DIY: How to Build a Workbench-Style Custom Desk

This post is part of an occasional series featuring guest bloggers. This post is by DIYer Jaime Costiglio. She’s a mom of three and describes herself as a DIY girl who works with wood, fabric and paint. She built a beautiful custom desk with our WBSK Workbench or Shelving Hardware Kit.

The workbench is perhaps my favorite place to spend time building different projects, so when it came time to build myself a new desk, I knew it had to have that workbench feel with desk-appropriate storage. Today, I’m sharing my industrial-style desk built using the Simpson Strong-Tie® DIY Workbench or Shelving Hardware Kit, plus additional fasteners.

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DIY: How to Build an H-Leg Table Bench

This past Thanksgiving, my wife Jamie and I built what we called an H-leg dining table because we needed a table that would seat 10 people. Since we knew we would want to use it outside when it warmed up, we built it out of cedar. However, we hadn’t got around to building the benches to go with it. Well, the time came where we really needed them, so we stopped procrastinating and got to work.

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Triple Feature: Three Companies Join Forces to Enhance Jobsite Safety

Simpson Strong Tie, Bosch Power Tools, and Ergodyne Work Gear team up for the ultimate road trip.

Quick, what do the Atlanta Falcons and Apple Computer have in common? Give up? Well of course they’re both incredibly popular consumer brands, but they’re also both behind some of the biggest U.S. construction projects in recent history. And that’s not all: Apple’s $5 billion mothership headquarters in Cupertino, Calif. and the Falcons’ $1.6 billion Mercedes-Benz Stadium were also recent stops on the Bosch Power Tour, a contractor safety and tool demonstration road trip that last year hit close to 200 jobsites across the country.

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DIY: How to Build Suspended Garage Shelves

This Suspended Garage Storage unit was designed and built by Amy from Hertoolbelt. She’s a tractor-driving, tool-loving mom of two. We’re delighted to share her DIY garage shelves using the Simpson Strong-Tie® Workbench/Shelving Hardware Kit.

I’m always looking for great storage ideas and solutions, especially in the garage where things tend to pile up. There is a lot of empty space above the garage door, so why not take advantage of it and add suspended garage shelves? These shelves are great for seasonal item storage and stuff that you want to keep but do not need that often. Simpson Strong-Tie connectors make these DIY storage shelves easy to build and install. The depth of the shelves are 2-feet deep but can be easily modified for 3-feet deep.
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DIY: How to Build a Round Outdoor Dining Table

This post is part of an occasional series featuring guest bloggers who are Simpson Strong-Tie brand ambassadors. These plans for a DIY Round Outdoor Dining Table are by Jaime Costiglio. 

When the weather cooperates, my family eats dinner outdoors, which can be nearly every evening in the warmer months. But we had an old flimsy metal table that only fit four chairs properly for our family of five.  We needed an outdoor dining table to fit our patio space. So in true DIY fashion, I built a table to accommodate not only my family but a few guests as well.

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5 Ways Simpson Strong-Tie Collaborates with Construction Students

At Simpson Strong-Tie, we’re not only focused on building strong structures, we’re also focused on building strong relationships with the next generation of architects, engineers, builders and trade professionals who will help shape our communities. Given the shortage of skilled laborers and of school graduates joining the trades, we believe it’s important to support career opportunities for the young professionals who represent the future of our industry.

To do that, we’ve appointed a select group of Outreach Coordinators dedicated to creating relationships with young people interested in our industry. Here are five ways that Simpson Strong-Tie and this passionate team are helping the next generation of engineering and construction professionals plan their careers.

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A Well-Connected Home Is a Smart Home

In the digital era, we’ve observed technology grow ever “smarter,” as our devices, tools and appliances advance steadily toward greater connectivity, autonomy and responsiveness. Even homes are getting smarter, as lighting, temperature and security systems operate with increasing integration and diminishing oversight on our behalf.

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Does Tension Keep Your Deck Up at Night?

Whether you’re building a brand new deck or retrofitting an existing one, concerns about the strength and safety of your deck can be a significant source of tension. Other than the quality of the wood itself, how the wood members of a deck are connected to each other and to the adjacent structure is the most important part of the deck. Connections that don’t meet code requirements or that have become loose, corroded or decayed over time, compromise a deck’s strength and safety.
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DIY: How to Build a Low-Effort Lemonade Stand

There’s just something about a DIY lemonade stand on a hot day that brings back childhood memories. As a kid, I can remember always wanting to have a lemonade stand. Unfortunately, we lived in a cul-de-sac so it wasn’t exactly prime real estate for a business. My kids are luckier than I was, since we live on a corner lot along a pretty busy street full of thirsty joggers, bike riders and folks passing by in their cars.

As soon as the weather warmed up this spring, my daughter was eager to set up her lemonade stand, and she wasn’t going to let anything stop her. Being the resourceful girl that she is, she quickly went through the garage looking for anything that would hold her lemonade and decided an ironing board would suffice. (At last, the ironing board is serving a purpose in my house!) She taped on her signs, made some lemonade and quickly ran outside to set up shop.

After watching her successfully sell lemonade for a few afternoons, we knew she was ready to learn the business basics. We explained to her that she’d need to invest her own money and in return she would benefit from all the profits made. Without hesitation, she spent her hard-earned money on lemonade mix and we supplied the cups. We told her that if any neighborhood kids helped out, then she would need to share a portion of her profits. After making $30 in just a couple hours, we figured it was time to get real and build her a sturdier DIY lemonade stand. An ironing board does the trick, but seriously, how cool is it having your very own DIY lemonade stand?

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DIY: How to Build an Indoor Playhouse

Why buy an expensive, generic, prebuilt playhouse for your kids when you can easily build one all by yourself? We’re excited to share this imaginative playhouse by Jen Woodhouse from The House of Wood. The plans for this playhouse are free and available for download. As soon as you see how adorable and simple this is, you’ll want one of your own.

Summer means barbecues, lemonade and all sorts of fun. It also means that the kids are out of school. When I was home for summer vacation, I used to build pillow forts and dream of having a playhouse. I lived in an apartment in Queens as a child, and there was no way my parents could make room for an actual playhouse. So my childhood dreams of a playhouse (and a pony) came to nothing.

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