Knotty Alder Wood Doors
Knotty Alder Wood Doors. When it comes to fine woodworking such as cabinetry or doors, high grade of clear wood is preferred. Clear wood means, no knots. Clear wood is sold to lumber yards for lofty prices compare with “common lumber” Knotty Alder wood was considered most low grade wood and was used for making pallets. About twenty years ago, someone started making kitchen cabinets with knotty Alder that he took off pallets. The results were amazing and the word was flying around rather quickly. Cabinets and doors manufacturers...
read moreRemodeling stairway and trim work
Refurbishing stairway and trim work This job was done in Manhattan. A general contractor hired me to finish this stairway. When I came to job site I found that a wall that was going around the stairway was cut back. The original wall was floor to ceiling. The treads were sitting on 2×4 frame work, the place was a mess. I was hired to curve new drywall along the stairway. I had to add 2x4s and use three layers of 1/4″ thick drywall AKA sheet rock. The sheets had to get wet for bending, then installed with screws. Baseboard and trim...
read moreFine Wall Unit
FLOOR TO CEILING WALL UNIT Here is another combination of space saving and beauty. The room was used as an home office. My client in NYC asked me to dress a wall with wood work floor to ceiling . He wanted shelving along that wall covered with doors. He wanted the wall to appear as panels when the doors are shot as if there are no doors. The fireplace was already there with the original wood working around it. Twelve inch high baseboard in very common in NYC. I built it with birch plywood and birch doors. I used pivot hinges, each door has...
read moreCustom Wrote Iron Gate
INTERIOR WROTE IRON GATE My client have an home office and also have a large dog. He told me that he want a metal gate to keep his dog for getting into his office. My first thought was to make a gate at half way of the opening to avoid dealing with the arch. My client said that his dig will jump over it. He wanted a full size gate. I brought a large cardboard and held it against the opening, than drew a line along the wall with a marker. Now I have a template. I made a sketch on a paper for him. Then I took the sketch and the template to a...
read moreBookcase Wall Unit
Bookcase This bookcase was custom built. The bookcase is ten feet long, wall to wall. It was made from 3/4″ solid Poplar wood and painted white. I built it with three equal units, The sides have pin holes for adjustable shelving. It was designed to be a foot away from the floor and ceiling. It has no legs to support it. The support is a cleat screwed along the wall under the bookcase and three cleats on top under the three top shelves. 11/2″ trim was added for good looks. Tweet Vote on...
read moreKitchen Remodel by Shapira Builders
Kitchen remodel A NYC developer Hired me to do remodeling work at a Manhattan brown stone building. In the five story building, each story was a single apartment. Brown stone building designed for one family, first floor, living room, second, kitchen and dining room, than bedrooms, and play room. Looking at the pictures, the one on the right was the kitchen I built in the first place on site with white Formica cabinets and White ceramic tiles. After the developer determent the colors and material he gave me pretty much free hand to design. I...
read moreWood Planks Garage Door Refinishing
REFINISHING A WOOD GARAGE DOOR This pine planks garage door has known many hands. The door is facing west and gets a lot of sun beams in the afternoon till sunset. It looks to me as if the original stain was done, trying to create rustic look / blotchy staining. The bottom of the door is more problematic be cause it is more exposed to sun and rain. As the pictures are showing before and after my treatment. I used a mixture of plain Tung oil and stains. I would not use polyurethane because it will dry hard and will flake off after some time....
read moreBreakfast nook / kitchen by Shapira Builders
Breakfast nook / Kitchen by Shapira Builders A developer hired me to Design and build kitchen and breakfast nook in his Manhattan apartment. This work was done entirely on the job site. The kitchen cabinets were made with White Formica laminated over Birch plywood. The floating oak table top at the breakfast nook is sitting on two ‘L’ shape heavy steal brackets, one side of the brackets are lagged to the wall studs and drywall covers over it. The two seats were made from oak planks glued together like butcher block. The single...
read morePocket Doors
Pocket Doors Pocket doors are a good idea for saving space. A pocket door consist of pocket, door and hardware. A standard pocket AKA Ladder pocket, is contracted with wood. You can buy a pre-assembled pocket at your local store. The door may be any interior door. Interior door means, 1 3/8″ thick, hollow core, solid core or even a door with glass. The hardware is the most important part. Most standard homes have cheap hardware and the doors often fall of the track. Replacing the track and rollers is a bit of an operation. Since the...
read moreCustom Wood gate
Custom Wood gate The posts are made with solid 4×4 Cedar. The wall was made with 8×16 cement blocks and stucco. The blocks cells on each side of the gate are solid grouted with re-bars. That is giving the wall a lot of rigidity and allows to install solid anchors for mounting the posts with 3/8×8 lags. The gate frame was made with 2×6 selected Cedar wood, the vertical planks are 1×6 clear Redwood. The gate was constructed with state of the are joints and exterior adhesive with no nails or screws. The woodwork was...
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