Customer Reviews

2 x 4 Projects for Outdoor Living

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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.

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.....

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.

This book is great for beginners in that it introduces and familiarizes readers with tools, lumber, and techniques. In fact, I would go as far as to say it's a great motivator to start building your own projects. As far as the plans in the book go, I recommend either redoing measurement calculations on lumber and hardware, or finding plans elsewhere. I built the lawn chair, and found some measurements to be wrong in lumber and in the screw lengths. I wrote down the corrections as I went along, and found that my second chair only took me a fraction of the time to make, compared to the first. Looks great! Just be careful if you're using the plans! Good luck.

I have built, the 2x4+1x4 chairs (a bench to match the chairs, as well as foot rests that slide under the bench "all my designs"), the small table and the barbeque table from this book and have to change all the measurements. She has the back supports for the chairs wrong, they don't work, you must use 17 or 17 1/2 inch back supports. Also the seat is too high for the arms so you must either lower the seat or shorten the legs (front and back). They are also uncomfortable for seating as built, I have found that lowering the back of the seat 1 1/2" makes them much more comfortable. After building the chairs, I just used the basic ideas and worked out the measurements for what I wanted since I couldn't trust the ones in the book. I have build some nice things from her basic ideas but they are not her plans but mine.

I am a 13 year old girl who owns this book. I have always loved to build things, but I never knew just what I could accomplish until I recieved this book! This book has lots of fun and attractive things to build, not to mention it has good instructions, and everything is pretty easy! I would suggest this book to anyone who is interested in woodworking!

Neat things that you can make to have a great backyard/patio/whatever. All it takes is some time. . .

Interesting ideas for your home. I haven't made any yet, but I hope to. Who would have thought about constructing a backyard deck that's portable? Some things are bigger than others, but they are all built to please. Rudimentary knowledge of woodworking is advised, however--you should know your way around a hammer and nails, if nothing else.