DIY Wood Screen

October 5, 2023

Do you have a utility box that you would love to hide? Sometimes these boxes are in areas that we wish we could move them, but that would be impossible. So why not hide them instead?

I came across this blog by Remodelaholic, and I love this idea and thought I would share it with you.

Check it out!

Blog by Remodelaholic

My blog focuses on thrifty DIY projects, easy crafts, and happy household tipsAnd sometimes, I tackle a DIY project because I have no other choice. The project I am sharing with you today is one of those projects. Our home had these unsightly utility boxes and wires at our back door entry, which is the entry we use the most! Unfortunately, there is no good solution to hide them that we could find, so we came up with our own, and we love how it turned out.

 

Our quest to hide the utility boxes was the first of many steps we took to improve the back entry to our house. Our rear door entry could not have been less inviting when we started. Don’t believe me? Just take a look for yourself. This is what we started with.

This project of intermediate difficulty requires you to have some basic knowledge of woodworking terms and cuts. But if you have some basic DIY projects under your belt already, I am confident you can tackle this one.

Please check with your local utility company

Materials We Used:

  • Plywood {amount varies by project size}
  • 2 x 2s {amount varies by project size}
  • Wood stain
  • Weatherproof polyurethane
  • Painter’s tape
  • Wood putty

Tools We Used:

  • Brad nailer
  • Table saw
  • Band saw
  • Circular saw

Steps:

First, look at the diagrams below, which will provide an excellent visual context for the steps outlined below.

 

 

 

1)  Spend some time measuring out and planning your project. For example, we determined how tall and wide we wanted our screen to be and then figured out what cuts we needed to make. Pre-planning will save you time in the end, I promise.

2) Once you determine how tall and wide your screen will be, cut horizontal slats out of plywood for the front of your screen. Remember that you will want to make your front slats long enough to cover the edges of the side panels. We also had stairs to deal with, so we had to consider them when making our cuts for the bottom of the screen.

3) You will be using four 2 x 2s as vertical supports for your screen, so cut them to the appropriate length next.

4) Cut your side panels from plywood to the appropriate size.

5) Once your wood is cut, stain it and add a weatherproof polyurethane. I’m not going to lie; this step is time-consuming. Just listen to some good music or an audiobook for this step.

 

6) Once your poly top coat has dried, you are ready to assemble. Begin by attaching the front slats to two vertical 2 x 2s with a brad nailer. Be sure to leave some overhang so that your front slats will cover the edges of your side panels. We used a scrap piece of wood the same thickness as our side panels to ensure our spacing was correct as we attached the front slats.

 

7) Next, attach the side panels with your brad nailer. Note that we taped the edges of our wood with painter’s tape before nailing them. You’ll see why in step 12 🙂

 

8) Attach a 2 x 2 to the back, vertical edge of each side panel.

9) Finally, if your screen is as wide or broader as ours, you may need to cut four corner braces to add strength and stability to your screen. We cut ours out of the same plywood using our band saw, but you could also use a jig or circular saw. We attached two corner braces to the top corners of the screen and two to the bottom corners

 

 

10) Because stairs interfered with our screen, we had to make our 2 x 2s long enough to anchor into the wood stairs. So, we had to cut out a square the same size as our 2 x 2s so that the supports of the screen could be placed through them to make it sturdy. We did this by tracing the 2 x 2 shape on the top and bottom stairs. We then drilled a small hole with a drill bit and a larger hole with a paddle bit. We then squared it off by using a hand chisel. If you are lucky enough to have a flat surface at the bottom of your screen, you should not have to worry about this step.

 

 

 

11) Use 2 x 2s to make a wood cleat for each side of the back of the screen to anchor it to your house. This will enable you to easily remove it by lifting it off if you ever need to access the utility boxes, but it will prevent the screen from shifting during strong winds or storms. We have not heard any complaints from our electric company about the ability to read our meter, so they must either remove the screen themselves or peek through the slats! But again, if we need to remove it, it’s super easy to lift it out of the way! If you are concerned about this, you could always hinge the front slatted panel to give you even easier access.

 

 

12) Mix a bit of your wood stain with wood putty and fill in the holes left by the brad nails. Then peel the tape off, and you have perfectly matched and patched holes without making a mess! See how that painter’s tape trick comes in handy?

 

 

We added some address numbers to ours to dress it up a bit. But we love the finished result. SUCH an improvement from where we started. What do you think?

 

 

You can see why I wanted to share this post. The results are excellent. Job well done!!

Adding Character to Your Home!

May 18, 2023

If you watch many DIY TV shows, you will hear the word “Character” a lot. It is what makes a house one-of-a-kind. Buyers love that, so it’s an excellent selling feature. But what adds character to a place and, better yet, doesn’t break the bank?

 

Here are some ways to add character to your house without breaking your budget.

 

Add trim to windows and doors

.Pinterest

Pinterest

 

  Add Crown Molding 

 

The Molding Company

 

Use Built-ins 

HomeTalk.com

Install A Tile Backsplash

Tilebar.com

 

Replace Interior Doors

doubledw.com

 

Beams or Fake Beams

Abella Home Staging

Replace Hardware

angi.com

 

These are just some ideas. There are many, many more, and Pinterest is an excellent source.

 

 

 

Entryway – Painting the Grout and Door

June 30, 2022
The entryway in my house has seen better days. The grout was so dirty. This was not the first impression I wanted my family or guest to have when they visited. I’m not a fan of slate tiles but replacing them was not in the budget just yet. I had to do something. It was looking so shabby. I did some research and decided I could paint the grout. This would clean it up. 

I also wanted to paint the door since it had never been painted. I thought black would be lovely since I just painted the handrail black. There was also the issue of missing cement by the door. This was allowing a lot of cold air to penetrate thru the cracks. I had to fix that as well.

I used paint from Sherwin William. I also used liquid cement from Home Depot. It fills up the cracks nicely. Unfortunately, I wind up using the entire tube! That is how bad the gaps were.

I taped the area and primed the door. I also cleaned the tiles to remove all the dirt.

This is the finished product. It turned out well. Now I won’t be embarrassed to have guests over!
I even painted the cement so you wouldn’t see it. Instead, it blended well with the grout.