Vancouver Mantel

What a difference light, paint and hitting the "refresh" button makes!

Once again, my client karma was very, very good when a lovely young couple contacted me about building a mantel around their new gas fireplace insert.

We brainstormed a bit about how far to go and what to put up there. The original built in shelf was lackluster and required a replacement. The new mantel got an electrical outlet and the windows were re-trimmed, this time with a plumb and horizontal theme!

  The panelling came down easily enough and we began to play with the proportions and deal with the a symmetry of the walls and design.

Reclaimed Fir Coffee Table

The wood came out of an attic of a 1926 Bungalow and was simply waiting to be re-born. Simple chevron pattern, a lot of sanding and finishing later and voila!

The long, black hairpin table legs really seal the deal for this design. Simple and clean. A piece of 3/16" glass cut for the top helps the soft surface survive many cups of coffee.

Clamp time

Final resting place with Glass top

Wine Cellar

This is the kind of project and client combination every carpenter dreams about. Every step of this process was a pleasure--OK not the sewer line re-rout--but everything else.

When the clients are as nice, attentive and understanding as these were, everything is possible.

They knew what they wanted, Cedar walls, cedar racks, hardwood floors. After some serious research on my end, I had a design that could work with the space under the house. Their goal was 700 bottle capacity--mostly Pinot Noir. We ended up with 770 slots.

BEFORE

After the initial framing of the structure, shoring up the plumbing, electrical and HVAC requirements and cutting in the doorway, the goal became to make an air tight, cold room. Consistent temperature (54 degrees) and constant humidity levels (60%) were paramount. The Cedar walls ironically make it look like a sauna before the wine went on the wall.

time to put some (more) wood on the walls

It became a running joke in the wood shop that I was building  a bunch of ladders for cats to climb on. The fabrication process was very, very, very repetitive. Thousands of narrow crown staples later, my modular design was ready for the big install. Because the doors were fairly narrow and low, we could not make one big rack and fit it to the wall.

One of 5 buckets necessary for 700+ bottles

and again . . . .and again . . .and again . . .

VG Fir cabinet with granite top tasting bar. Each bay can swallow 2 cases + magnums at the end

So many

Soft close drawers on one continuous Fir face frame.

Clear Western Red Cedar walls simply shine. No stain necessary.