

And now we'll always know that we have a "Tom Silva Original" design in the house! Next we need to consider whether we'll add any lighting inside or rely on the existing hallway lights on either side of the barrel to cast enough light on the area. We thought it was a great idea to take a problem and make it into a distinctive feature of the house using an existing architectural element. Tom's ingenious solution was to match an existing archway in the front hallway using a barrel ceiling to mask the disparity in ceiling height from front to back.
Tom silva ask this old house code#
This presented a big challenge in trying to build the basement stairs with enough ceiling height to meet code requirements, and it was also going to be an aesthetic issue in the entry hall next to those stairs. The biggest problem area was in the first-floor hallway where the new stairs to the library landing would have to cut into the ceiling height across the new entry. Renovating houses since he was a child, Tom’s first major project, working alongside his dad and brother, was.

We wanted the new addition to sit on the same level as the rest of the house. The problem came in trying to marry the second-floor addition and stairway with the old hallway to maintain enough ceiling height on the first floor. As a proud member of America’s favorite home improvement team since 1986, general contractor Tom Silva has provided years of expert advice to home enthusiasts across the country on This Old House and Ask This Old House. The other tools and materials Tom and Kevin used to build the chair, including exterior rated screws and drill drivers, can all be found at home centers.Remember the three-season porch with jalousie glass we demolished to make way for the new, two-story addition? Well, it actually sat a little bit below the level of the rest of the house and below the grade of the rest of the property. To cut and shape the boards, Tom used a combination of a 1-HP Steel Frame Bandsaw from Delta Machinery, a router table, and an Industrial Table Saw from SawStop. As a proud member of America’s favorite home improvement team since 1986, general contractor Tom Silva has provided years of expert advice to home enthusiasts across the country on This Old House and Ask This Old House. Any rot-resistant lumber would also work well for an Adirondack chair. Tom built the chair out of 5/4-inch x 6 foot pressure treated decking material, which can be found at any home center or lumber yard. The plan comes with cardboard templates for the different pieces of the chair and some project plans to use as a guide.
Tom silva ask this old house how to#
Tom used the Classic Adirondack Chair Template and Project Plan from Rockler to figure out how to make all the different cuts. Whichever treated wood you use, protect it from the elements: Prep with a deck cleaner and wood brightener, then apply one coat of a tinted semitransparent stain (shown) or an opaque solid-color stain. For kiln-dried wood stamped KDAT or KD19, the wait is one or two months. Treated woods often have such a high moisture content, it takes three to six months before they’ll accept a finish.

Before unscrewing them, he did a final trim on all the edges with a flush-cutting bit, running its bearing along the template.

Then he screwed all of them together so they wouldn’t slip as he cut the paired pieces on a band saw. To save time making pairs of curved armrests and support pieces, Tom used a rafter square (A) to align one edge of the MDF template (B) with the edges of the stock (C). Peter Sucheski How to make identical pieces Steps for Building an Adirondack Chair Step 1: Make the templates With those templates at the ready, Tom can knock out a couple of chairs a day for little more than the cost of the pressure-treated lumber: about $120 each. “I took the cardboard templates that came with the plans and made sturdy MDF templates of all the chair parts to guide my saw and router.” Cost to Build an Adirondack Chair The version Tom chose to build, from a set of woodworking plans readily available online ( ), has a gently curved back and an arched top.īefore getting started, and knowing that one chair wouldn’t be enough, he added an extra, time-saving step. Its signature details-the angle of the back, and the slope, depth, and curve of the seat-contribute to its unparalleled comfort. Adirondack Chair Overview Peter SucheskiĪs its name implies, the chair’s early-20th-century design originated in the Adirondack Mountains of New York. Little wonder that these seats are a nearly ubiquitous feature on lawns across the country this time of year. With its deep seat, tall back, and wide armrests, there’s arguably no more restful spot to while away a long summer’s day than an Adirondack chair. wvut WVUT-HD 12/18 15:00: Host Kevin O'Connor, general contractor Tom Silva, plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey, landscape contractor Roger Cook and guest experts make personal HOUSE calls, guiding viewers through home improvement techniques. This article appeared in the Summer 2021 issue of This Old House Magazine.
