This HouseCall took Ron to the hillside community of Pacific Palisades. Located between the cities of Malibu and Santa Monica, Pacific Palisades is named after it's high bluffs that run three miles along the Southern California coastline. It's also home to Doris Schalk who lives right next door to her son Larry. Doris' deck offers a breathtaking view of the Santa Monica Bay. There's just one drawback. It can get very windy up here. Doris asked Ron to help her build a windbreak.
Click Here For a list of what
you will need in order to complete this project.
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1. Make a Drawing:
- The windbreak that Ron designed for Doris consisted of five identical frames crafted from 2 x 2 redwood lumber.
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- Secured inside each frame was a sheet of hardened clear plastic, which was scratch resistant and lighter and safer than glass.
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- To accommodate the plastic, they would need to cut a groove, known as a dado, down the center of each side of the frame.
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2. Cut wood:
- The first thing they did was cut out the top, bottom and sides of the frame. Ron suggested they cut these a little bit longer than they actually needed and then trim them back later on. Ron set the stop block on the power miter saw to the lengths needed, and then placed the ends of the lumber against the stop and began making cuts.
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- Using the saw's work stop, Doris and Larry cut enough wood for all the frames in a matter of minutes. The next step was to cut the groove down the center. For that they used the table saw.
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3. Dado cut:
- Ron set up the saw to make the dado groove. To do this he used a wide blade called a dado blade, which allowed them to cut the groove in one pass.
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- Ron also added attachments to the saw, called feathers. The top yellow feather pressed the wood firmly down onto the table while the wooden one on the side kept the lumber against the saw fins.
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- The feathers ensured that the groove would be a consistent depth and centered in each piece of wood as it ran over the dado blade, which was actually two special blades side by side.
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4. Miter cuts:
- After Doris and Larry put dados in all the wood required for the five frames it was time to make miter cuts at the ends of each piece. They went back to the miter saw to cut these angles. The mitered angles would fit together to give the frames a nice finished corner.
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- They set the blade on the saw to cut at a 45-degree angle on both ends of each frame section.
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5. Cut plastic:
- With the frame pieces cut out, it was time to measure and cut the clear plastic that would fit inside. For that job they switched to a cordless circular saw. Ron set the blade so that it would just barely come through the bottom of the plate by ¼ inch. Ron set the clear plastic on a sheet of plywood and clamped on a straight edge as a guide.
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- The acrylic plastic was coated with a clear plastic film that they left in place while they made the cuts. It would protect the surface from scratches.
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6. Assembly:
- The next step was to assemble the frames around the plastic panels. Ron put some silicone in the grooves or dados that were cut earlier. The silicone would create a bond on the insides of the frame to the edge of the plastic making the entire unit stronger and keeping the panes from rattling when the wind hit them.
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- They brushed polyester glue onto the miters cut on each end of the frame sections. This glue expanded as it dried, which made it bubble out of the joints.
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NOTE: You cannot clean your brush, your hands or your clothes after using this glue product so work carefully.
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