Upgraded Window Treatments

I worked on this project a few years ago but wanted to post on it. It was pretty easy to do and didn't cost a lot. The main thing to keep in mind is most houses without existing window trim have rounded wall corners. These rounded edges created pockets that have to covered or filled when you lay the trim boards over them. Nothing major...just keep in mind.

Here was one of two of the window on the same wall of our master bedroom. "BEFORE"

Here is what it looked like after I nailed in the trim boards using a nail gun. 

Starting from the bottom, here is what I used (all wood was common board from Home Depot):

• 1x3 window apron - Make sure to cut this to the width of the side trim (side casing).
• 1x6 window stool (shelf) - Make sure to cut this and place it before any of the other pieces. This will sit right up to the edge of your windowpane. Make sure you cut to fit with the bend of your existing wall. These can either the same width as your apron and side casings or a bit wider according to your preference. I would start wider just in case you decide later you like a shorter width you can always trim more length off.
• 1x3 side casing (sides of the window) - These will sit on top of the window stool and go to the top of the window where it meets up with fillet that runs along the top of the window. The inside edges of these will sit flush with the inside of the window (side jamb - see photos below) and not at the curve of the wall.
• 1x2 fillet - These will be the same width as the apron and side casing. It will be laying on its side so the narrowest part of the board will be flush with the wall (head jamb - see photos below). 
• 1x6 top casing - You can play around with this width but my wife and I like the top casing to be a bit taller and more pronounced. Again this will be the same width as the side casing and fillet.
• Casing cap - I use multiple pieces of wood, each on their side for the casing cap. You can use one or many pieces depending on your desired effect. I used a 1x2, 1x3, and 1x4 with a 1/2 increase in width as they progressed towards the ceiling.

After I was done trimmI had to fill in the gap between the trim and the jamb. If I were to do it again I might try some drywall paper-faced corner bead and lay it down before I install the side casing and fillet. That way I wouldn't have to fill the gaps with as much material. This time I got some joint compound and drywall tools from home depot:

Please remember that drywall joint compound can very toxic to breathe in so please make sure you get some facemasks to wear while you are sanding it after it drys. Make sure that it is rated for joint compound sanding. The basic/cheap masks are not...

Here is what the gap looked like before the joint coumpound...

and after...make sure you allow the joint compound time to dry before you sand it especially if you are doing a think application like this. As it dries it could crack and you might have to apply it a few more times.

After it dries you can sand it (REMEMBER TO WEAR THE APPROPRIATELY RATED FACE MASK!!!) then use some caulk to fill any additional cracks, seams, or nail holes and then paint.

Here is the finished product! Let me know if you have any questions.

TV Stand - Giving it a try...

My wife had been asking me for a while to try out a TV Stand from the Craftsman Drive website. After reviewing the plans and the part list I went to the Home Depot and picked everything up.

Luckily I brought my (sedan) truck along and was able to fit it all in...barely...HA!

   

As a quick side note, from what I could tell, the following are the GRK screws that were listed on the supply list from the site where I got the plans from.

      

I tried using structural screws for the pocket holes but found out that the head of the screws were too large in diameter to fit so I ended up just using the Trim Head Screws. Best I could tell I got the wrong screws. I was able to use them in a few places later on but had to get creative.

I started out by cutting 4 legs and 2 cross pieces from the 2x4s at 32 inches and 17 inches respectively.

   

I predrilled the ends of the 32-inch legs and used the trim screws to attach them to the 17-inch cross pieces.

      

I then cut two 2x4s to 69 inches and attached them to the two sets of legs with pocket holes and the trim screws.

      

I then attached the first shelf made of the 2x2s and 1x8s.

               

I then flipped the table over so I could add the shelf supports. No pocket holes on this one. I just used short screws and screwed it into the bottom of the shelf.

Next was adding the supports to the top of the table. After drilling the pocket holes in the two 2x4 supports I used two thin boards and my claps to hold the support in place. I put the pocket holes towards the top so that when I put the douglas fir on top you wouldn't be able to see the holes.

      

 And finally...the top 2x8s were secured into place.

   

Time for sanding. I am pretty sensitive to dust so for extra protection I got myself a respirator and some filters from Amazon. The great thing with this respirator is that you can interchange with all types of filters for different types of projects. I didn't take pictures of all of the sanding but I did take a few pictures of how I finished the legs. I beveled the edges to keep it from splintering later. I liked how it turned out.

         

After further contemplation, I decided the table wasn't secure enough to hold up under the number of kids we had in our house. I was pretty sure that if my 4-year-old climbed onto the shelves that they would break. I decided to add two additional 1x3 braces for each shelf. I also added to more 2x4s to each side of the center of the table. It helped a lot. It still was 100% secure but it was much better and I was confident it would hold up to possibly being used as a playground. LOL

Ah, looking good. I brought it in the garage (door open) to stain and coat with polyacrylic.

 I have used the MiniWax Weathered Oak stain on several projects now and really like it a lot. There is some grey color paint added to it that gives it the weathered look. Just make sure if you try it to use a paint mixer to get the paint off the bottom as it tends to settle under the stain.

      

 After the second coat of poly I brought the table in and added some protective pads to keep the table from scratching the flooring. I put two on each leg for good measure...this table is super heavy.

 Put it in front of the TV...check out the details on the shelves. Some great character and the stain really brought out the colors.

 DONE!!! Let me know what you think.