I Built a Dropzone

As is customary, the finished product first.

This is the area I started with. Right off the garage entry. The builder had their spec dropzone for $2k, built from MDF and not what we wanted. We saved that money for other upgrades, and I was given the task of building it out.

All projects must start with a base. I procured some 2x4's from down the street out of the scrap pile. 5 feet by 17 inches.

Completed base. Cutting skills mastered.

Want the bench to be 18 inches deep. Of course wood doesn't come in that large of planks, so glueing is the solution.

I wanted nicer wood for the seat, so followed the glueing process with some red oak. This definitely pays off later in the process.

I'll spare you all the full process, but here is one of the dividers getting glued up.

The next day I was visited by these two while sanding in the garage. Figure this is more exciting that seeing a random orbital sander.

I'm extremely proud of how the bench seat turned out. Grey stain, more stain, and then some more. Two coats of poly, and it was ready to go.

In typical fashion, I didn't get pictures of clamps in place, nail gun out, etc. showing how this was completed. End of the day, it's in place and not moving. Also, it's level, which is really important.

The wall area was 5 feet by 5 feet. Of course, plywood only comes in 4x8 sheets, and I don't have a proper shop to get it all cut down to size. However, Gary across the street owns a flooring company and has tons of samples. He gave me three boxes of wood flooring. Cut the planks down to size, sanded them down, and problem solved.

Backing all installed. Header and footer in place.

Vertical slats are in, and ready for wood filler and sanding.

Now it's ready for primer up top.

Everything is primed, first coat of paint started.

My two year old already gets the idea.

Finishing touches to the shelf that goes on top.

Hardware installed and ready for daily use. Thank you for taking a look!