How you dress your windows is an important piece of your overall design and a lot of thought should go into the style and fabric used for your bedroom window treatments.

How do you know which window treatment is right in your bedroom?

There are 3 basic types of window treatments that can be used alone or in combinations. Here?s some tips on these basic types and what style of room you might choose them for.

Curtains and Drapes

Curtains and drapes are a style of window treatment that most of us can recognize but there?s many variations on this old standby. If your bedroom design is simple, you might choose just plain sheers as these will go well with many themes including a romantic theme, a modern theme and anything in between.

Valances can be used to soften the top of the window. They are great if you don?t want to cover up a great view but also don?t want the window to look too bare. Typically valances are made from fabric but you can build them form wood and decorate them with an aged or stencilled paint to go with your Tuscan or French country design. Fabric valances can go with almost any bedroom decorating theme depending on the fabric you choose and can be used in conjunction with sheers to give you a bit of privacy.

Drapes are an elegant bedroom window treatment. If you have a romantic, French or Victorian theme some heavy drapes in rich fabrics can transform your bedroom into one fit for a queen. Heavy drapes look best on tall windows, but if you short squatty windows like most homes built in the 60's - 80's don?t let that deter you from using great drapes. You can always just keep them closed to hide the window behind and no one will ever know the difference!

Wooden Shutters and Blinds

Indoor wooden window blinds are a great way to add privacy to your bedroom and can be used alone or with curtains, drapes or valances.

There are 2 styles of shutters - plantation shutters and café shutters.

Plantation shutters cover the whole window and have louvers which can be opened and closed to let light in or provide privacy. These shutters go great with a plantation style look, a country look or a coastal cottage look.

The café shutters are the kind that cover only the bottom half of the window and swing open to let light in. These also look nice in a country or beach style bedroom and are perfect for a Paris apartment style as well.

Fabric Blinds

Fabric blinds add a nice touch to any bedroom and can be decorated and embellished with whatever you want. Fringe, pom-poms and ribbon are just a few of the great ways to make these bedroom window treatments stand out.

Roman blinds work well for childrens rooms and informal styles such as cottage or beach style decor. These shades fold up to expose the window during the day and roll down at night.

Festoon blinds are puffy with lots of fabric. They are quite ornate and work best in a romantic style bedroom such as a Victorian, French or Italian motif. Festoon blinds look best on wide windows and might not be good for small rooms as they can tend to be a bit overwhelming.

Lee Dobbins writes for http://www.bedroom-designs-and-decorations.com where you can learn more about popular bedroom decorating styles.

Designing your rooms around an ethnic theme can be exciting and fun and allows you to bring elements of other cultures and distant lands into your home. You can be more daring in your approach to colour and with such a wide variety of textures and patterns available, this can collectively add a whole new dimension to your interior design project. Unusual artifacts from different cultures can work very well as focal points in a room and as there are no hard and fast rules to stick to and because there are so many variations, you can go beyond the usual or traditional to portray a style that is not only beautiful, it is unique.

So what do we mean by ethnic?

Ethnic basically means native or indigenous people from a particular area so in relation to Interior Design it means to bring the natural elements that are representative of whatever culture, land or peoples you choose to portray into your own home to define your space.

Naturally the world is your oyster as they say so there are countless cultures to choose from, all you have to do is bring a particular ensemble of colours, patterns, materials and artifacts together to create a "look" that is recognisable and distinctive. What about a Mediterranean flavour, Native American Indian symbolism, or perhaps Tibetan Buddhism? Popular themes include African, Mexican, and Asian but you can go with whatever inspires or appeals to you. Here are a few ideas to get you started.

African Theme

Think of Africa and all that it conjures up in your mind, the landscape, the sounds, the smells, the colours, the mood, and then if you try to pick out the key points, what would they be? Colour schemes might include earthy colours like green, beige, browns and tans, set off with orange and splashes of red. Think about floor and wall coverings, natural substances would probably work best. Finishing touches can include wall hangings, African artifacts, drums, rugs, African fabrics and prints, animals made of stone, clay or wood, ceremonial masks hung on the wall, brightly coloured African bowls and pots, and so on.

Mexican Theme

What does Mexico mean to you? Perhaps desert colours with sandy tones, beige and khaki, along with reddish, rustic colours and hues. Blankets and woven fabrics in bright colours, perhaps terra cotta pots and bowls, pine wood is popular for furniture. Artifacts can include symbols of the South West or from the Spanish influence, or from the Aztecs, Mayans and other ancient civilisations, all of which can add an interesting and authentic Mexican look and feel.

Asian Theme

There are many variations within an Asian theme but two quite popular ones are Japanese and Chinese. Japanese themes tend to lean towards a more minimalist look and have a tranquil and peaceful feel. Consider a futon and using screens to get that Japanese ambiance. Colours tend to be natural and objects from nature often feature as focal points, for example, smooth stones and pebbles, water fountains and bonsai trees. Chinese themes on the other hand might involve brighter and bolder colours, lanterns, dragons and other mythological creatures, artwork depicting the traditional people colours and landscapes and Chinese handwriting.

How to get started

Once you have established which particular ethnic culture appeals to you, browse through books and magazines and the Internet to get ideas that will spark off your own imaginative flair. Identify what elements go together to make up that particular look or feel that you want to create.

Consider the walls, ceilings and floors carefully as this will provide a base for you to work from and then you can add in the details to finish it off. For example, is the texture and appearance of the walls and ceilings rough or smooth? What floor covering is appropriate, should it be wood, stone, tiles or carpets? Will rugs and mats make a difference and if so what are they made of? Are the windows better suited to drapes, blinds or shutters? What style of furniture works? What about plants, motifs, pictures and wall hangings?

The theme you adopt and the way that you choose to portray specific elements of that theme is entirely up to you and your imagination, the end result will be your own unique interpretation of a culture or a place and you will have added a touch of the exotic to your home.

David McEvoy is an expert in interior design. If you are looking for a leather sofa to give the finishing touches to a newly decorated room then please come and visit our site http://www.leathersofa.uk.com/

The 4 person sauna is crafted for a family of 4. It has a wide space, with contoured chairs and lumbar supports Because of its size, designers have made it as a corner sauna, since it will blend more comfortably and will look well as a corner fixture in any home. Of course, there are those who would look for a standard model, but it has been noted that most buyers of a sauna would choose a design for a corner sauna. The 4 person sauna has a 6 heater plates that will enable the occupants of this infrared sauna to fully enjoy the relaxing and healthful radiating heat benefits of infrared rays. This sauna has already become a regular fixture in many homes of affluent families who value their health as much as their bank deposits.

There are manufacturers who makes top of the line saunas using the world famous Burmese hemlock wood, which is known for fine texture and over all smoothness. This wood is non-toxic and is very much in demand for use as sauna boards. There are other woods used for other types of saunas for private homes, but Burmese hemlock wood is the preferred material by many makers of top of the line saunas. Actually, there are now several models of infrared sauna for private use that are made in China. A 4 person sauna that is made in China and considered top of the line, is priced at $ 2,000 to $2,500, while a top of the line 4 person sauna made here in the US can go as high as $ 4,600. Buyers of 4 person saunas still favor those that are made here in the US because Chinese made saunas are inferior in make and even in design. Aside from this, Chinese made saunas uses low grade materials thus resulting to a lower quality of beneficial infrared heat.

Most if not all US made saunas use ceramic plate heaters. This is because laboratory test have shown that ceramics is the most efficient materials in emitting infrared heat rays. Next in efficiency will be carbon and the third is aluminum. These three materials are all used as heating plates of infrared saunas. In a 4 person infrared sauna, the standard number of plates used is 6. These 6 plates are behind wall boards and also in floor level boards. This positioning is crucial to have an over-all distribution of infrared heat rays to the body.

If you are looking for a sauna then visit us now!

We have a nice 4 person infrared sauna that will be great for the family.

So do your health and your family a favor and go get a sauna today!

When shopping around for arch window shutters, there are some important considerations to keep in mind.

Traditional shutters, sometimes referred to as the colonial style, have a one-inch to one-fourth-inch wide movable louvers. These are normally used in colonial and traditional styles of American homes. You may want to order cafe shutters as coverage for the bottom part of the window to create that quaint, cottage-style mood.

On the other hand, plantation shutters have a three-inch wide movable louver and have a more modern design. They are versatile enough to be used in any window in almost all homes. They permit you to see more and allow for more closing of the panels most of the time. They can be made as café-type units or double-tier units.

You may also choose whether to paint or stain your window shutters. In general, paint colors include a variety of whites and other light colors. Stains can enhance wood grains by use of a number of tints and tones starting from a light natural tone to a tone close to black. Please note that synthetic and wood composite shutters should not be stained.

Remember that the quality of the finish is almost as important as the color. Window shutters that are finished with poor quality will easily deteriorate. A paint finish needs to be thorough, thick and smooth, and it should cover all surfaces. Stain finishes needs to have a sturdy protective coat finish.

Owing to various options in materials, window shutters come in a wide range of prices. A lot of suppliers calculate the price per square foot, a strategy that is not beneficial to consumers. Since sizes are normally rounded up, consumers end up paying more for what they actually got.

Estimating prices based on exact window size, the number of shutter panels, and the finish and style are better because the price will not shortchange the customers. You can also save some money by ordering the shutters directly and measuring and installing them yourself.

Keep these guidelines in mind to ensure that you will get the best bargain when looking for window shutters to install in your home.

Window Shutters provides detailed information on Arch Window Shutters, Custom Window Shutters, Exterior Window Shutters, Hurricane Window Shutters and more. Window Shutters is affiliated with Window Roller Shades.

Well-crafted, durable wood shutters - whether interior or exterior - represent an investment in your home you will never regret. Apart from contributing to the elegance, grace and atmosphere of your dwelling, wood shutters will prove their worth in many practical ways over time - not the least in protecting your home from the harsh extremes of sun and storm!

Exterior wood shutters are available in a number of basic designs. These range from the raised panel that is particularly popular in coastal areas, to the familiar fixed louver. Alternatively opt for "country style" board and batten, or an exotic, but practical bermuda wood shutter installation.

What should you take into consideration when deciding which wood shutter set to order?

To start with you will need to decide what look you are trying to achieve, and this will depend largely on the style of your home. Wood shutters can be designed to complement just about any residence, but cost will of course play a much bigger role in highly customized, and fully functional wooden shutters.

Before making this major home improvement decision, look at your general interior design, patio design, and patio furniture. Your window shutters should blend into, and enhance these aspects.

You will also want to ensure that the right wood is used for a durable, and warp-resisting wood shutter. Although many woods are used in the construction of wood shutters, the woods of choice are Western Red Cedar, or Mahogany. Vertical-grained wood is also more resistant to warping.

If wood-work isn't your cup of tea, take a carpenter-friend along to check the quality of construction, especially the joints. Mortise-and-tenon joints are much more durable than screwed, or butt-glued joints. While you're at it, also ensure that you get wood shutters with copper or aluminum capping for more protection from the elements.

Interior wood shutters can be considered part of the furniture, and if the right design is chosen, they contribute greatly to the atmosphere, elegance and warmth of a room.

Even though interior wood shutters are not directly exposed to the same range and intensity of the elements as exterior shutters, they will still need to properly deal with temperature changes and design stresses. To avoid warping and other alignment problems, wooden shutters constructed of 100% hardwood, such as American Yellow Poplar and Elm, are well suited to the role.

Of course, interior wood shutters are also more than mere decorations! They are excellent insulators to keep temperatures at a comfortable level.

Don't go for the first fit-all-sizes window shutters you come across. By doing some research, and getting lasting, stylish and functional wood shutters, you will greatly increase the value of your home!

Awnings-and-Blinds.com - Read the Plantation Shutter article at Awnings-and-Blinds.com - also by Rika Susan of Article-Alert.com.

Copyright 2006 Rika Susan. This article may be reprinted if the resource box and hyperlinks are left intact.

Well, it seems my brother had been keeping great great granddad's old spinning wheel - I had forgotten the box that it was in when I left the homestead, and he had been storing it for me. After reading the last piece I did on spinning wheels, he must have read it and remembered he had it -and got it out in the mail to me - because it arrived a week or so afterwards:

It's missing some pieces, but there's a good majority of it still there. The legs and pedal are gone, and it's missing the two pieces that hold the bobbin/axle.

It's an interesting piece to me on several counts... First, it was made by great great grandad... Second, it's a study in wooden machinery - everything has a purpose and yet it's still elegantly constructed. Third, it's an example of true frontier craftsmanship. I'm not sure of the exact date, my best guess would have been somewhere near the 1870 to 1890 range, in the Dakotas. This would have been made with the most meager set of tools, and quite far out in the country... I think I remember reading the nearest flour mill at the time was a full day away.

Parts of a Spinning Wheel

To have a discussion about the construction of the old wheel above, it would probably help to review just what the parts are called... I got much of this information off of various web sites, including The Joy of Handspinning, which is a wonderful resource for the enthusiast - I'm more interested in the construction, but that doesn't do you much good if you don't know how the thing works!... I'm using dad's wheel, which is a replica of the old one I'm looking at:

Tension Knob: A threaded knob, turned to raise or lower the bobbin and flyer assembly thusly reducing or increasing tension on the drive bands. Maidens: The upright posts that hold one end of the bobbin and flyer assembly Flyer Whorl: The pulley that drives the flyer - it has several different diameters so different speeds can be achieved Flyer: The U-shaped piece with hooks - the hooks are there just so the fiber can be spooled evenly onto the bobbin. This is what spins the fiber. Bobbin: A spool that collects the spun fiber Orifice: Where fiber is fed into the wheel as it is spun Drive Bands: Twine or string that drives the flyer whorl from the fly wheel Mother of All: The upright piece that holds up the tension knob, bobbin, and flyer Fly Wheel: The main drive wheel - the large wheel that is powered by the treadle Footman: Hard to see in the photo above, it's behind everything- it's the wooden piece that connects the treadle to the fly wheel Treadle: the foot pedal at the bottom

 

It's made from at least three, but more likely four distinctively different woods, from what I can see - and I think you can tell somewhat in the top photo. I'm not positive of the exact species, but from my experience with wood and my knowledge of the trees native to the area in which it was made, my best guesses would be birch or elm, maple, and basswood or poplar. I will get into where each was used as I deconstruct the thing.

Metal pieces would have been difficult to fabricate and expensive to purchase, so their use was kept to an absolute minumum. Could he have bought the metal pieces, or had a machinist make them for him? It's a possiblity. The pieces could have been ordered via mail order and shipped to the closest dry-goods store... yet they do all show at least some amount of fabrication. That eveidence could just be the technology of the time showing through, however - I'm just not qualified enough to say.

The only metal pieces are the axle/treadle drive on the fly wheel, the metal hooks on the spinner/flyer, and the axle for the flyer/flyer whorl assembly. The metal reinforcement on the flyer (the U-shaped piece in the photo below) shows signs of hammering to shape, and is riveted in place with metal pins and is surely of his own making.

The part that would have probably been the most difficult to make would have been the axle for the bobbin/flyer assembly... It appears it was made from something else, and made to work. I'm not exactly sure what it would have originally been had he fabricated it - it might even be two pieces, I can't really tell. The center was drilled out from the end and from the side to create the orifice that allows the fiber to be fed through it.... Both holes are off center, and show some evidence of being drilled and filed by hand.

You can see the orifice on the axle of the flyer on the right in the above photo, where the fiber is fed into the wheel. The far end of the axle in the photo above has a small taper to it - and is also threaded to hold the bobbin and flyer whorl on. It looks to me like the tapering was done by mounting the bolt in a wood lathe and tapering it using a file while turning. Fine metal work would have been difficult on the prairie in those days... and this is one of the things that lead me to believe this piece was at least partially fabricated by old great great granddad.

The bobbin (on the left in the above photo), the flyer, and the flyer whorl are all made from a very dense, close-grained wood - my guess is maple, though it could be just about anything of a similar nature. It needed to be, as the walls of the pulleys on them as well as the U-shape of the flyer makes using a strong wood imperative. The bobbinis made from a single piece... You can see by the breaks that it was made from a straight piece of about 3" round wood. The hole the axle slides through goes all the way through the bobbin, obviously - my best guess as to how this was made would be to first drill the hole through the rough blank - then mount the blank in the lathe and turn the bobbin to its final dimension. This would assure the axle hole would be centered on the bobbin. The far end of the bobbin is actually the first pulley you would use as part of the flyer whorl assembly - you see it in the next photo and the one two down that shows the whorl in it's place.

Here you can see the far end of the bobbin and the leather "bearing" that the axle is pushed into (the flyer whorl is not in this photo - it would take up the space between the bobbin and the adjuster piece the leather bearing is pressed into):

Both ends of the axle were mounted in leather bearings... but unfortunately the maiden that holds the closer end was missing on the original. Using another wheel made by granddad's brother, he fashioned the maiden with a leather bearing similarly to how that wheel was constructed:

You can see that it was simply a thick chunk of leather, glued into the maiden. This allows for the bobbin assembly to be easily removed from the wheel, simply by turning the maiden. There's not a lot of pressure on these bearings so they function quite well (as evidenced by dad's copy), and the leather would simply have been replaced as it wore out. Lubrication, if any, would have been tallow or beeswax.

The flyer whorl is made with two different sized pulleys so you can adjust the speed of the flyer - faster for more twists per inch in your yarn, and slower for fewer. More twists made for a stronger thread - but took more raw fiber. Fewer produced more "fluffy" yarns, good for sweaters and the like.... at least that's what I think - I have no experience spinning my own yarn. I still have the flyer whorl for the original, though unfortunately only half of it - but it does show how it is constructed pretty well:

You can see the differing diameters of the pulley to allow the flyer to spin at different speeds depending on where you placed the drive bands. The bobbin spins freely on the axle so is independent of the flyer whorl.  It is driven by its own pulley on the end next to the whorl that is a slightly different diameter - this is so the bobbin would spin at a different speed than the flyer.  Otherwise the yarn would only spin in place - with the different speed it slowly spools onto the bobbin as you feed more fiber into the orifice.

This is known as a "Scotch Brake"...  it basically means the yarn spools quite slowly onto the bobbin, while being twisted (for strength) many, many times for each single time it spools on the bobbin - which is the major function of the wheel.  It is this twisting that gives the yarn it's strength - without it, it would simply pull apart.

A good spinner feeds fiber into the orifice at a steady rate, thusly avoiding thinned out or lumpy yarn that is strong enough to knit.  More twists per inch results in a thinner, stronger thread - fewer provide fluffier, more insulating yarn.

The drive bands would have been simple twine or leather strips, or possibly even yarn - it didn't need a great deal of force to twist the fiber, so grip wasn't terribly crucial - speed was.

You can also see the tensioner knob assembly in the photo above at the top of the aptly named "Mother of All". It's broken as well, but it shows how it was made... A threadbox would have been pretty standard fair in most shops of the time, so that's not too surprising to find. It still works quite well, even after being exposed to the elements for many years.... The Mother of All is broken here as you can see in the photo above and below, but again at least we can see what it looks like:

The Mother of All is so aptly named as it is the main structural element of the wheel - everything pretty much hangs off of it. It, along with the maidens and most of the spindle work (with the exception of the spokes in the wheel) are made from a hardwood I would say is either elm or birch - it's hard to tell exactly as the wood is aged so. But those were common woods used in local furniture of the time - especially turned furniture. Oak was available and used extensively for standard casework, but wasn't preferred for turning because of it's open grain and it's tendency to tear out. I would imagine the elm or birch was riven and turned green, much in the fashion of windsor style chairs, and wedges were used to fasten the tenons to the half-moon shaped base (which I think was made of either poplar - but could be basswood)... There would not have been any kilns in the area, any dried lumber would have been air-dried.

Which brings me to the fly wheel, the most prominent piece of the spinning wheel, has some interesting construction methods. The outer wheel was constructed from four separate pieces. The wheel is made what I think is basswood, though it could be poplar, I suppose... both are plentiful in the area. There are a couple ofreasons that basswood would appropriate here. First, a lighter weight wheel would be easier to spin. Women using these wheels would often spin for many hours on end, for many days in a row... ease of use was paramount in their design. Second, basswood is a very easy wood to work... Mounting a wheel this size and turning it in a treadle lathe would have been quite a task... the easier one could make the task, the better. Third - since these wheels didn't carry a load, like say maybe a wagon wheel would, there would be little or no structural stresses on them, so basswood met the bill.

The pieces for the outer rim were first assembled before they were turned using splines and wooden pegs to hold them in place. You can see here where one of the pegs was placed too far out and was turned into:

The outer wheel itself was not constructed in the same manner as a wagon wheel - where the spokes have tenons that mount into the outer wheel - for the reasons mentioned above. It was first assembled and then turned without the spokes - they were added afterwards. Here you can see one I've pulled out:

After the main hub was turned, the spokes were made to fit inside the outer rim, then holes were drilled through the rim into the spokes - and a wooden dowel was driven in to hold the spokes in place. There just one problem with that - how do you make sure the hub is centered in the outer rim? Well - my best guess is that the hub and spokes were made first. The hub first, then the spokes, which could then be glued into the hub. The hub could then be mounted on a temporary axle and turned, allowing you to mark the end of the spokes in the same location as you turned the hub. The outer rim could then be turned to match this dimension... It's just an educated guess, mind you - but the best I can come up with given the circumstances.

As for the hub, it's one piece, with an axle that mounts into the adjacent spindles thusly:

The far side of the axle has an offset that attaches to the footman, which then is attached to the treadle. And yes - at the lower left of the hub in the photo above, that is a knot... As a matter of fact, it continues through to the other side:

Why would he have used a piece with a knot like that in it, you might ask? I would put forth that it was a matter of convenience... As I mentioned above, a lot of the wood used for the contruction of this wheel would probably have been worked green. The wheel would have had to be dried wood though. Most likely that meant that it was was harvested from already dead wood - possibly even seasoned firewood. There wasn't storage space available for storing wood while it dried... The house they lived in would probably have been the size of your living room and housed 5-7 people... The barn would have been similarly small was soley for livestock. The shed that served as a shop would have been more like a lean-to, perhaps with a pot-belly stove if the owner was well-off. So dried wood was a luxury most couldn't afford, but for the wheel it would have been necessary as green wood would have shrunk and rendered the wheel useless. So it's my guess it came from whatever was available - and since it didn't need to be all that strong, it wasn't a problem structurally. Also, I should mention that the knot would not have been this pronounced when it was made - this particular wheel was exposed to the elements for many years, so has weathered quite a lot. Originally, it would have been a very tight knot.

About all that's left is the base, legs, footman, and treadle - and all I have of those is the base... The base is made of poplar, it appears. I remember hearing the half-moon shape was a sort of trademark of his, but I'm not sure of this... compared to the other his brother did later, its a unique feature and was supposedly preferred by the people who used them as they were stronger. I do recall hearing that this makers' work was highly prized by those who received it, at least within the area he lived.

I may restore this old wheel someday - no, it will never be in working order again, but I may try to get it just so it is all in one piece and has all of the parts, just for display. I doubt it's worth much to anyone but me - but it sure is fun to have around to look at and to study, to give one appreciation for the original maker and the methods and material he used in creating it.

The maker, my great-great granddad, was a very adept turner, furniture maker, and woodoworker. He used green wood quite a bit, as I think can be seen in another of his works which I will show just for reference - a crib made of elm:

It appears he also used steam to bend wood, as you can see - obviously a very industrious fellow for someone truly out in the sticks... This crib was used all the way into the 1960's as I recall... It's been retired for obvious reasons since then, but still remains in the family, well over a century after it was made.

 

Part V 

One of my favorite lines in a movie was in one of the Naked Gun movies (with Leslie Nielsen) where Ricardo Montalban was playing the villain.  When asked by Priscilla Presley how he could be so evil his response was something like:

"You forget I spent two years as a building contractor!"

Of course that's in jest (?).  You know - there are, of course, good and bad contractors, and I've dealt with my share of each - and the concrete contractor I used for this project was quite unfortunately of the latter persuasion.  I was really disappointed in his work - and I even gave him a second chance the next year to pour the slab out front of the shop for me - but that's for a later entry...  If you are looking for a general contractor, or even just a "sub" contractor, make sure you check references and investigate your choices with the local builders' association.  Above all - you will need patience and perseverance to be successful.  Don't expect perfection - but be ready to stand your ground when needed - and pick your battles well.  Know what's important, and what's not. At the time, there was a shortage of available contractors for me to hire, and I was not patient... 

But first, I should go over the design of the foundation in a bit more depth...

The Design

There were two different foundation systems I looked into using.  My first consideration was to pour what's known as a "monolithic" slab - that's where the footings, stem wall (if there is one) and the finished floor are all poured at once, in one big pour...  The section through such a system looks something like this:

There are several advantages to a system such as this.. It is the most efficient system, combining the footing, wall, and slab all into a single, large system.  There is considerably less labor involved in the pour, but the earthwork needs to be done more precisely to save fill requirement.  And finally if termites are an issue in your part of the country this type doesn't allow anyplace for the nasty little buggers to penetrate from underneath.  It does have a couple of disadvantages as well...  One is that the bottom of the wall is more prone to water damage, as the top of the concrete can be only slightly above grade level...  and because of that, it also does not work as well on a sloped lot.  Though it's hard to see in the photos below, my lot slopes down from right to left (east to west) about a foot in the width of the shop.  It might not seem like much, but it is a lot of fill to bring in.   I prefer to work with the slope of the land rather than fight it...

Another disadvantage - at least for me - is that I wanted to have the entire floor of the slope 1/8" per foot from the back end to the front - a drop of about 4", so it would drain and I wouldn't have water puddling up in the center of the floor if I parked a snow-bound car inside.  That would make it difficult to frame up so it is level... This might not be an issue for you, but my experience has been to keep the space as flexible as possible - and that means uses other than woodworking.  The next owner of my shop might want to work on cars, for example - and so will I, for that matter.

The final disadvantage is I wanted to be able to hose down the slab in the main section of the shop if for some reason it needed it...    I can seal a rubber base down for some walls, but doing all would be too much.  So - it meant I would opt for the more expensive version (of course) - a stem wall type foundation.  Here's a typical section for that style of  foundation:

 

You can see that now the foundation wall is independent of the floor slab, so with this system I can slope the floor and not worry about framing the exterior walls plumb and level.  The slab at the far back of the shop would be about an inch below the top of the foundation wall - and about 5 inches below it at the front.  This works out well for the driveway slab to be poured out front of the shop - it will work out to be about the right height so the foundation wall can be above finish grade level by about 8".

You can also see why more labor is required to make it...  Instead of one pour for the entire foundation and slab, the work now has to be divided into three separate pours...  First you must form up the strip footing so it is below frost depth and pour it - then you must form up the stem walls and pour them; and then, finally, you pour the floor slab.  Three separate pours...  It uses the same or more concrete, and your contractor must have the form work to be able to pour the stem walls.  There are many concrete contractors out there that do only flat work - they don't want to invest the money into the forms required, and most often they can get away without investing in too much heavy machinery.  If you do it yourself, you can easily make your own forms, and rent your own machinery... but it's an added expense, and not a small one.  You could use the forms afterward as sheathing - but you need to coat the forms with a release agent (usually an oil) that can make it less than desirable for use as sheathing.  My neighbor rented a backhoe to do his shop, and by the time he was done with it, he'd spent $1100 or so just for it.

What determines how deep you put your foundation is set by the local building department and is what's known as "Frost Depth" - the depth at which the ground does not regularly freeze.  Freezing ground is bad for a foundation. Water expands when froze, and as a result lifts and stresses the foundation, and over time that stress can result in the foundation failing.

Frost depth in my area is about 2'-0" below finish grade.  With an 8" deep strip footing at the bottom, that means we can use a 2' deep stem wall - which will give us two feet below grade if we keep the finish grade at a maximum of 8" below the top of the stem wall.   Frost depth varies around the country... in warmer climates, there isn't one, just a requirement the footing be on inorganic undisturbed soil or compacted structural fill.  Where I grew up in the Dakotas, it was a full 4' below finish grade.  It's one reason you will see so many basements in the north vs. the south - you are required to go so deep anyway to get down to frost depth with your footing, there's no good reason not to make it just a couple feet deeper to make it a basement.

Optimally, I would have used the detail above, with a 6" wide stem wall.  Structurally, it's plenty strong to hold up the building. it also keeps you from having problems with applying the finish material - when you install the drywall (or plywood, or whatever finish material you have) the inside of the wall will line up with the concrete.  What I ended up with was more like this, however:

 

Note the foundation is 8" wide, not 6".  One other difference that is shown on that detail that I don't have - insulation.  I got none.  Nada.  It's a sordid tale - I'll let you know as I go through the photos of the construction below just how I arrived with that detail.

Strip Footings

The first job after you dig the trench for the footings is to form up for the strip footings.  It's pretty simple, really - your biggest concern is setting them at the right height.   You want the footings resting on undisturbed, inorganic soil (or compacted structural fill), just below frost level.  Your building department will be able to tell you just how much your soil can support, and thusly how big your footing needs to be.  You can check with them to find what frost level is in your part of the country.  You then want to form so the top is level and gives the footing a minimum depth (in my case 8").  You can use the excavated soil for the sides of your forms at the very bottom - but it's best to have most of it formed with footer boards to make sure the edges are held in place correctly, which will allow you to estimate just how much concrete you need.  It's always better to overdo the forms rather than under-do them, as nothing sucks more than a blowout during a pour.

The easiest way to set the level is if you have a builder's level or transit and a pole, which can be rented for fairly little money.  You set stakes in the ground at strategic points and with the aid of a helper, shoot the top of the stake, then drive it down with a sledge until it's at the right height.  Do this with each successive stake, then using a string line, a plumb bob, and batten boards, drive a pair of stakes in about every 24" or so (more or less depending how good your soil is) and nail the footer boards on the inside of the stakes - which you've placed just for that purpose, using one of the sides as a guide.  Once in place, you can reinforce the footer boards by putting nailers across the top to help keep them from spreading apart while pouring, as this crew did:

For reinforcement, mine has two #4 rebar (#4 means 4/8" or 1/2" diameter) running the length of the tooting.  An additional rebar can be added perpendicular to these every four feet or so, but I am fortunate enough to have soil with a great load carrying capacity, so it wasn't necessary.  The next step is to pour them, obviously...  but I wanted to show the photo below for another reason:

 Look at that nice, green lawn.  By the time the concrete was done - they had torn the living snot out of my yard.  I tried to keep them from doing too much damage, and I even roped off the area where my drain field was located to keep them from driving their 574 ton trucks over it - which could easily crush the pipe.  Or should I say did?  For some reason, I'm telling you - it was like trying to keep flies of of s__t.  I came home after bringing dad to a doctor's appointment to find they drove right over my little tape barrier like it wasn't even there.  Not only did this happen once, but it happened several times over the time they were there.  My drain field still works, but it's capacity has been cut about in half from what it was - no more "super" loads in the washer for us...  and a healthy repair bill someday when I do half to replace it.  The one guy I was most worried about - the kid with the skid hoe - was easily the most careful and professional and did by far the least damage of any of them.

Stem Walls

So after the footings were poured and allowed to dry for several day, the concrete guy's crew comes back and sets the forms for the stem walls:

It was at this point that I went out back and measured them only to find out they had set them for an 8" wall and not a 6" wall, like was in the drawings.   The concrete guy wasn't to be found anywhere, this was entirely done by his crew...  Ugh.  Is it really that hard to do something I ask?  It's not like I was being disagreeable, or hard to get along with, or anything.   I bring it up to him, and he's like, well - we can tear it down and do it at 6", but then I'll have to schedule it for later because that crew's already on another job.  Jeez, can't these guys come up with something more original?  In the end, I said screw it, let it be 8".  I'll just deal with it later, and let it remind me of why I should never hire bozos like this guy again (yet I don't even listen to myself - more on that in a later entry in this series).

Reinforcement was just as described in the detail above - a #4 rebar every 4'-0" vertically, and a #4 within 6" of both the top and bottom of the wall.  Anchor bolts were placed every 6'-0" and within 12" of each end of each wall.

 After they poured the stem walls, the kid with the skid hoe came back and backfilled around the stem walls, stripped the topsoil in the center, and no - I don't know why he did it that way, but it didn't take him all that long to get the sod out and down to good soil, so what the heck?  As long as it got done right, I wasn't concerned.  There wasn't enough good fill to use on the inside of the walls to support the slab, so I ordered structural fill brought in to bring the sub-base up to grade.  They brought in a type of fill that doesn't require compaction, which I think is interesting - it's a product I was familiar with but had never seen it done before, a material called CLSM (Controlled Low-Strength Material).  It looks mostly like really sloppy wet sand, and it is brought in in a concrete truck and poured out and leveled almost like concrete. 

It's usually made up of a mixture of portland cement, fly ash, and aggregate mixed with water.  Lots of labor saved in that you don't have to compact it, and it can be put in place so very quickly...  I did need 2-1/2 truckloads of it, each costing $200 though (I ended up having to buy 3 truckloads full)  I had the remainder put out so I could use it as fill for under the driveway slab that would eventually be placed out front of the shop.

So, I think in my case, I paid dearly for it.  But at least it was ready for the floor.  I did have one problem - there was a lot of soil left over in a big pile - sod, rocks, organic soil - pure garbage to me and I had nowhere to put it.  The kid with the backhoe offered to take it - seems he was filling some ditch on his property out in the back woods, and could put it there. He loaded it and hauled it out himself, so there was some consolation. I rewarded him by getting him to put in a gravel driveway back to the shop and to redo the one out front.  He did a particularly splendid job, for a fair price.

For more information on CSLM, visit the Portland Cement Association's web site.

The Floor Slab

So - another appointment for dad, and I knew they were going to pour the floor - when I got back, this was the scene:

It was a good thing I got back when I did...  I noticed two things were completely wrong.  First - there was no insulation laid down around the perimeter.  Second - he hadn't dug out for the two pier footings I would need for the two columns I had designed for the structure.  You know, I don't think he actually ever looked at the drawings...  Guess there might have been too much information there for him to handle.  Anyway, it was already too late for the insulation, but I did at least get him before the concrete had reached where the pier footings were to go - and stood there while he dug them out and made sure they were the right size, even as the concrete was flowing closer to the pit.  Essentially, the pier footings can be poured as a part of the floor, like a monolithic slab would be - so it's fine if done that way.  It would have sucked if he hadn't done them though - I wouldn't have known about it, and would have wondered why the floor slab cracked so badly around the columns later...

At long last - I had a foundation on which to build my shop.   Woohoo!  The rest would be all up to me and me alone.

 

Up next - walls!

Part IV 

All right then! Here it was, around the beginning of April, and I had a plan for the new shop (more or less) in hand. It was time to go ahead with the construction... or so I had thought, anyway.

I got a contractor lined up to do the concrete. I had decided that work was simply too much for me to handle on my own, and that it would probably serve me better to have it done by somebody else. I didn't have the equipment, nor did I have the help (or the back) to put down the concrete by myself. I might have mentioned that North Idaho was undergoing an unprecedented building boom at the time. What that meant for me was a wait for the permit. Permits usually take just a couple weeks. Usually, this might not be an issue, but the concrete guy I had lined up had a very tight schedule. Well, it turned out I had a couple of issues that permitting wouldn't allow, mainly the bathroom I had discussed previously. With that, I took the plan home and removed it entirely from the design (which actually helped me out budget-wise), but as it would have it I couldn't take the time off of work to get back to the permit office for two week. When I did finally, it was two more weeks before I got the plan reviewed and approved. I called the concrete guy up, and turns out I was past his window of availability. I would have to find another.

That delay led to a two week long search for another concrete contractor. The only one I could find available was still three weeks out before he could start, but he didn't do excavating - though he knew someone who did. So, I contacted him, and he was three weeks out too. So - what I thought might be a two to three week period of getting the permit reviewed and groundbreaking turned out to be entirely too optimistic. By the time I got the excavator there it was the end of May, a full 5 weeks later than I'd hoped.

Being an architect, I'm familiar with the whole process so didn't let it get me down, and just chalking it up to the way things work. But - when this showed up out front of the house early one morning, I started getting a little excited:

It's not really the machine I would have chosen for the task, but as long as the hole got dug, I wasn't going to worry. I had considered doing it myself... had I done it; I would have rented a loader with a backhoe mounted on the back. A track-hoe (like above) tends to rip up the lawn too much when you turn on it... It's also a very small bucket - which can be a good thing, both for digging utility trenches and when you have a plan with a lot of little corners... But I don't have a great deal of experience in digging foundations, and what little I had done was over 20 years ago... I figured it best to leave it to someone who knew more. Besides, the cost of renting a backhoe for myself would have been 2/3rds of the price of paying someone else to do it, so I figured it was better hired out.

It was finally time to break ground. Here's where the shop was to go shown in the site plan again:

Here is a photo of the yard, talen looking north from the end of the patio:

The scarring you see in the center of the yard was from an old willow tree that had to come down a few years prior when a windstorm had knocked the main portion of it's trunk down. The scarring was from the year previously when I finally got the stump out of the ground using a skid-steer I had rented when putting in the pavers for the patio, which you can see in the lower left. Within an hour or two, the trench for the main footings were dug:

Finally, something was happening. I was still worried about the excavation, though - I thought it odd that he would only dig the trench and not strip the topsoil within the footprint of the building first. In the end, it turned out I didn't need to worry about it. The fellow was a young guy, for whom renting himself and his track-hoe out was his main method of income in the warmer months. While young, in the end it turned out he was hard working, honest, and truly concerned with doing a good job - and for not really all that much money, either. But I didn't know that yet at this point, so was concerned. Even though it was taken care of later and I was satisfied with his work, I do wish it had been done properly. But with the building environment the way it was, I was just happy to have somebody to do the job.

Up next, the foundation!

FEIN, the premium manufacturer of professional and reliable power tools is pleased to introduce its latest MultiMaster generation. The universal system for interior work and renovations is now significantly more convenient to use thanks to the new QuickIN tool changing system, and newly developed accessories that further extend the range of possible applications.

Since 1986, the FEIN MultiMaster has been selling with enormous success all over the world. More than 40 years of experience in oscillating power tools has gone into the development of the new FEIN MultiMaster. This new generation supersedes the previous MSx 636 II (Start) and MSxe 636 II (RS and XL) models and strengthens FEIN's market leadership in oscillating power tools.

The versatile and precise special tool assists professionals and homeowners working on interior fittings, tile restoration, window restoration, laying floor coverings or assembling furniture. The MultiMaster can also easily handle repair work on cars and boats as well as model building work. One single tool can sand, profile sand and rasp, polish, saw, scrape, cut and cut out, file and sharpen.

Features:

• New Starmount spindle provides high torque transfer
• New ergonomic design with non-slip softgrip
• New more powerful motor

Watch the new MultiMaster in action!

(ARA) – Most people think the first impression of their home is made by the color on the walls or furniture in a room; but in reality, it’s made by what’s under your feet – the flooring. If the carpet is dirty and worn, tiles are chipped, or the wood floor is warping, it’s time for a change.

So what’s holding you back? A lot of people are hesitant to jump into a home improvement project involving flooring because of all the work involved. First you have to remove and dispose of the old material, then invest the time and effort necessary to get the base surface ready for the new material before finally putting it in.

“Do-it-yourselfers are overwhelmed when they learn how much work is involved in redoing a floor. But it doesn’t have to be that way,� says Scott Day of Forbo Flooring. Forbo recently introduced a new product that’s turning a lot of heads in the remodeling industry.

Marmoleum Click is perhaps the easiest flooring surface there is to install. No adhesives or fasteners are necessary. The panels simply lock into place with a tongue and groove system. “If you have an existing resilient floor, no need to remove it. The planks and squares can be installed right on top of the old surface. If you have carpet or tile, you just need to remove and dispose of the old materials and start clicking the Marmoleum tiles together right over the subfloor,� says Day.


Marmoleum Click comes in 18 different colors and is available in two different sizes: panels that are 12 inches wide and 36 inches long, and 12-inch by 12-inch squares.
The panels and squares can be mixed and matched to create a wide variety of patterns and color combinations.

“It’s really cool. You can mix and match colors to create a space that is uniquely your own,� says Day.

In addition to being decorative and easy to install, Marmoleum Click is made from natural materials consisting of flaxseed oil, pine rosin, limestone and jute. It also has anti-static and bactericidal properties, meaning it’s easily kept dirt and dust free, and is resistant to such micro-organisms as Staphylococcus. These qualities make it especially popular in bathrooms and kitchens – and in places young children play.

“Marmoleum Click is the ideal do-it-yourselfer’s surface,� says Scott Day of Forbo. “We’ve received a lot of feedback from customers that it’s the easiest material they’ve ever worked with, and they’ve had a lot of fun with it.�

For design ideas, or to find a retailer near you, log on to www.themarmoleumstore.com.

Courtesy of ARA Content

Visit A1 Wood Flooring for more on wood flooring and laminate flooring.

It’s no secret that I’m a fan of the work of Greene & Greene. A big fan. Anyone with cursory knowledge of the brothers has heard of the Ultimate Bungalows. These homes, designed by Charles and Henry at the height of their popularity and creative energy, are grand residences built with uncompromising attention to detail. Everyone agrees the the Gamble, Blacker, Pratt and Thorsen houses are in this category. Many include the Freeman Ford house as well. Were I the ultimate authority, the Robinson house would also join the list.

While the Gamble house remained in the Gamble family until it was donated to USC and the city of Pasadena, the other Ultimates have more colorful histories. Most endured some period of neglect or abuse. The rape of the Blacker house resulted in ordinances that protect historic homes in Pasadena. I think the Thorsen house trumps them all, however. Since 1942 the Thorsen house has been home to a fraternity.

I suspect that many of you have seen the movie “Animal House.� It’s hilarious. It’s a classic. It’s completely unlike the California (Berkeley) chapter of Sigma Phi. The brothers of Sigma Phi take their stewardship of the Thorsen house, which the fraternity purchased from the Thorsen estate, very seriously. Every Saturday morning they work as a group on maintaining the house. They learn its history. They take pride in it.

But keeping up with the demands of a 100 year old mansion (and a work of art at that) is difficult. And expensive. About 9 million dollars. If you find yourself in Berkeley, stop by the house. The brothers will happily give you a tour and accept a donation to the fund. But don’t let an inability to visit stop you from contributing. Send a few dollars and help save an historic landmark, one of the Ultimates. It’s a lot easier to keep such houses around than to wait for another genius to come along and design more.

The Thorsen House Restoration Campaign
c/o Mr. Dan McNear
Route 1
Box 264-E
San Rafael, CA 94901

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Download audio file (TheWoodWhisperer-wto43466.mp3)

Status Report:
Marc has FINALLY finished the gadget station and plans on delivering it next week. While in the area, he is also going to have a visit with the one and only David Marks. Matt decided to rearrange his shop tools recently and is apparently going to start writing a new book entitled, “The Feng Shui Workshop”.

Around the Web:
Check out Keith Cruickshank’s awesome videos at Woodtreks.com
Popular Woodworking Magazine and Woodworking Magazine have had a little facelift recently. FineWoodworking.com also seems to have had a few tweaks.

News:
Don’t miss your chance to enter The Wood Talk Online Giveaway. Lee Valley provided us with two of their new Skew Rabbet Planes and next week we will select two lucky winners. Enter Here!

Hot Deals:
DeWalt 18V Cordless Drill/Driver Kit Sweepstakes ends October 13th thanks to Tool Snob
Makita Orbital Finishing Sander only $39.99, Save 27% Highland woodworking while supplies last.
Aluminum Assembly Clamps from Lee Valley set of 4 (2) 18″ & (2) 24″ $85 regularly $108 fast-acting sliding jaw with a locking handle mechanism (similar to locking pliers)
Makita 14.4 V cordless impact driver at woodcraft $189.99
Select Norton Combination Waterstones Save 20%! Now Through October 31, 2008!

Topics: Where we get our design inspiration. Marc recommend a Taunton Publication.

Voicemail:
David has a good question concerning bandsaw blade width.

Tom’s Tip: Tired of using guesswork every time you set up your dado stack? Tom has some advice.

Related Posts

• October 8, 2008 — Three Giveaways This Month!
• October 3, 2008 — September Giveaway Winners
• July 3, 2008 — And the FesCool Giveaway winner is……

This fall, our magazine is sponsoring the first-ever weekend conference devoted to hand tools and learning to use them.

We're calling it the Woodworking in America conference, and we'll be bringing together the country's best hand-tool woodworkers and manufacturers for a symposium in Berea, Ky., on Nov. 14-16.

There will be more than 40 short classes on tools and techniques during the long weekend, plus a marketplace where toolmakers can display (and sell) their wares, social events with the demonstrators and toolmakers and more.

So who is going to be there? Here's the list of people who have agreed to teach seminars during Woodworking in America as of this date (with more to come):

Roy Underhill: Known as "St. Roy" to the legion of fans who watch "The Woodwright's Shop" on PBS, Roy worked at Colonial Williamsburg and then launched his show about traditional hand tools.

Frank Klausz: One of the country's consummate craftsmen, Frank is a professional New Jersey cabinetmaker who trained in Hungary and has a lifetime of experience with the full range of handwork.

Michael Dunbar: Founder of The Windsor Institute, Michael has single handedly revived the craft of building Windsor chairs, has trained thousands of woodworkers and is a passionate student of the art and history of handcraft.

Adam Cherubini: The author of Popular Woodworking's popular "Arts & Mysteries" column, Adam is a devoted 18th-century woodworker who builds period pieces using period tools.

James Blauvelt: A Connecticut cabinetmaker, joiner and carpenter, James owns Bluefield Joiners and is a student and teacher of Japanese tools and traditions.

Robin Lee: The president of Lee Valley Tools in Ottawa, Ontario, Robin has been a driving force behind the expansion of the Veritas line of premium handplanes and a caretaker of the company's immense tool collection.

Thomas Lie-Nielsen: The founder of Lie-Nielsen