Category: Employee DIY Projects

Pergola Planner Helps a Boy Scout Support His Community

Boy Scout Porter Shively shares a pergola he built for his community to achieve the rank of Eagle Scout. He built this project using Simpson Strong-Tie® Pergola Planner Software™. 

I’m a junior at William Harrison High School in West Lafayette, Indiana. I’m a wrestler at the school, very active with my Boy Scout Troop, and volunteer in our children’s program at church. In my free time, I enjoy watching movies, playing Minecraft, and hanging out with my friends. After high school, I plan on getting a degree that will allow me to work toward becoming a zoologist.  

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A Boy Scout Kiosk Build with Simpson Strong-Tie Outdoor Accents® Hardware

Literature Specialist Amy Mayne’s son, Trent, was quite busy last winter with his Boy Scout group building an outdoor kiosk with Simpson Strong-Tie products. 

Last winter, as part of his membership with Boy Scouts of America, my son Trent chose a project to give back to his school district, as well as help him earn his Boy Scouts Eagle Award. Trent rebuilt the kiosk at the Bloom Carroll High School Arboretum.  

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The Simpson Strong-Tie UK Van

Over the 2020 Christmas holiday, sales merchandiser Karl Warnett kept himself busy by fitting out his van with shelving and drawers for all his marketing needs. 

Last Christmas I decided to kit out and build drawers and shelves in the back of my Volkswagen Caddy van as I was fed up with the untidy way my van was looking. I didn’t want my mobile “office” to appear unprofessional to customers and end users when I was visiting their premises.  Continue reading “The Simpson Strong-Tie UK Van”

How Pergola Planner Software™ Helped Turn My Parents’ Patio into an Oasis

This past summer, my parents and I were talking about some of the latest home improvement projects that they had going on, and the topic of providing more shade for their backyard patio came up. For the last couple of years, they’d been looking into different ideas of what to do with this space, including sketching out on notebook paper layouts and particulars that would be nice to have. They’d tried portable patio umbrellas and various other ways to shade this area and had come to a decision that it was time to add a permanent structure that would serve as both a backyard shelter and an aesthetic complement to their home.

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DIY: How to Build a Kamado Grill Table

This week we are going to share how you (and I) can build a DIY grill table. Our very own Ben Rivera in Simpson Strong-Tie Marketing built a DIY grill table for his Kamado grill. He shared some tips with me that I’m going to pass along to you. If that isn’t enough DIY for you, Jen Woodhouse from House of Wood also shares how to build a DIY grill table with free plans.
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DIY: How to Build a Porch Swing

This week’s blog post is written by our college interns in the Engineering Department. They were tasked with creating a DIY project that would be sturdy and durable, so they decided to create a DIY porch swing. Thank you to Paul Cabasag, Alex Wightman, Ian Kennedy, Sienna Palos, Daniel Noh and Toan Nguyen for this week’s post.

Nothing is more pleasant than relaxing outside with friends and family on a warm afternoon. But many of us don’t have enough reliable seating. Unfortunately, even my backyard is filled with rickety old chairs and benches that you hope won’t break every time you sit in them.

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How to Build a Durable Home DIY Bar

Many of us have cluttered or underutilized space in our garage or backyard. But sometimes those spaces can be turned into a relaxing retreat for friends and family. As the 2015 summer interns at Simpson Strong-Tie, we designed a DIY bar to make unused space a pleasant place to relax. The home bar is common in many kitchens or outdoor areas; however, this DIY bar opens a door for personalization.

Whether you’re looking to create a DIY cocktail lounge in the garage, a full-scale tropical bar by the pool or a simple bar for family barbecues and cocktail parties, your experiences will be better knowing that you’re enjoying them at your personal, hand-built bar.

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