Post #138846 by JimTandem on Wed, Feb 2, 2005 12:37 AM

Thanks to all for the kind words.
Tikilee, sorry to say that yes, this was my first one. It took me about 4 good weekends to build, I was just wingin' it and only had pics from this site and the internet to pattern it after. Plus many trips to Homedepot or Orchards for small stuff, plywood, drill bits, lag bolts, etc. that would pop up as I went along. I'm lucky enough to be close enough to Oceanic Arts and Bensons Imports for the bamboo, thatch, and matting.
I ended up joining the bamboo with "L" brackets as I just didn't have the time or enough tools to join them with holes and glue. I got a "lot" of 100 brackets with screws on Ebay and used almost every one! I really over bracketed that thing but I figured better safe than sorry, and it turned out the bamboo framework was really solid when done. I covered all the joints with burlap wrap from the craft store and anchored it with a hot glue gun. Then I completely soaked each wrapped joint with marine varnish till they were dripping. It took 3 days for them to dry out, but when they did they were rock hard. I'm hoping they hold up ok in the weather, so we'll see. I tried initially to wrap the joints with sisal rope...no way!....and I was in the Navy! There must be a secret to the rope wrap and I ain't got it! My pics show the burlap looking like two different colors, that because i used two different brands of varnish on them, a mistake for sure, but I ran out of time before Christmas.
I figure all told about $250 dollars for all the materials. Now that I got that one under my belt and learned what to do and not to do, I'm sure the next one will go quicker.
I say give it a go, I'm in no way a craftsman or wood worker so if i can, you can too! When I started, my wife thought I was nuts. But as the project progressed, she started getting into it as it began taking shape. P.S. noteworthy is giving up the one side of my garage that i can park a car in for one whole month. Thanks, wifey, for understanding!