I don't need to cope.

How to cut crown molding with a miter saw and NOT have to cope.

* Don't be a dummy. Be safe when handling power tools by following manufacturer's instructions and always using appropriate safety equipment. *

My order of crown molding arrived and I watched a few how-to videos about cutting and installing.
All of them said you have to cope some joints. Coping is taking a fine hand saw and manually cutting an angle so the corners fit.

If you know me, I thought there HAS to be a better and easier way!
So I played with a scrap for about 5 minutes and found the answer.
C'mon guys! I am not a pro contractor or an engineer and it took me FIVE MINUTES to figure it out.

This is not an all-inclusive how to on crown molding - just a description of the 2 cuts to make to get 4 different 45 degree corners WITHOUT having to cope.
I don't do videos so, I hope this visual helps you to make quick and easy interior and exterior corner cuts for your crown molding install.

Tips:
Not all corners are square.
I cut about 1/4 inch longer than measured to give a little wiggle room to adjust.
Be prepared to make lots of minor adjustments because your house may not have square corners.
Order a few more pieces than you need because 1) there WILL be damaged peices in the shipping 2) you can practice with one 3) you can be less stressed about making a mistake 4) you have extra in case something happens later on.

EXTERIOR CORNERS














Exterior Right Corner

Set the saw angle at 45   pointed to the Right.
Set the molding upside down on the saw.
The corner you are cutting needs to be facing toward the Right and on the left side of the blade.

My hand is there to hold the molding for photo only

Exterior Left corner

Pretty much opposite of the right side.
Set the saw angle at 45   pointed to the Left.
Set the Molding upside down on the saw.
The corner you are cutting needs to be facing towards Left and on the right side of the blade.

As seen in the photo above... one cut makes 2 different corners. It depends on what side of the blade your cut is as to the corner you are making. Make sure your cut is lined up. I mark the bottom edge of the molding that touches the wall on the back side of the molding and line that up. But, there are other tutorials on the web that can show you how to measure. 

INTERIOR CORNERS

Inside Left corner

This is an Inside Right Corner cut.

Set the Saw angle at 45  pointed to the Right
Set the molding upside down on the saw.
The Corner that you are cutting needs to be facing toward the left to make the cut on the right side of the blade.


Inside Right corner

Set the saw angle at 45  pointed to the Left.
Set the molding upside down on the saw.
The corner you are cutting needs to face toward the Right to make the cut on the left side of the blade.

So, That is it. Easy peasy.

More tips... I painted mine BEFORE cutting and installing. SO way EASIER!
I also used carpenters wood filler putty to smooth the joints, fill any gaps and fix minor damage. It can be sanded and painted over for a smooth and seamless look.

Chicken House

Finally on to the hen-house!

We found a lovely color in the "Oops" section in the paint department of our Home Depot. 10 gallons for 20bucks! So, that determined the new color of the coop ;-)

I took the door off and hubby helped flip it onto the side so I could replace the support beams.

It took days to get those off even being half-eaten (literally) by termites. I gave up and had to enlist the hubby to help with the de-construction. Way too frustrating for me and gives him a chance to use a power tool ;-)

 

 So, we got the thing deconstructed and it took us no time to re-construct it using 2x4's we had laying around the place. It took about 3 hours and had it back on its' feet. We set it up on concrete blocks I found on the property and we leveled it. Hopefully we did OK.

eye bolt for hanging feeder

I made the nestboxes from a $7 sheet of 1/2 inch OSB. I used OSB because it was half the cost of plywood and it was for inside the coop protected from rain and will be painted.


Got a feeder from the feedstore for $13.

Used 80cent eyebolts in the rafters for hanging the feeder.





 


Here is the paint-job phase one (trim still needs to be picked out). It's difficult to paint this time of year. My 1st coat was done in the rain. Luckily, the next day was sunny and breezy and dried the 1st coat allowing a 2nd coat to be done.

roost hardware

The roosts are untreated fir 2x2's that are rounded slightly on the edges. I found them at home Depot in the culled wood section for 50cents each (about 46 -48" lengths). The hardware we had leftover from building our deck in Texas. I got a few extra  2x2's for just in case and this fixture makes it easy to unscrew the pole for cleaning or replacement.



There were a few sunny days in the forecast so I took advantage and rushed out and bought a quart of Haystack colored paint (mild school bus yellow) and knocked it out. My daughter picked the color.












I layed out the run area and got the sandbox ready. For the sandbox, I used a 2x6 treated garden frame found on the property and lined the bottom with the door from the crushed metal shed to keep the moles out. For the run, I am using some livestock fence we had left over from when I made compost bins a few years ago. Will finish it off with 1" chicken wire. The posts are from treated wood we found.

I still need to finish off a few things in the house and get the run ready.

It is getting close to finished and it is time to start looking for the girls.
I scoured the internet and asked locals. The locals were not willing to downsize their flocks. Ordering chicks is complicated if you want less than 6. All the places that did small orders would all be about $60 for about 6 chicks. Then I have to "baby" the babies until about 6 weeks indoors under a heat lamp. Then it will be iffy to put them in the hen-house at 6 weeks since it will be in the cold of December.
I found a horse trainer about 7 miles down the road who also grows chickens and had pullets at 7 weeks for $10 each (and in the breeds I have been looking for). I went down to see the birds. They were kept in good facilities and looked healthy and happy and had been vaccinated. They are hen-house ready and still young enough to be trained and get used to being handled.

So........ introducing our girls!

Americauna "Muffin" sorry it's "Nugget"

Gold Laced Wyandote "Ginger"

Silver Laced Wyandote "Nutmeg"

Barred Rock "Zebra"

Rhode Island Red "Red"

"Red"

 There are 2 photos of Red because she is always looking around and couldn't get a good angle.

Aren't they cute!

Mower and Cart

We needed a riding mower soon or we are going to end up buying the neighbor a new mower (since we have been paying him to mow our lawn the past few months). Our 7-blade push reel mower worked great on our tree-less suburban 0.2 acre bermuda lawn in TX. Not so much here in the moist, acre of soft grass filled with tree-litter and rocks and dirt thrown up by moles.

I shopped around for a "no-project" lawnmower with bagger. I wanted to be able to get it and start mowing and not spend a fortune fixing one up.
Ok, Ok ... having my hubby fix it up ;-).

I called some ads and no one called back. Well, I thought I found one about 2 hours north of home that came with a cart and bagging system. The lady called back and I loaded up the truck with my kid, rented ramps and put a mortgage payment worth of fuel in the tank and headed toward Canada (mistake #1 - too far from home).

Ad said excellent condition and owner said they kept it under a tent when not in use. (mistake # 2 - it's not excellent if it's  "out of the box"). It looked decent, engine sounded good to me (didn't skip or chug or smoke or explode) and it ran and all the parts seemed to work. Keep in mind - no hubby with me (mistake #3 - always have your mechanic look it over b-4 u buy).

Hubby fixing it up

I get it home and hubby decides to clean it up which, of course, leads to taking the thing apart (that's a gear-head for you).

Come to find out, the deck is rusted and had stress cracks, 2 spindles need to be replaced, the strippers are stripped, needs a pulley, blades are super dull, wheel is bent, needs filters, oil, etc..., etc.... ca-ching ca-ching. Ugh!

Did I mention I did not want a  "project mower" (mistake #4 - if it's not new, its a project).

At least I have something to blog about ;-)

Here is our project:

Cart: 
 before (with the exception of the new wheel we just bought)

 AFTER sanding, washing, priming painting and art.

 I did one side.  

        

My daughter did the other.

The mower itself looked good. It was mainly the deck that had to be re-built (a new one costs over $400 smackers). The rebuild put us back about $200 (in addition to the cost of the purchase)- that was for parts, shipping, paints and sanding supplies, no-flat wheel (not including the 2 weeks it put us back in our time to fix it). 

At least my "mechanic" said the engine was good and the mower itself was in decent condition.

Now lets' get to mowing this mess!

Behr Program

I will paint eventually. My first project will probably be the Hen House. Mt daughter and I killed some time at the Home Depot paint section, dreaming of what colors we will paint the coop. 

We picked up some Behr color samples and went to the website when we got home. 

www.behr.com

They have a really cool on-line paint tool. Called Color Smart.

I am lacking in design talent. This program is so helpful.

You can pick a color (either accent or main) and it will give you several options for coordinating palates. You can even upload a photo and paint it! You can even change the color after you are done painting. Not just the color but, the hue and brightness. It is so COOL. If you have a painting project coming up - Check it out! The downside is, if the photo is not clear or the existing paint is peeled, it will be difficult to use due to the variation and lack of definition (like on the chicken coop - it was too difficult to use in the program so I gave up and did the shed).

Here is my experiment on the Butterfly shed. 

before

after on Behr's paint program

I was inspired years ago when my neighbor put up a cute yellow and white shed in the backyard. I thought all it needed was blue clematis on a trellis.