My sons helped me build this 6 shelf lazy susan pantry cabinet into the closet.

I bought two 4 by 8 foot by 3/4 inch oak panels to a make the new shelves for the pantry. We cut each panel into four 2 by 4 foot pieces. We needed six pieces to make the six shelves. We cut these six pieces to fit inside the pantry closet from our template.

We transfered the template design onto one of the 2 by 4 foot plywood pieces. We used the center point of the door as the pivot point for the router to route out a 14.375 inch radius half circle out of the plywood to make the back shelf. We then shortened the radius of the router to 13.625 inches to make the half circle 3/4 of an inch smaller so that it would easily fit into the half circle of the back shelf.

We added a 1.5 by 1/4 inch oak lip around front of the back shelves and the half circle shelves so storage items would not fall off of them as the lazy susan was turned.

We fabricated a pivot post out of three 1 by 4 inch by 8 foot oak boards. The three boards were glued together as a 3 by 3 inch post 8 foot long. We drilled 5/8 inch hole in the bottom end 3 inches deep and fit a 4 by 5/8 inch steel rod in it and drilled a 5 inch deep hole for the top and placed a 7 by 5/8 inch steel rod in the top hole. The lazy susan pivots around these rods which are anchored in the floor at the bottom by a thrust bearing which we made and to the inside wall of the pantry closet at the top with a pillow block bearing.

We mounted three 70 inch double track standard rails to the 3 X 3 post on three sides. We set three sets of 11 inch double track brackets on these rails for the half circle shelves to sit on. We cut a notch the size of the 3 X 3 post and rails into each half circle shelf so that they would fit easily around the pivot post.

I sanded, stained and varnished all the pieces for the lazy susan shelves. We set the back shelves in the closet and then mounted the pivot post in the thrust bearing on the floor and attached it to the wall with a 5/8 inch pillow block bearing. We then assembled the pantry closet by mounting the brackets and half shelves on the rails of the pivot post.

We tested the lazy susan to make sure it would rotate around the center post and not hit the back shelves. It worked and it is easy to get to all of the food items in the pantry including those items on the back shelf and all the items on the lazy susan swing out for easy access. My wife loves it and so do I.

I designed and built this Koi water garden pond after visiting Japan a number of times and admired their water gardens with Koi. The design has three ponds, the top pond is filtered by water hyacinths that float on the water, the water is crystal clear. The middle pond has a waterfall from the top pond and aerates the water. The bottom pond is the largest and holds about a 2000 gallons of water.

It is very soothing and relaxing to sit beside the pond listening as the water tumbles down a small water fall. The dragon flies are darting in and around shrubs and plants, crickets are chirping, bees are buzzing and humming birds are flittering around. I can sit for hours in a lounge chair listening and watching this while the Koi swim lazily around in the pond.

We have about 6 water lily plants with large pink and red blossoms in the bottom water garden pond. They cover almost all the pond in the summer time but they die off back to their roots in the fall and re-grow in the spring as the days get warm and long.

I have about 40 Koi in the pond, it is hard to get an accurate count as they never stop swimming. I purchase small Koi, 2 to 3 inches long and place them in the pond. They will grow to over 10 inches long.

Egrets are the most frequent visitors to our pond. They will fly onto our roof or the neighbors roof then drop down onto our patio and wade into our pond. If we see the egret, we will let our dog chase them off. He hasn’t jumped into the pond since he was a pup.

We have had raccoons play in the pond and sit on the water lily containers. I watched a mother and 3 baby racoons play and try to catch the Koi.

I laid out the pond design for our do it yourself Koi pond, with stakes and string. I laid down 3″ PVC pipes to pump water from the lower pond to the top pond. I treated the block wall with asphalt paste as I piled dirt against this wall. I stacked 4 railroad ties two layers high in an L shape to make the front edge of the upper pond and to make the waterfall.

I made a 1/4 circle ridge with about an 8 foot radius from the ends of the ties to make a pie shaped middle pond where water would flow over this ridge into the bottom pond. I made the lower pond about 18″ deep and put most of the dirt into the retaining walls of the upper two ponds. I enclose all the ponds with a PVC liner that was cut and glued to fit.

I bought and installed an above ground 1/5 horse power pump with a 2″ inlet and outlet. This was the right amount of water flow over the waterfall. Some times I would have to re-priming the pump when the inlet pipe sucked air.

I found a submersible pump that is 1/3 horse power and was OK to use in a fish water garden pond. You need to check the fine print as some pumps cannot be used in a fish pond. I found this out the hard way when after about 6 months my pump failed and I tried to get a replacement pump.

I have rebuilt our pond about 3 times but we have had good luck with this design and the raccoons and egrets like it too. We’ve had this pond design for over 15 years.

Designed and build your own water garden Koi pond. I visited Japan a number of times and always admired their Koi and water gardens. Our Koi pond design has three ponds, the top pond has water hyacinths that float on the water and filters it, the water is very clear. Water falls from the top pond and aerates the water in the middle pond. The main pond is about 2000 gallons of water where the Koi and water lilies thrive.

It is very soothing and relaxing to sit beside the pond listening as the water tumbles down a small water fall. The dragon flies are darting in and around shrubs and plants, crickets are chirping, bees are buzzing and humming birds are flittering around. I can sit for hours in a lounge chair listening and watching this while the Koi swim lazily around in the pond.

We have about 6 water lily plants with large pink and red blossoms in the bottom water garden pond. They cover almost all the pond in the summer time but they die off back to their roots in the fall and re-grow in the spring as the days get warm and long.

I have about 40 Koi in the pond, it is hard to get an accurate count as they never stop swimming. I purchase small Koi, 2 to 3 inches long and place them in the pond. They will grow to over 10 inches long.

We have unwanted visitors to our water garden pond. Egrets will stop on our or the neighbors roofs then fly down and wade into our pond. If we see the egret, we will let our dog out to scare off the egret.

The raccoons like to play in the pond and sit on the water lily containers. I saw a mother and 3 baby racoons play and try to catch the Koi in our water garden pond.

I laid out the pond design for our do it yourself Koi pond, with stakes and string. I laid down 3″ PVC pipes to pump water from the lower pond to the top pond. I treated the block wall with asphalt paste as I piled dirt against this wall. I stacked 4 railroad ties two layers high in an L shape to make the front edge of the upper pond and to make the waterfall.

I constructed a 1/4 circle ridge from the ends of the ties to make the front edge of the middle pond where water would tumble over the edge into the bottom pond. I removed about 18″ of dirt for the lower pond, putting the dirt into the walls of the upper ponds. I put a PVC liner that we cut and glued to fit over the ponds.

I started with a 1/5 horse power above ground pump with a 2″ inlet and outlet. This provided a good flow of water over the waterfall. Sometimes it would lose its suction and I would have to re-priming the pump.

I found a 1/3 horse power submersible pump that could be used in a fish pond. Some pumps cannot be used in a fish pond, check the fine print. I found this out the hard way when I tried to get a replacement pump.

I designed and built this water garden pond about 15 years ago and we have had good luck with it. The raccoons and egrets like it also.

All of your food preparation is done here. It must be easy to clean and sanitize. It should reflect your personality by being colorful. You want to select a counter carefully and deliberately. It is a major upgrade and large expense, you need to do it right the first time.

What kind of counter do you want to select for your kitchen. Do you want a natural or an engineered stone. A wood surface, tile, Solid Surface Acrylic or Laminate counter?

Natural stones have a depth and beauty of a polished surface that is hard to match, like granite, limestone, and soapstone. They must be kept cleaned, sealed and waxed as they are porous and will become discolored if not properly cared for.

An engineered stone has a beautiful polished surface that usually uses quartz rock and a resin, to bind it together. There are many colors and blends of rock that are very durable. You can clean and sterilize them easily and they do not require waxing.

Solid Surface Acrylics come in many different colors such as Corian or LG Hi-Macs, they are a fabricated counter. They are durable and easy to clean. You can take a fine sand paper of 400 grit or higher and lightly sand out the stain if the surface becomes discolored. They can be bonded together to make a seamless counter and the sink can be built into it.

Wood counters have a gorgeous look and feel to them but they require upkeep and care to keep them looking good such as teak, maple, cherry, walnut or mahogany. They are easily scratched, burned or stained.

Tile counters come in many different colors, and sizes. They are durable and easy to assemble. They can be cleaned easily, but you need to seal the grout between the tiles as it can become stained and is hard to clean. Tiles are easy to brake or chip, so they must be taken care of.

A concrete kitchen counter can be built in your kitchen in any shape you want. You build a form to hold the wet concrete until it dries. It is labor intensive and requires some knowledge and skill to make a quality counter. It is porous so it must be sealed and waxed to keep it from staining.

Laminate, such as Formica or Wilsonart, is durable and comes in many styles and colors. It is stain resistant, but can be burnt. It is easy to take care of and to clean.