Having enough seating for your outdoor entertaining space is essential to ensure your guests are comfortable.
These chairs made from RumbleStone blocks make a great addition to any patio, particularly those made of pavers.
To create your own paver patio chair, first take small, medium, and large RumbleStone blocks and lay them out in a U shape. These are 24 1/2 inches deep, 35 inches wide.
Next, apply polyurethane construction adhesive before the next row of stones are applied on top of the other stones.
Be sure that the pattern of the stones varies for each new row. This way, no continuous seams will be seen from the bottom to the top of the chair. Also, this makes the chair stronger and visually appealing.
Use trapezoid blocks to fill in the back of the chair once it reaches 24 inches high. Apply construction adhesive to the bottoms and the sides of these blocks to form the back of your chair.
Inside the legs of the chair, glue four 45-millimeter-large blocks vertically to support the seat of the chair. For the seat, use four 2×4 wood planks and a couple of 2×2 pleats.
The result will give you complimentary paver chairs to go along with your paver patio!
If your outdoor space needs a countertop, look no further than concrete mix to make one that’s stylish and will stand the test of time.
Concrete is durable and easy to clean, which makes it the perfect building material for a countertop, especially one that you will use outdoors.
So, whether you need a prep station for grilling or an outdoor table for eating, concrete is a great material.
Steps to Make the Countertop
Shape the forms. A sheet of melamine is perfect for the base because of its smooth surface. Screw strips of vinyl molding to the melamine for the edges, and then seal the seams with caulk. Also, coat the entire piece with lubricant so the concrete will release easily.
Add color. Stir in Quikrete Liquid Cement Colorto a bucket of water before mixing in some Quikrete Countertop Mix, as directed. Next, mix all of this thoroughly and add steel reinforcement to the melamine mold before pouring.
Pour the concrete. Now for the fun part. Pour the concrete mix into the mold — the steel reinforcement will need to be lifted up from the bottom of the mold before smoothing the top off-level with the top of the mold. Tap around the edges with a rubber mallet or hammer to release air bubbles.
Let this dry for a few days and then you have a ready-to-install concrete countertop!
In this episode, we’re focusing on improving the exterior design of Chelsea’s ranch-style home.
Several months ago, Chelsea and her husband Brandon bought a mid-century house. They have already done some minor updates before moving in with their three children, Gus, Mary Helen and Lucy.
Now that they have been living in the home for a while, Chelsea and Brandon are ready for some bigger projects that will really make a difference.
We’re giving the exterior of Chelsea’s home a facelift from the 1950s and bringing it into this century!
Chelsea’s new JELD-WEN windows add a huge difference to her home’s exterior appearance.
Replacing the Windows
Chelsea and Brandon’s home was built in 1956, so replacing the windows — originals to the place— is a must. The old windows were rusty and leaky — keeping them was out of the question.
After we take measurements, Low-E, energy-efficient JELD-WEN windows are installed around the perimeter of the house and sealed.
The windows are sealed with Duramaster, a super-flexible new caulk, to keep them air and watertight.
Chelsea’s new garage doors she built with Danny give her garage some modern flare.
New Garage Doors
Just like the windows, the garage door was old, rusting and leaking.
Chelsea and I built the new garage doors using wood planks in a diagonal pattern for that modern look. As soon as we install the new doors, Chelsea gets busy sanding and staining them.
She chose a natural stain to bring out the grain in the wood as well as protect them from the elements.
Chelsea paints her new shutters to complement the windows of her home.
Painting the Shutters
By replacing the windows, we also needed some new shutters to complement them. Chelsea chooses to paint the shutters a warm brownish-gray color by Behr.
Once Chelsea paints the shutters, we start installing the mounting hardware and begin to hang the shutters around the perimeter.
Production Thoughts
Chelsea’s house was built in 1956 and it didn’t look like much had changed since then.
The color was kind of “Blah,” the windows were rusty and leaky, as was the garage door, and the lawn and landscaping were a little out-of-control.
There was really nothing to draw your eyes or make you take notice of the place.
But NOW, the whole corner seems to be alive and begging for attention. The new color on the walls is cheerful and bright and the new windows have the clean, modern look that Chelsea wanted, plus a lot more efficiency.
New shutters continue that crisp look, and the new front door adds warmth and character to the house, along with the cedar shakes on the front gable and the new garage doors around the back.
The exterior updates of Chelsea’s house really took her curb appeal to the next level. It now has a welcoming feel to the home and has brought this mid-century home back to life.
In this special episode of Today’s Homeowner Podcast, I’m talking to Trevor Stromquist, Sales Manager at 3M, about products that can make moving out less stressful.
Moving anywhere can be a stressful process. Whether it’s to a different country, a different state, or even just down the street — but planning the trip can take off lots of stress.
For instance, purging unwanted items and donating them or selling them can clear up space and leave you with less to pack.
When it comes to packing, you can find hundreds of 3M products at TheHome Depot to help make your move easy. Like painter’s tape, Scotch tape, packaging tape, products to fix your walls if they are damaged, and so much more!
Beyond the task of packing, you may have to do some touch-ups to your home before moving. There might be some paint touch-ups here and there, or covering up nail holes left from pictures hung on the wall.
Instead of nails, Command Hooks are a great alternative that we absolutely love. The application and removal are easy and there’s no need to worry about damage.
There’s also a new product joining the Command Hook family for those heavier items you want to hang. The 3M Claw is heavy duty and can hang up to 50 pounds!
There’s nothing more frustrating about moving out than having the wrong-size box, or having a box that pops open during the trip.
3M has a full line of Scotch Packaging Tape to help with that. Scotch Box Lock Packaging Tape is heavy-duty and comes off the roll quietly. It sticks to any box and will keep your box closed so you don’t have to worry about your items falling out!
Want to quickly identify which box goes where? We all know about marking boxes with a permanent marker, but here’s a pro tip: Color-code your boxes for different rooms of your house.
That will make packing and unloading your boxes much more efficient!
To learn more about the trusted brands at 3M and tips to make your move less stressful, click here.
Listen to this special-edition Today’s Homeowner Podcast for more home improvement tips!
