Category: Employee DIY Projects

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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