The Giant Red Steed and The Headboard

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The sun is shining.  The birds are singing, and there’s a Truck in my driveway…

Well, let me paint a little picture of my most recent escapade…

(The Hollywood version)

After driving past the new house on the end of the road at the front of the average American subdivision countless times, Gwen, a ravishing young housewife,  spots something out of the ordinary by the construction dumpster.  The dumpster, overflowing with golden treasure, sits quietly minding its own business.

Upon closer examination, Gwen realizes that what she sees is, in reality,  a discarded Truss, a remnant from the framing of the new house.

Her chivalrous and gallant husband, Morgan, notices her eyeing the aforementioned Truss and encourages her to call upon  their friend, Ashby, to aide in the rescue.

Ashby arrives on his Giant Red Steed,  lifts the Truss over head in one hand and gallops off with it to the loving and peaceful home of Gwen and Morgan where she quickly and easily re-purposes it to become the most unusual and intensely sought-after headboard on the face of planet Earth.

The End.

(Ok. Ok.  Here’s how it really went)


After eyeing the Truss for several days, Gwen rises early one Saturday morning while Morgan is off at some meeting.  Unbeknownst to him, she calls their good and helpful friend,  Ashby (with the big red truck) and he willingly and graciously comes to her aid.

Fearing that the Truss was too heavy for them, Gwen reluctantly phones Morgan.

Her voice trembling at the sound of his hello, Gwen inquires, “Hey, where are you?”

“I’m on my way home.  What do you need?” he asks suspiciously.

“umm, Ashby and I are at that house, you know, at the front of the subdivision, and he’s helping me get that Truss, but it’s heavy…”

Gwen knows what he is thinking. She can feel the defeat through through the air waves.

“I’ll be there in a minute…” Morgan sighs, knowing he’s been hood-winked yet again.

After a bit of maneuvering, they manage to balance said Truss in the bed of the truck and crawl their way back to the house.

Here’s how I managed it..

Step 1: Find a Left-over Truss from a Dumpster.

OR you could make the frame from 2/4’s, I guess.  I mean, leftover Trusses don’t exactly grow on trees…You can even get those silver square stapley things at Home Depot for, like, 75 cents each.

Step 2: Cut to desired length and sand the blamity-blam out of it.

Step 3:  Realize after you’ve spent a hour sanding this monster, that it’s going to be Way too heavy for it’s own good.  So then, you take a crowbar and pull apart the two sides and do more sanding than you ever wanted to do in yo’ life…

Step 4:  Take a break, cuz your beat.

(Cue the elevator version of One by U2)

Step 5:  Remove ALL those rusty nails by hammering them out from the wrong side and then pulling them out from the right.

I always keep an empty can nearby and put the nails in it as I go.  Don’t need no holes in no chilruns feet… Know what I mean?

  Sorry, that’s as big as this photo’s goanna get…

Step 6:  Attach some 2x8s across the bottom and top portion…so it doesn’t continue to emanate it’s full-on Trussness.

I used 2 1/2” Decking screws where these three fellas meet the bottom rail.

Step 7:  Drill some big ‘ole holes through the ends for carriage bolts to give it a more, ummm, decorative look…

Step 8:  Run back to Home Depot and exchange the 6 1/2” Carriage Bolts for 41/2” ones to fit the “new design”  that you discovered when you couldn’t lift it up to saw the other half off of the bottom of the Truss so it would fit through the doorway of the house… Whew…

Step 9:  You might want to stain or paint it before you attach the carriage bolts or you might be like me and be too exhausted to do anything else want that natural look.

Step 10:  Wax that sucka…

Step 11:  Lug it in the howse and admire yur new accompleeeshment…

Perhaps it looks better now that it’s bedecked with some beddish accouterments…and some graphicy curtainish additions…

Check out the Finished Product at

Make It or Break It.

Theriously, Pleeze Go See it…the curtains really help it…I think…

Here’s the Link again….

Make It or Break It

Other reclaimed projects: