The Great Library Project

The Great Library Project has actually been complete since sometime last Fall I believe. However, now, there are some pictures. The first is a picture looking toward the outside corner of the house. This section contains all the hardback novels, the reference books, and all of Tina and my text books. The second picture is looking toward the opposite corner into the house. This section is made up of less deep shelves that house all the paperback novels.

The Great Library Project involved 17 sheets of plywood, six coats of finish, and about two weeks of free time all told. I learned many things building the library. If I were to do it again, I think I would avoid using any water-based finish. It's just too difficult to get a hard enough finish. With the water-based finishes I'm always worried about books sticking in the paint. The library shelves all have coats of water-based lacquer as a top coat. That hopefully takes care of the sticking problem. But all in all, given the effort that goes in to something like this, the added effort of an oil-based finish is probably worth it.