Owl Box

I owed a favor to a friend of mine.  Due to work he doesn't have a lot of free time on his hands.  He asked me to build an owl box for him since that would free up time for him.  So you might be thinking, "Why would he want an owl box?"  Well, that's a good question, but I have a good answer.

He spied some owls in his backyard.  So he knows that they are around.  He wanted a home built for them so when Spring comes, they will have a place to raise their chicks.  My friend also said his son was really interested in the owls.  So I was building the owl box for his son as much as the owls.

I looked online and found some really simple barn owl plans.  It's basically a 2 X 2 X 2 box with a ten inch square cut out of it.  Here's the photos.

I used Titebond 3 wood glue to seal the corners.  Then I reinforced the corners with at least 100 screws.  I also made sure to put air holes on the sides, and drainage holes on the bottom.

I sealed the box with Kilz 2 primer.  I've always had good luck with it.

I changed the plans just a bit.  I put an edge over the top so it would cast some shade into the box.  It would also help keep rain out.  Let's be honest, this is Florida and there is plenty of rain.

My next step was to paint it with a thick brown enamel paint.  Again, the enamel paint will withstand the weather a bit better.  After the brown paint dried I used specialty camo paint to camouflage the box.

The trick I use is to hold the can back away from the wood so it sprays more of a mist than a straight line.

I try to paint them so they will blend into an oak tree.

I must have done a good job because, what would you know, an owl showed up.

It seems comfy on the inside.

Unfortunately, he'll have to vacate the premises.  This owl house will be for my friend's backyard owls.  I'm hoping in the spring he will be able to take some photos of the owls and their chicks in the owl box.  I'll be happy to post those photos if he's able to take them.  But the hard part is now on him.  He has to find a way to attach the box to the tree.  Good luck buddy!

Adrian: Amatuer Handyman/ Stairmaster

I am Homer D. Poe, the weekend warrior.  Instead of going adventuring in the forest and such, I go to Home Depot, and then start repairing my girlfriend Lili's place.  This weekend was all about building stair rails on the back stairs.  You see, Lili has trouble with her balance and has always worried about going up and down the stairs on the back.  So today was the day I started working on the rails.

This was going to be quite simple, but quite involved.  Due to the height of the 4X4 posts, I was going to have to first dig them in a hole two feet deep, and then use carriage bolts to hold the post to the stairs.  Again, it sounds simple, but it's lots of hard work and very time consuming.  I mean, who gets up at 7 AM on a Saturday voluntarily?

First up, it's time to dig the hole, and drop the post in.  But before that I am trying to get a shot of what I will be working on.  And then Monster the Dog gets in the way.

So here is a better shot.

Here's one of my clamps holding the post in place while I secure carriage bolts to it.

Next up, I will speed up the story.  Let's just say it's 2,3,4,5 more posts go in.

Monster the Dog just loves to get involved in the photo shots.

So next up was adding the rails to the posts.  And after that was that magical feeling after hours of work, you know the job is done.

 

I already see next week's job.  Laying down the primer on it.  And then the week after that, painting the stairs and rails a nice red color.

But that's not my only work for the day.  I also do small jobs.  Things like putting knobs on the bathroom cabinets.

And then there is putting the cover on the back door outside light.

I also checked in own garden.  I remember when those coleus plants were 6 inches high.  Now they are pushing two and a half feet.  I'm quite happy with it so far.

I did a few other things, but I didn't take pictures.  That will come in the next post.  But really, that's enough for one day.  Whew.  So hang on for more handyman adventures next week.  I think it's going to get messy.

Adrian: Amateur Handyman/ Bathroom Remodeler

As promised, here is my adventure in painting.  I truly feel like a weekend warrior, if that warrior was named Homer D. Poe.  (See previous post.) 

Here's the beginning of the story.  Like I have said a few times, my girlfriend Lili moved into a new place.  The people who lived there before did their best to destroy the place.  The bathroom was really hard hit.  The landlord repaired a lot of water damage and completely replaced the floor.  The bathroom was also painted, but it was painted in a dog shit brown kind of color.  And it looked like it was done in a hurry, so it was a piss poor job.

That's where I come in.  I had talked to Lili about painting the bathroom and doing a little remodeling on it.  She completely agreed.  Luckily, I have a lot of tools and such so we kept the cost down.  We only had to buy one gallon of wind swept blue paint, and the landlord will take the cost off the rent.  So really, we are keeping the cost of this project way down. 

As always, I have taken a bunch of pictures.  That way, you can really see the transformation.  First off we start with the "before" pictures.

So yeah, you can really see that it is just a terrible brown color.  Next up comes "the taping."  Honestly, we put painter's tape everywhere.

We decided to put the blue down first.  There was more of it, and all the trim was going to be white so it only made sense. 

 

Next up it was time to add the white paint.  Actually, it was more of a cream whitewash, but it blended nicely.

Of course there was a lot of things that happened in-between pictures, but I am doing the Cliff's Notes version of things.  That, and with pictures.  Next up is our finished project.  Let's look!

What an awesome outcome.  With a lot of hard work and elbow grease, everything just fell into place.  The bathroom looks really inviting with the new colors and a brand new shower curtain.  And I'm proud to say we did it without me and Lili trying to kill each other.  So in closing I want to say I am really excited about this, but would also like to thank my little helper.  That would be Monster the Dog.  (See picture below.)