How To Hang a Bed

When we set out to do this project we had no idea how to make this happen.  However, we figured it could be done.  People hang porch swings all the time, we decided to look at how those are constructed and go from there.

Here is a picture of our plans (sorry the writing is so small)

Now I will walk you through it.

We first started with a frame to attach to the ceiling.  Kind of like a picture frame only on a slightly larger scale.

This is just a huge rectangle, the same size as a twin bed, attached to the ceiling.  We used 2x6's to make this frame.  Our neighbor helped us with this part.  He has an amazing wood shop but I think he might be in the Mormon Mafia or Witness Protection Program or something.  He wouldn't let me take any pictures.  He claimed he had to maintain a security clearance and he can't pop up on any Internet sites.  (Whatever, I have a blog to do, what's more important:)  Anyway, we routered the edges in his shop and then joined them together using an awesome tenon joinery system he had (ya, it's on my x-mas list). 

Before we attached the frame to the ceiling we attached the eye bolts to the frame.  First we counter sunk a washer and a nut to the top side of the frame, the side that would go next to the ceiling.  We drilled a pilot hole for the eye bolt.  Then screwed it through the wood into the washer and nut.

Then we added Gorilla Glue to hold the bolt tight. 

see the Gorilla Glue dripping

Then we sawed off the rest of the bolt with a hack saw.

Next we found all the ceiling joists with a stud finder and drew lines on our ceiling marking the joist.  Ceiling joists are 16 inches apart on center meaning the center of one joist is 16 inches away from the center of the next joist.

 If you look close you can see our pencil marks on the ceiling

This is probably the most important step of the whole process.  It must be secured to the center of the joist for this to be strong enough to hold this woman

(oh wait that's me)

We attached the frame to the ceiling with 16, 4-inch lag screws.  We counter sunk the head of the screw

We puttied the holes.

Then I spray painted it black using Krylon spray paint in a satin finish.

I know it would have been a lot easier to paint the frame before we installed it but I rarely do things the easy way.  (I protected the ceiling with poster board.)

I also think it would have been cute to add bead board to the center.  But I had already added enough projects to the basement and marriage counseling is like $75 an hour, and this is supposed to be a thrifty DIY blog.

Next I made the bed. I used a 20+ year old bunk bed that we had lying around.  I cut the legs off and added bead board to the head board and foot board, then just painted it with Krylon satin black spray paint. 

We attached eye bolts to the bed

We used this Ferrule set to secure the cables that suspend the bed.  The Ferrules are made from aluminum and you just squish them with a hammer around the cable.

Looks like this when squished

We used this quick link to connect the cable to the eye bolt just in case we need to move the bed for some reason.

And now we have this

This bed is strong.  I would never let my daughter sleep on it if it weren't.  Each cable holds 1500 lbs. My daughter is a tumbler and the bungee system at her gym is constructed very similar.

Just a few details.  The bedding is from Walmart.com, it is called, Twilight Garden, was $35.00 when we ordered it.
Paint colors- We used Porter Paint, Silken Touch, the color is Hot Pink Kiss (this covered in two thick coats, not bad for pink) We used a gray primer underneath because this was new construction.  The Gray walls are also Porter Paint, Silken Touch, the color is Flagstone.  (We added a sparkle mix-in to the gray paint.  The idea was to make it sparkle like Edward.  Edward is fake and this didn't work.  Don't waste your money.)

We hope to finish the rest of the room soon.  Thanks for reading and happy swinging!!

I am linking this project up to the DIY CLUB monthly contest here's the link (and maybe a few other places.)

Paint Part 2

With all the wood work taped off we sprayed the ceiling.  We painted it the same color as our wood work only in a flat sheen.  I love it.  It really helps it seem less like a basement.

We put the painted doors inside the closet and taped it up so we wouldn't get any wall color on them

We let the ceiling dry for 24 hours then taped it off

We then sprayed the walls and now we have this.

 bedroom

 bedroom

This brown paint smelled like chocolate when it was wet.  Probably just the power of suggestion but three different people walked into this room and commented on the smell.

 I can't wait to get stuff in these rooms.  If you are into subtle decor, these rooms aren't for you.  They are bold and fun.

 family room

someday we will add a chunky fireplace mantle

 We are going to add picture frame molding under the chair rail someday soon (hopefully)

 We are going to add small kitchenette here

I am super cheap. Sometimes I like to sugar coat it and say I am thrifty or frugal but lets be honest, I am cheap.  Because I am so cheap, I hate wasting money.  Good paint is dang expensive but there is a difference.  Cheap paint has less acrylic in the can.  As long as there is some acrylic in the paint they can call it acrylic paint.  Acrylic is what makes paint dry hard and therefore cleanable.  If you are going to repaint so often that your square footage is shrinking because of all the layers of paint it probably doesn't matter what paint or primer you use. But, if you want it to look good for a long time with out repainting every couple of years good paint is worth the investment. 

Carpet comes today. Yeah!
 

Painting the Basement, Part 1

I can tell I am an amateur blogger because whenever I have the biggest projects going on in my home I have nothing going on in blog land.  Also, the busier I am the less pictures I take.  I'll have to work on that.

This is how my basement looks today.  Thanks to our friend (Mr. K.) who knows a lot about paint.  I'll walk you through the steps so far.

First, we taped off everything we didn't want paint on like tile, windows etc.
Mr. K has two sprayers that look like this.

One is for oil based products and the other is for water based products.  He first sprayed all the wood work with a lacquer under coater.  This stuff in pricey, like $45 a gallon, his price, but it is a really awesome sealer.  As soon as he finished with the under coater he primed everything.  He used tinted primer where we were applying color.

We waited for this to dry overnight.  Then we lightly sanded everything.  We used a pole sander for the walls and a sanding pad for the wood work and doors.

Then we spackled and caulked all the dings and mistakes. and gave everything a good vacuum

Then Mr. K. came back he brushed a little primer over all of our spackle patches and sprayed a final coat in all the woodwork.

We are letting this cure for 48 hours before we begin taping it all off.  He will paint the ceiling next.

How to install door trim

MEASURE TWICE CUT ONCE, BUT DON'T MEASURE AT ALL IF YOU DON'T HAVE TO!!!!!

My husband and I do things differently.  He is a math whiz and for him adding up all the numbers in his head just adds to the fun.  (36 inches for the size of the door, + the reveal 1/8 inch x 2 + 2.5 inches for the casing oh but times that by two and add all that together. Then find the middle of the door, then find the middle of the casing, blah blah blah) For me, not so much.  That's two minutes of my life I can never get back and that's if I do it right the first time which I won't. So this is how I do it.

  First install header- cut one end of the header on a 45 degree angle like this.

Leave the other side longer than you need it, hold it in place and mark where you want the cut. Cut at a 45 degree angle.

Nail in the header (Door molding typically sits back 1/8 inch from the edge of the doorjamb.  This "reveal" leaves enough room for the hinge barrel. This measurement may have to be fudged a little depending on how your drywall was installed just try to make it uniform all the way around the door.)

Miter one end of each of the legs make sure to leave the legs longer than needed.

Hold a leg in place but upside down.

Mark where the top of the header meets the leg and cut the leg straight at the mark

 flip over and install, add wood glue to miters

fill gaps and nail holes with wood putty then caulk side seams.

This is really quite simple, my 13 year old daughter (pictured above) and I installed  several.  I think all 13 year old girls should know how to use a nail gun.   

We used a miter saw to make the cuts but this could be done with a miter box, we also used a nail gun but you could use a hammer and nails, just be careful not to split wood.