Author: handyandrewblog

I was very excited to be asked to design the set for Wrinkle in Time (Gallery 7). Normally someone else designs and paints the set, and I just build whatever their imagination comes up with…but this time I got to call the shots!

Oddly enough the set ended up being much simpler than usual…and I don’t think it was entirely due to self-interest and trying to save a lot of work. The play is set in many different settings so one static set wouldn’t have worked as well.

Here’s a few photos of me at work during the first week of construction back in September. Come see the play in November! It is being held at Abbotsford Arts Centre.

I had a few custom door jobs lately. Here are some pictures.

Exterior Door
D and D needed something done to their front door. It was not closing well. In addition, the frame appeared rotten. I quoted on some new doors and frames but then went back and looked at the frame and door again. It was not in that bad of shape so I recommended a fix-up. I cut out the bottom of the door, did some filling and sanding elsewhere, added a 3rd hinge, and re-hung the door by anchoring it into the concrete wall. While I was at it I also repainted it. A crack between the house and step also got filled with cement.

Sliding Barn Door
G and C bought a rolling barn door kit to cover a not often used doorway. But the current doorway was too high and the short door would look funny. So I filled it in with drywall and spaced out the new studs to work with the track hardware. I don’t have a picture of the finished product, but they stained the door nicely and painted the wall and it looks quite nice.

Doorframe widening
Paul needed a doorframe widened for various reasons. It was 30″ so we added 6 inches to a 36″ door. However when widening doorframes there are other things to take into account, such as exposed flooring (tile and carpet in this case), light switches (had to move it over a little), new doors (had to find the right style to match the existing doors), baseboards to cut, and new casing for the top (have yet to find it). Luckily it was not a supporting wall or there would have been a header to replace too. It was a full day’s work.

It was with a tiny bit of trepidation that I attempted to stain a pressure treated deck. (front and back)

It had been stained at least 3 times from what I could tell.

First I pressure washed it. It didn’t do much except clean it.

Next I used a stripper to remove the stain. It did not work too well but did get some off. I had to pressure wash it again to remove the stripper.

Lastly I sanded it with a 5″ orbital (80 grit). This step was much easier than I anticipated and I possibly could have saved a lot of time by skipping the stripping step.

Now it was ready to stain. My customer provided the stain (an opaque from Rona). It applied well. My only concern was that there was some stickiness in some areas after a week. But it seems to be fine now.

I also varnished the posts and railings later with Spar Varnish.

Front Deck:

Back Deck:

Jon bought a 10×10 pre-cut kit from a Cedar place on Fraser Highway and hired me to put it together. It was kind of fun, reminded me of a little log house kit I had as a kid. But this one required a gravel pad first…

Then the plywood floor went over some cedar 2×3 joists, spaced 2 feet apart. Next the walls and trusses got screwed together, and it all came together pretty well. Then I started on the cedar siding.

The cedar shake roof was a new challenge for me, but I think it will hold up just fine…I used 1.25″ staples on the supplied shakes, over tarpaper. Lastly I made and hung the doors, and put together a little ramp.

I made some custom arches for Stephanie’s house, and also some new window awning brackets. (They are going to put some corrugated tin on top.)

I made a couple of custom cabinets for Stan’s laundry room. They are plywood with plywood drawers, MDF doors and drawer faces. Painted custom colour.

When Gary called me some time ago to ask me if I did Wedding Lights, I had no idea what he was talking about. But eventually I figured out he wanted his house lit up like a Christmas tree to enhance the party atmosphere at his house. His son was getting married and there would be many guests over for a week plus.

So I ordered him 1200 feet of lights on Amazon and when the time came, strung them up.

And later took them down.

He says he will call me back for his daughter’s wedding one day. But otherwise I don’t think wedding lights are really my calling!

There are limits to a handyman’s handiness I suppose…
Probably what I should have done is to order a vinyl graphic from Bourquin Printers…
But instead I made a 3×3 foot stencil and sprayed it onto Noel’s reception desk.
It turned out alright, just needed some touch up from overspray.

I took the logo and printed it full size using a spreadsheet program.
Then I cut and taped the 15 sheets together.
I bought 4 sheets of poster board at the dollar store and glued them together to make a larger, thicker board.
Then I traced the logo outline with a sharp knife.
I taped and sticky-tacked the stencil into place on the reception desk, masked off a few feet in all directions, and spray painted it. I was in a hurry that day so I didn’t let it dry too much. But when I removed the mask I noticed some hazy spots… 😦
So I came back a couple of times and touched it up with the background colour of paint and a brush.
It looks great from a few feet away!

My friend Noel is opening a new Physio clinic and he asked me to fix up his leased space. It had been empty for about a year. It used to be a walk in clinic and was not in terrible shape, but it was a bit run down in spots. We mostly worked on turning the front area into a reception area and gym. This involved new flooring, baseboards, paint, and a new short wall. I replaced some lightbulbs and ceiling tiles as well. Window film went on to give the space some privacy. A new plexiglass lightbox sign was ordered. The reception desk/bar was freshened up with a new look. It was a long week of hard work but the end result was well worth it!

Cheryl saw my ad in the Gallery 7 program some time ago and contacted me about a new cabinet for her kitchen. She gave me specific measurements and ideas and I designed and built the following island. It has wheels, a folding solid maple countertop, and legs that fold out to support half the top. It has two drawers as well. I delivered it today and she was very happy. I am also happy as it worked out so well.