Ron travelled to the North side of Tucson to the high desert home of Lisa and Darin Hoffman for this next home improvement visit. The Hoffmans asked Ron to come and help them create a Spanish style rounded archway to match the one in the other part of the house. Ron was more than happy to help them with this added touch to their home.
Click Here For a list of what
you will need in order to complete this project.
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1. Archway design:
- The existing archway in the Hoffmans' home provided an architectural character that they were hoping to extend to the open hallway leading from the living room to the kitchen.
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- They were also hoping this new archway would provide a bit more distinction between the two rooms.
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- Ron explained to the Hoffmans that constructing this archway was simpler than they might think. First, they would install four vertical wall supports…
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- On top of the supports, they would place two upper supports.
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- And to the face of the frames, they would attach plywood panels cut to form the arch.
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2. Determine location:
- Since their archway would not extend all the way to the top of the vaulted ceiling, they determined the upper dimension by aligning it to the top of a high ledge that was in the kitchen area.
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- Using levels, they extended the line of the ledge onto the adjacent wall and then transferred this line to the opposite wall.
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3. Create template:
- They created a cardboard template by tracing the arch in the other room. Ron held the template in position and asked Darin and Lisa to step back and take a look to see if they liked the curve and the proportions in the new location.
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- Once they were satisfied with the curve of the arch, they constructed a mock up to help them determine how deep it should be.They settled on a wider design, which Ron said was really not much more complicated to build.
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4. Cut wood:
- With the dimensions finalized, they moved into the garage to do some cutting. Using the cardboard template, Lisa traced the curve onto a sheet of ¾ inch plywood and cut out the curve with a jigsaw.
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- Next, Lisa switched to the chop saw, or power miter box, and cut the 2 x 4 wall and top supports.
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5. Build frame:
- Since there were no wall studs located where they were needed to attach the supports, they would have to use toggle bolts. Ron demonstrated how these would work to attach the archway securely to the wall.
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- Ron inserted the bolt part of the toggle assembly through the 2 x 4 and then attached the toggle on the other side. To insert the toggle into the hole in the wall they would need to pinch the wings together. With the wings pinched, they would slide the assembly through the hole in the wall. After the toggle goes through the hole to the backside of the wallboard, the wings flip out and catch the backside of the wallboard.
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- Then as the bolt is tightened, it pulls the piece of wood up snugly to the wall.
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- They drilled a hole through the first frame pieces, the wall supports. Because these were going to be attached with toggle bolts, the holes needed to be as vertical as possible.
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