Adding Privacy to a New Paver Patio: Rogue Engineer’s DIY Outdoor Transformation

We worked with DIYer Jamison Rantz aka Rogue Engineer, who recently transformed his barn area with a fresh paver patio. Faced with an unsightly AC unit nearby, he turned to our Simpson Strong-Tie E-Z Spike™ to help build his DIY privacy fence solution. These spikes eliminate the need for digging or concrete pouring. What follows is his description of the build  

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How E-Z Spike™ Created a Safe Perimeter for Rogue Engineer’s Chickens

Simpson Strong-Tie collaborated with Jamison Rantz, aka Rogue Engineer, on a chicken coop upgrade project. Originally, Jamison’s coop had used cheap fencing to contain the chickens while allowing them to roam. Over time, the deteriorating fencing prompted him to give it a makeover. He successfully constructed a new, easy-to-build DIY custom garden fence that securely holds the chickens and complements the coops aesthetic. Learn how Simpson Strong-Tie connectors and fasteners played a crucial role in the project’s quick construction process. 

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DIY: How to Build a Leaning Bathroom Shelf

Because bathrooms are comparatively so small, creating storage space in them can be a real challenge. One possibility you may not have considered is to build a leaning bathroom shelf above the toilet tank. We teamed up with Jamison Rantz of Rogue Engineer to develop a rustic ladder-style shelf using Simpson Strong-Tie® Outdoor Accents® structural wood screws and hex-head washers. Learn how easy it is to build this leaning bathroom shelf. Be sure to check out his video at the end of this post.
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Chicken Coop Plans: How to Build a Modern Chicken Coop

This past spring, my wife, Jamie, decided to bring home six chickens. Then she pointed at me and said, “We’re going to need a chicken coop.” Well, six months later, the chickens were still sleeping in our old rabbit hutch at night and free-ranging around the yard during the day. One morning I went to let them out and saw all six of them tightly packed into a hutch designed for one rabbit, and I knew the time had come.

When I sat down to design these chicken coop plans, I knew that we wanted something awesome. We wanted to design a coop with clean, modern lines that had a simple yet great-looking exterior. This thing will be sitting in our yard all the time, so we knew just any old coop wouldn’t work. Jamie and I sat down to research chicken coop plans but nothing was exactly what we wanted. We didn’t want the standard look of boxes attached to boxes. We wanted everything housed in one single unit, under one roof.
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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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