmet months ago before the shed was even built. Leading up to the Christmas break, I thought I had plenty of time to get it done but then the renovation project came up, where Jade had decided to take a week off work so we could make a start on it. I managed to get the treasure chest done though, getting the final coat of oil on it the day before we were due to leave to spend Christmas with my family.

I’m quite proud of this one, and I hope when he’s older, Emmet will be proud of me too. I put a lot of work into designing and building the chest and I hope it comes across that way when you watch the video.

Finally, we’ve been able to start on the second stage of our home renovation project. Come and join us while we get busy transforming our neglected verandah into an ensuite for us, an office for our son and a new front porch for our visitors.

In part one of this renovation project, we tackle the ceiling insulation, or lack of, by building new rafters and battens to hold up the insulation while we work. Following that, we get into the real stuff, replacing the floorboards and some missing joists to create a sturdy platform for some new walls, doors and windows.

Our goal for our five day intensive worker bee, was to get the place ready for our electrician and plumber to come and run their cables and pipes. Spoiler alert! We did it and we’re excited to get back into it over the Christmas break. We’ll be sure to film any progress we make in the meantime.