2 x 4 Projects for Outdoor Living [Paperback]

Stevie Henderson (Author), Mark Baldwin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 30, 2001

Transform your deck, yard, patio, or garden into perfect outdoor rooms for entertaining, dining, or simply relaxing in style. Maybe all it takes is an outside bar, just like the ones at posh hotels, or a comfy Adirondack sofa; practical barbecue, or fun porch swing. Go ahead; start building! Even if you're a beginner who has never wielded a hammer, these pieces are well within your abilities. Every one has been simplified with the novice in mind, and uses only standard lumber and a few everywhere-available materials. Many of the projects, such as a cheery birdhouse table, can take just a few hours to make. And, they're all wonderfully sturdy, ready to stand up to the elements. Enhance any al fresco space with a deck canopy; tiled coffee table; lattice screen; trellis and fountain; and more. You'll save on specialty store versions, and the handmade ones will fit perfectly with your lifestyle and surroundings! 21 projects in all.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Lark Books (June 30, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1579902219
• ISBN-13: 978-1579902216
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 8.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,840,345 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Dumb and Dumber, May 21, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: 2 X 4 Projects For Outdoor Living (Hardcover)

Argh!!! where to start!?! If you're attempting to build anything in this book just be careful. Use it as a rough guideline, but do not follow the instructions. Why? Because they're all wrong! I am building the adirondack couch. First of all the list of materials has mistakes in it. The back slats for the seat call for 1x6 wood. If you do the math, you'll find that 1x6's don't work. You have to use 1x4's. It calls for 11 of them, yet in the written instructions they tell you you'll need 12 of them. One of the diagrams is mislabled. Some of the measurements are wrong. They tell you to nail in a screw (you can nail in a nail and screw in a screw, but can you nail in a screw?). As far as attaching the back to the seat...it's an architectural mystery as to how it's actually going to keep the seat back from collapsing when there are no supports at all. What else...oh. yes. the lovely pictures they have. If you use the pictures of the completed project as a guideline...don't. They don't match what they're telling you in the instructions. They tell you to use carriage bolts, yet the picture doesn't show any. The seat back has the corners cut off to give it some shape, yet, if you do it the way they tell you, you'll soon find out that you're cutting through the top back support.

It's great for project ideas but I definitely wouldn't reccomend it to any beginners. Before you attempt any of the projects, spend some time and double check the materials list and the instructions...especially before you go out and spend money on the wrong materials and then realize nothing fits.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Prepare for frustration, May 20, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: 2 X 4 Projects For Outdoor Living (Hardcover)

While only using this book for 1 project it is pretty obvious that it is a blueprint for frustration. I knew when I saw the instruction to "nail through the front seat trim ... using three 1-5/8 screws" that this wasn't written for beginners but by beginners. Guys comon, at least lets try and get the terminology correct!

A friend who is a novice woodworker bought this book and asked my help building the adirondack sofa. We went to the lumber yard and started buying lumber from the materials list. The list called for 11 32" 1x6's for the backslats. When we looked in the assembly instructions it said to cut 12 backslats from 1x6's. To add to the confusion, the picture of the sofa clearly shows 12 1x4 backslats and some quick math confirms this. If we hadn't noticed this glaring mistake we would have come away with the wrong lumber. A novice could have easily cut the pieces before realizing the mistake making it impossible to return the lumber.

There are many other smaller errors contained in the instructions . If the other projects in the book resemble the sofa this will quickly turn your first woodworking project into your last. One star is probably too good a rating.....

34 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Make Outdoor Living Even Better, May 8, 2000

By 

K. David Griessmann "DaveG" (Cincinnati, Ohio) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 2 X 4 Projects For Outdoor Living (Hardcover)

The authors, Stevie Henderson & Mark Baldwin, devote the first five chapters of this book going over materials, tools, techniques and safety. All of which I personally wish more authors would do. They go through everything from adhesives to selecting the type of wood to use.

After the introduction the book jumps straight into building projects. The projects range from building a Birdhouse Table, an Adirondack Sofa, a Yard Light, an Outdoor Storage Center, a Privacy Screen, a Portable Deck and so much more.

My favorite aspects of this book are the authors provide a lot of diagrams and pictures to help spotlight the amount of detail they provide. Also, each project has detailed lists of what material is needed and instead of just providing the reader with a Cutting List, and they provide a Material and Hardware lists. There's no more guesswork on what tool is used to make or do what!

This book is very thought out and it is geared toward the beginner to intermediate. I enjoyed this book and look forward to building many of the projects for my own personal use. I recommend the purchase of this book.