Reader Submissions Roundup: Repurposed Projects

Courtesy Ted Welch

Stone Patio

Reader Ted Welch didn’t want to discard the old stones from his daughter’s patio, so he found another way to use them. Though he never attempted a stone project before, he found a few repurposed ones to try.

“I hauled [them] home and replaced a patio next to my water garden.  I also constructed and sidewalk around my garage with some of the leftover material.”  — Ted Welch.

Courtesy Lars E. Larson

Crib to Wine Rack

Lars E. Larson had a maple drop side baby crib and didn’t want it to go to waste. “I decided to challenge myself by using as much of the crib as I could to make a wine rack and something to do with wine corks,” he says.

Larson purchased four-inch boards for the four corners and used some scrap plywood for the top and back, but pulled everything else from that crib. The side rails became the racks, and the plastic teething guards allow the labels to be displayed. And the flat top provides space for glasses or any other accessories.

Finally, the corks drop into a cavity where they’re all in one place. Plus, they can be decorative when they aren’t being used. The plexiglass on the exterior was also scrap on hand.

“[The] project was a good exercise in working around and hiding wood fitting holes of the crib and working on cabinet skills.” — Lars E. Larson

Courtesy Kay Metcalf

Repurposed Brick Projects

Kay Metcalf told us about some repurposed brick projects similar to the one in our September article.

A few years ago, the Metcalfs bought a house they wanted to flip. As part of the flip, they had to remove the old brick fireplace and chimney. But because the brick was original to the house and sourced locally, they didn’t want to waste it. Instead, they came up with a plan.

“We used some of the brick for underpinning on the front side of the house,” she says. “I then split the remaining brick into pavers, using my tile saw, and we created a herringbone pattern walkway in front of the house.”

When the Metcalfs sold the first house and bought a new one, they found some bricks partially buried in the backyard. So they decided to do a similar project. This time they didn’t have as many bricks, so they adjusted the plan accordingly.

“I split [the bricks] into pavers the same way and created a Sunray pattern around the concrete landing. You can see the name of the foundry, and the town, in the last picture, cast into the brick.”  — Kay Metcalf

Courtesy Mark Malmer

Vintage Doors

Mark Malmer built an addition to his 1840s stone home and wanted something creative for the ceilings. The original plan included reclaimed barn wood, but Malmer had some vintage doors on hand and opted for those instead. He knew he didn’t have enough, so he and his wife started looking for more.

“This, surprisingly to us, proved very easy to do, even for [65] more doors,” he says. “My wife and I spent the next few weeks procuring the doors via auctions, salvage yards, and the typical on-line marketplaces. An old wooden jail door is one of my favorites.”

Many of the doors were free! So despite buying a few and refinishing most, he still completed this repurposed materials project for far less money than if he stuck to the original plan. And he had a lot of fun doing it. He enjoyed it so much that he used the doors on a few wall sections as well.

Courtesy Ron Mochinski

Brick Patio

Ron Mochinski did a similar project to the one featured in our magazine. His even yielded a new tool: a chisel found under the old brick patio!

“[The] old brick patio was laid by the previous owner in the 70’s — not a flat brick on the patio 30 years later,” he says. “We had concrete poured but did an inlay of with the old bricks after some cleaning and inspection of each one.”

Bricks that weren’t used in the inlay were repurposed elsewhere in the yard and garden.

Courtesy Bob Dupuis

Repurposed Table

When Bob Dupuis‘s club needed a bar for their building, he looked to see what materials he had that could be repurposed for this project.

“I built this piece using repurposed 2×6’s, discarded cutting boards, bolts, galvanized steel and wheels. I only bought screws, sandpaper, polyurethane/brushes and the six-inch trim board to surround the top.” — Bob Dupuis.