How to Build an Arched Doorway

Arched doorways are very typical of early 1900s American and British homes. Unfortunately in the last fifty years or so they've fallen out of vogue due to the extra time contractors and construction workers must spend to build them. They are not particularly expensive to build, but they are time-consuming, and time equals money where any form of construction is concerned. To a contractor, the more time it takes to finish one project, the more money has been lost because they could've been spending that time on their next project. They remedy this problem by simply charging their clients much more for the work. Over the past few years the Old World elegance and style created by this architectural affectation has regained popularity as many homeowners have found ways to set arches into their pre-existing doorways. This guide will explain how to convert a standard door-frame into an arched one.

Things You’ll Need:
2 Premade Columns

1 Premade Arch

Crowbar

2x4 Lumber

Circular Saw

Putty Knife

Claw Hammer

Tape Measure

Drill

Hammer

Sandpaper

Eightpenny Nails

Spackle

3 Inch Screws

Drywall

Utility Knife

1-1/4 inch Drywall Screws

Paintbrushes

Paint

Drywall Tape

Scroll Saw

Creating An Arched Doorway
Step 1:
Begin by using your crowbar to pry up the floorboards and frames from the doorway. If a door is attached you should use a screwdriver to remove the hinges from the door frame and set the entire assembly, both door and hinges aside.

Step 2:
Find the seems of the drywall above and to the side of the doorway, use you utility knife to cut through and reveal these seems and then pry the drywall free. Use your clawhammer to pull out the nails before pulling the drywall free if you are able. Set the drywall aside, if you're careful then you may be able to use these old pieces instead of having the hassle of purchasing and cutting new panels to the appropriate size.

Step 3:
Use your measuring tape to see how wide the door frame is, as well as the thickness of the doorjamb. Take note of these sizes and then go to a home construction, repair, or remodeling store. Purchase a premade archway of the appropriate size and two matching column frames. You could go about making your own archway, but this requires a good deal of carpentry experience as well as a very steady hand with power tools. Without these things then your arch will probably end up crooked and look off balance.

Step 4:
Fit the premade arch to the top of the doorway and stencil the area that touches the wall with pencil. Take the arch back down.

Step 5:
Use the pencil marks to cut two sets of 2X4 blocks. Each set should consist of three blocks, each at a different length. The first should be fitted horizontally to the top corner of the doorway. The second should be fitted vertically to the top corner of the doorway. The third should be fitted diagonally to meet the ends of the other two blocks in what looks like a right triangle. Use the drill and 3 inch screws to fit these blocks into place on both sides of the top of the doorway.

Step 6:
Use the circular saw to cut four identical pieces of drywall. Each piece should be a triangle matching the exact dimensions of the wooden blocks on you doorway. Again use the drill and the 1-1/4 inch screws to affix these pieces of drywall to each side of the wooden blocks, front and back. Use spackle and a putty knife to cover over the screw holes in the drywall.

Step 7:
Reaffix the old drywall to the wall surrounding the doorway with new screws in the old holes. Spackle over the screw heads.

Step 8:
Drill holes into the two side columns down where the doorjamb would go.

Step 9:
Fit the arch up to the top of the doorway and prop one end up by fitting one of the columns into place around one doorjamb. Push the arch tightly up to fit against the doorway and slide the other column into place. Hammer eightpenny nails into the predrilled holes of the columns as well as one nail into the center of the arch on each side of the doorway.

Step 10:
Use spackle to cover over all the nail holes and the joints between the arch and column. Wait for it all to dry. While you wait, apply new drywall tape to all the visible seems between the surrounding drywall panels.

Step 11:
Paint over the drywall and taped seems with the same color paint the rest of the wall is done in. The color of the columns and arch should match the surrounding baseboards.

Step 12:
Press your door to the new arch and stencil the top of the door with a pencil. Use your scrollsaw to cut the door along the pencil line.

Step 13:
Sand the top of the door smooth and fit it to your doorway. If it fits comfortably then drill new holes for the hinges and screw your door back into its new frame.

Tips & Warnings
Make sure to cover the floor and furniture with drop cloths. All cuts with the circular saw should be made outdoors to keep sawdust out of the house.

How to Cut Steel Tubing

Steel tubing of various widths and thicknesses are a very common material in metal fabrication for home modification and vehicle alterations. If purchased in bulk you'll receive them in large bundles wrapped tightly together in uniform lengths. To actually make use of these tubes you'll probably have to cut them to size. Because of steel tubing's great flexibility and toughness, this is a much more difficult process than one would think. This guide will explain several ways to effectively cut steel tubing as well as each method’s positive and negative aspects.

Things You’ll Need:
Acetylene Torch
Striker
Welding Mask
Protective Gloves
Vice
Or Cold Saw
Or Band Saw

Cutting Steel Tubing With An Acetylene Torch
Step 1:
Mark your steel tubing where you need it to be cut and lock it tightly in a vice. The tube should be immobile but not held so tightly as to dent the metal.

Step 2:
Attach your torch's lines to its oxygen and acetylene tanks. Make sure the valves on your torch are shut tight, and then loosen the valves on the tanks to pressurize your torch's lines. The lines should fatten up and become more rigid when this happens.

Step 3:
Loosen the valve on your torch to about half-way open. Hold your striker in your other hand and squeeze the wire handle. The piece of flint on the inside of the striker should kick up sparks and ignite the torch.

Step 4:
Adjust the valve on your torch so that the flame narrows down and losses its smoky quality. Want you want is a short, well defined yellow-white flame with a slight blue tinge near its base.

Step 5:
Put on your welding mask and gloves to protect yourself from the sparks and metal slag the cut pipe will produce. For this reason you also should never try to cut anything above you. The metal slag will drip down and burn right through your clothes and skin.

Step 6:
Bring the flame slowly down the line on your steel tube. The speed with which this is done is dependent on the thickness of the metal and requires a great deal of practice and trial and error before a person can do this reliably. The line of metal which you are heating is actually melting and being blown back and down by the torch. Remember to work with the center of the flame, not the tip. This is the most consistently hot part of the flame. This method of cutting is most effective for small jobs where only a few pipes need be cut, though it can be time consuming and requires a certain amount of skill to do properly. The cuts from an acetylene torch are clean with little to no burring on the edges, but the steel can suffer from warping and discoloration by the flame if not done correctly.

Using A Cold Saw To Cut Steel Tubing
Step 1:
Carry the tubing to the cold saw, unlock and disengage the latches on the saw.

Step 2:
Place the tube in the cradle and line up the saw blade above it with the point where you need the tube cut. A cold saw looks like a large table with a cabinet above it. You place the tube on the cradle extended from the center of the machine and lock the tube down tightly.

Step 3:
Make sure your body and clothes are clear from the machine and then press the button to start the machine. The cradle holding the tube will retract back into the machine. A large circular saw blade specifically designed for cutting metal engages and begin to speed up. When the saw is ready the cradle will raise and push the tube into the blade. This method of cutting tubing is very effective as it creates a smooth and very exact cut. The downside is that you can only cut one tube at a time and these machines are very large, very heavy, and very expensive.

Using A Band Saw To Cut Steel Tubing
Step 1:
Mark your steel tubing at the point you need it to be cut. Band saws utilize a continuous ribbon blade in either a horizontal or vertical plane to cut a clamped tube. These saws come in many different sizes, from small models you can keep in your garage to industrial sized behemoths that wouldn't fit in your living room.

Step 2:
Don protective eyewear and gloves, and bring the tube to your band saw. Turn on the band saw and bring your tube to rest just in front of the running blade.

Step 3:
Brace one hand on each side of the tube, making sure to keep your fingers out of the way of the blade, and push the tube through the saw. The cut pipe might need to be ground smooth, but the band saw works quickly and efficiently. Industrial size models have trays that you place the tube in which pulls the tube through the saw. They also give you the opportunity to make bulk cuts. You can set a bundle of pipes in these machines and the saw will cut through all of them at once. That is the major benefit of such saws, though they can also be very dangerous and should only be used by professionals.

Tips & Warnings
Using a hacksaw might work on particularly thin tubing but this is very labor intensive. It will dull the blade of your hacksaw quickly, and the edges of the cut will have a great deal of burring and need to be ground smooth with a rasp or metal file.
Be careful to use eye protection and gloves when working with any of the machinery mentioned in this article. Metal filings can lodge in the mucous membranes of the body and cause terrible pain and damage.

How to Build a Wooden Ramp for a Shed

Most American home-owners mow and care for their own lawns. This necessitates a wealth of lawn-care equipment such as lawnmowers, weed eaters, wheelbarrows, and miscellaneous hand tools. Traditionally these are stored in a shed near or attached to the back of the home. Such sheds are either pre-fabricated or assembled on site. They're waterproof and keep your outdoor tools safe from the elements. You'll find that the lip of these sheds are rarely level with the ground. It's no great hassle to carry in the hand tools you use, but there's no chance you'd be able to carry in bigger machines like riding lawn mowers. They’re just too heavy. That's why many people have a shed ramp. You could pay a carpenter several hundred dollars to build and install one for you, but why spend the money when you can build your own easily and on a shoestring budget? This guide will explain how to make a quality wooden shed ramp quickly and affordably.

Things You’ll Need:
Drill

Wood drill bits

Metal drill bits

Through bolts

Hammer

Two-inch nails

Circular Saw

2 Wrenches

One treated lumber 2X4

Multiple treated lumber 4X4's

Sheet of 3/4 inch plywood

Tape Measure

Wood Pencil

Shovel

Asphalt Shingles (Optional)

Building A Wooden Shed Ramp
Step 1:
Use the drill to bore holes into the lip of the shed about an inch below the door. You'll need to use a specialized drill bit to get through the shed wall if it's made of metal. Three holes equidistant from each other should be sufficient. These holes should be only slightly smaller in diameter than the through bolts you'll be using.

Step 2:
Cut the 2X4 to be as long as the shed's lip is wide. Line up and mark the holes from the shed onto the 2X4 with a wood pencil. Bore holes into the 2X4 of a slightly smaller diameter than the through bolts you have.

Step 3:
Line up the shed's lip and the 2X4 and attach the two with the through bolts. Use your wrenches to make sure the bolts are as tight as you can get them.

Step 4:
Take your circular saw, tape measure, and your 4X4s. You'll need one 4X4 for every two foot width of the shed's lip, but you should use at least two. The length of your 4X4s is determined by how high off the ground the lip of the shed is. The 4X4s should be at least one foot long for every three inches that the shed's lip is off the ground. If the ramp is too steep your heavy equipment won't be able to get enough traction and either slip down or tumble off.

Step 5:
When you've cut the 4X4s to length, lay them on the lip of the shed and mark the spots where the other ends touch the ground. Dig a small trench the full width of the shed's lip where the 4X4s will touch the ground. This will help to anchor the finished ramp in place and keep it from slipping away from the shed when under a heavy load. The 4X4s will only more solidly embed themselves in the ground as time goes by.

Step 6:
Cut one end of each of the 4X4s at a 45 degree angle using the circular saw, so instead of a flat end you have diagonal ones.

Step 7:
Lay the pointed ends of the 4X4s horizontal to the ground. Use your tape measure and pencil. Measure two inches back and one half inch down from the long tip of each 4X4. Mark this point and draw a vertical line down as well as a horizontal line back to the slanted end of the wood. Cut along these lines with your circular saw. This has effectively notched the ends of the 4X4s so they will fit easily over the top of the 2X4 that you have anchored to the shed.

Step 8:
Place each notched length of wood over the anchored 2X4 and drive a few nails into each to hold them together. The other ends of the 4X4s should fit snugly into the ditch you've dug.

Step 9:
Lay your plywood over the 4X4s and mark their dimensions on the plywood with a pencil.

Step 10:
Follow the line's you've marked in the plywood with your circular saw.

Step 11:
Nail the fitted pieced of plywood into place. Your nails should form nice orderly rows that travel down the length of each 4X4 stud under the plywood. You should have a practical and very effective shed ramp now. You also have the opportunity to take things a step further and increase the traction on the ramp by tacking a series of asphalt shingles in rows along the plywood surface. This is entirely optional.

Tips & Warnings
Once your ramp is complete you may want to seal the wood against the damp, mildew, and mold.
Be careful when working with power tools

How to Build a Sandbag Bunker

Since warfare as we know it has existed earthen fortifications have been employed defensively in one form or other. Over time thick mounds of hardened mud and clay gave way to ramparts weighted down with rocks and dirt. These ramparts became sandbag bunkers and pillboxes. Such bunkers are still in use today by many national militaries as relatively quick and cheap barracks for soldiers as well as protected weapon emplacements. Thick bags of sand can just as easily stop a speeding bullet as a thick plate of steel, and are much cheaper to construct. They provide good protection from the heat of the day and can be easily warmed with a little ingenuity. A military sandbag bunker might look a little odd out in your front yard. However battle re-creationists and paintball players abound that could benefit from their creation and use. Such a bunker would also make an excellent lodge if you spend much time hunting out in the woods. To that end, here is a guide on how to build your own sandbag bunker.

Things You’ll Need:
Empty Sandbags

Shovel

Mallet or Sledgehammer

Wooden Stakes

Flak or Duckboarding

Hammer

Three Inch Nails

Building A Sandbag Bunker
Step 1:
Lay the wooden stakes down in a rough outline in the shape of the bunker's walls. Flat ground will be easier to work on.

Step 2:
Prepare the ground by using your shovel to dig out all the plants and grass inside the bunker.

Step 3:
Start digging. Use the earth you take from inside the outline of your bunker to fill the empty sandbags. Each bag will typically weight fifty pounds when full. They come with ties and drawstrings to close them up once you're ready to place them. Dig from the outside edges of the bunker inward. That way you can get the filled sandbags in place as soon as possible. Still, this part of the construction may take weeks depending on how big the finished bunker will be and how many people you have to help you.

Step 4:
Place the filled bags long-end to long-end in two rows side-by-side in the shape of the bunker's walls just outside the stakes. This will allow you to take advantage of the height difference you're creating. If you hollow out the ground inside the bunker three feet deep, then you only have to pile the sandbags four feet high to have a seven foot high space for people to comfortably move around in.

Step 5:
Put the second layer of sand bags crosswise over the first layer. Keep doing this for each successive layer. This will add a great deal of stability to the walls. They're much less likely to tip over this way.

Step 6:
Hammer the stakes in to support the inside wall of the bunker. You should have at least one stake for every two feet of wall. For a relatively small bunker, sharpened 2X4s will work, but a large bunker will have a great deal more sand leaning inward on it and it would be a good idea to use 4X4s. The stakes should be driven in vertically and stand slightly above the very top layer of sandbags. When placing sandbags make sure they're snug against the stakes.

Step 7:
When the wall is to the desired height, place the flak or duckboard planks over the top of the bunker. Nail these boards firmly to the tops of the stakes.

Step 8:
Place a single layer of sandbags over the boards. When you finish, the duckboards shouldn't be visible at all because of the sandbags covering them. Make absolutely sure that your stakes can take the weight. If you see the boards bowing near the center of the roof or hear the wood groaning then immediately place more stakes closer to the center of the bunker to help support the weight of the sandbags.

Tips & Warnings
This sort of work is absolutely back-breaking; your best chance of completing it is by getting some friends over to help. You will probably have to reward them with plenty of food and refreshments. For a large bunker you may need support stakes in the center to hold the weight of the sandbags on the roof.
If the roof is not sufficiently reinforced from beneath there exists the hazard of collapse. With a few metric tons of sandbags above you, such a collapse could very well be fatal.