Not Just for the Cute & Crafty...

For Christmas, BF received quite a few tools. He got a table saw, jig saw, hand saw, see-saw... Just kidding on that last one, but you get the idea. He's more of a 'wire' guy, and doesn't have a whole lot of experience using power tools. Recently he became intrigued with the idea of having a hidden room in our house. Lucky for him, we have the perfect spot- the closet right under the stairs. This closet houses all of the gadgets and gizmos that come along with living with a guy who loves electronics. As you can see from the picture, he has a lot.

He decided he wanted to build a bookcase to cover the room. At first, he couldn't choose whether he wanted to have the bookcase on hinges or wheels. BF has never tried to build anything using these tools; I knew this was going to be interesting. So, with sort of an idea of what he wanted, and somewhat of a plan, he began the demolition. He was very careful not to worry about the damage to the wall, because he knew I would be able to fix it.

First BF had to gather the supplies. He then cut each piece to size. Here you can see the base of the bookshelf, the frame that will go around the base, and the stack of 5 shelves that would be inside of the book case.  You can't tell from these pictures, but BF did decide to use wheels.

While BF continued to cut, glue, and paint the bookcase, I was put in charge of the repairing the wall.  While I'm no Bob Villa, I did what I knew to do, which is use a ridiculous amount of joint compound and drywall joint tape. This took several days, because you have to let it dry in between coats and sand to make smooth.

BF then painted over the wall, using the left over paint from when we originally painted it.  We still wanted it to look nice behind the bookcase, for those rare occasions when we had to roll it away.  When BF put the TV in the wall, he installed non directional radio signals for the electronics, so that this closet does not have to be open for us to use the TV, satellite, PS3, Wii, or home distribution system.

BF finished his bookcase and we were able to roll it in place for the big reveal today for Mother's Day! I am so proud of how it looks and I know he loves having his "hidden room."  Hopefully this project leads into wood-work and maybe I can employ BF for some nifty shelves or a custom closet!