Radiator Cover #2

I boosted my building confidence a bit building radiator cover #1 for our living room, so with the holidays behind us, it was time to take on a bigger project - a radiator cover with attached book shelves for Dylan's playroom.

Dylan loves books and his family loves him. He got so many books for Christmas that we literally didn't have anywhere to put them so I needed to whip out this project quickly. While I had thought it through for a very long time I just couldn't get it through to completion in my head. So, it was time to just start and work out the final steps once I got to that point. I think it was new years weekend, after we got back from our snow fun in NH, that I started working on the cover. With that part done, I put it into place, got the top piece fitted and then started working on the shelving that would go on either side.

It was tough to get everything perfect because 1) I was making it up as I went along (IE didn't really know what I was doing) and 2) it's an old house and I'm working with wavy floors around a radiator. After fitting all the pieces the best I could, I painted all the pieces while still deconstructed.

I have no idea what the total time spent on it was but I almost every spare moment for 2 weeks was dedicated to the project. Loud power tools and sleeping babies don't mix well so during the week, I would try to slip in wood cuts during the time before I went to work and the hour after I got home before he went to bed. I also had lots of pieces to paint during different portions of the project which is time consuming because it was a lot of hurry up and wait - prime, dry, paint one coat, wait for it to dry and then find time to add another coat.

Once I had the base of it all installed, the detailed work started - making the piece look nice, finished and built in with trimming it out. I was pretty proud of myself jumping in and taking on such a large scale project and actually figuring it out along the way. I finally finished it on Saturday night, touched up the paint and was able to fill it with all of Dylan's books Sunday morning.

Finished Product

Decorative Trim

Dylan "Helping" Me Put Books on the Shelves
(He took them off faster then I put them on.
The top shelf at his eye level was his immediate favorite.)

All Filled Up!

I learned some new woodworking skills along the way and got to use almost my entire collection of power tools - compound miter saw, circular saw, jigsaw, orbital sander, router, air gun - fun stuff! Most of Sunday morning was spent organizing and rearranging our sun room which is our office and play room space. Finishing up has given me a great sense of accomplishment and more importantly I'M DONE! Now I won't have to spend every moment at home figuring out how to find a few minutes for building.

Oh, and a very special shout out to my Aunt Pam. Not only was she a pivotal player in making Dylan's book collection awesomely large, but the Lowe's gift card she gave me for Christmas bought some of the lumber and brackets. Thanks Aunt Pam!