Carpenter for hire

Earlier this summer Husband and I started working on the landscaping in the backyard by the pool.  We started in April and continued to work on it through May and most of June.   I meant to do a post on this too, in fact I thought I did until I went looking for it.  Expect that one soon!  

With the landscaping now looking nice we have a nice spot for some furniture.  Currently we have a table and 4 chairs that were left by the previous owners.  It's not the best, but it was free so we kept it.  We started talking about getting a canopy and some sofa's for by the pool.  We also talked about need some lounge chairs since the ones given to us when we first moved in are both broken. I guess that's what you get when it's not a good brand, it breaks after 3 years.   After pricing out a lot of this, we thought we should wait.

Until, I saw directions for a lounge chair on the Ana-White website.  I'm a long time follower of this lady.  She draws up plans to build tables and beds and bookcases, etc.  They seem to be pretty easy to follow, a lot of people comment that they have never built anything but were able to X item thanks to her.   I emailed Husband the info for the lounge chair and suggested we try to build it.  Oddly, he agreed.  Let me remind you that this is a guy who never even used a drill or mowed the lawn before we got married.  Sure, we've done a ton of home renovations, but to actually build something? Could we do it? Could he do it?

We decided to start with a workbench.  I found plans on the same website and figured this would be a good way to get our feet wet and if we are going to build other things we would need one. It should be much easier to build a workbench than a lounge.  Husband built the workbench, by himself, on weekend morning.  I don't know how long it took him but it was only a couple of hours. I don't remember why I didn't help him, other than that I think he started it on Sunday morning while I was running and finished it not long after I got back.  I didn't even realize he was working on it till he found me to tell me he finished it.

I could have sworn I took photo's of it right after he finished it, but I can't find them. Instead you get this one..which was taken last weekend after he made the chairs and, as you can see, already started to use it.

We set out to buy the furniture for the lounge and this time I didn't even pretend I was going to help build it. I just helped carry the supplies to the basement and left him alone.  He finished it this past Saturday.  We then went out on Sunday and bought the materials for a second one, and he finished it within 1.5 hours.  I'm amazed and proud of him.    Before you see the pictures, please excuse the mess and that they kinda suck. The lounges are currently in the unfinished area still since we still need to seal them before putting them outside.  The mess on the floor..the previous owners let their kids do that and we haven't bothered repainting the floor.    Psst..don't forget you can click on the photo for a bigger image.

I can't wait to get these sealed and to get some cushions for them.  They will look so nice outside!

And don't worry, now that I know Husband can build things, I've already given him plans for a craft table. He looked at them and said "oh, this will be easy."  I can't wait!  I also caught him measuring the dining room, and then the kitchen table the other day. when I asked what he was doing he said "Seeing how big a dining room table I could make."  (yes..there is no furniture in our dining room).

As far as cost, was it really worth it?   I did a quick search online and wooden outdoor lounge chairs can be found for as low as $185.  The first trip for supplies to build a lounge chair we spent $170.  We also bought a couple of tools that were not exactly required but would make the job easier.  The trip for the second chair we spent $59.09.   I would say it was definitely worth it.  Sure, the chairs might not be fancy smancy but they look nice and we like them.    Plus, Husband is incredibly proud that he actually did this on his own.