Garage door repurposed into house number
One of my neighbours had their garage door replaced. The workmen were tossing out the old door, which was made of Meranti. I couldn't see all the wood going to waste, so I asked for some of the panels to use for projects.
I thought the Meranti wood would be perfect for making a new house number for the outside wall. The old sign was looking a bit worse for wear. Meranti is an easy wood to work with, since it isn't a true hardwood and has very little (if any) grain.
I love how the new sign fits perfectly in the space on the outside wall, and you can easily see the number from quite a distance.
I took one of the Meranti panels and sanded it down with 120-grit sandpaper. The panels are in excellent condition and I removed the varnish to allow for sealing later on.
To add detail to the panel, moulding strips were nailed around the panel to create a framed effect. I used panel pins and No More Nails exterior.
GOOD TO KNOW: If you don't have a nail punch, use a bit holder to hammer the nails so that they are flush and don't stick out.
The entire frame was given 3 coats of Woodoc Deck Dressing in deep brown. I used this because it was left over from a previous project. You can also use Woodoc 30, 50 or 55 to seal the wood.
The easiest way to create your own numbering and letters is to use the Internet and a PC printer, although today's PC programs will also give you a certain amount of options to print out wording. Measure the size of the space you have to determine how big the letters and numbers need to be to fit the space.
The large numbers were cut out with a craft knife and the smaller wording traced onto the board.
The smaller letters were done first to avoid rubbing out the wording, then the larger numbers were outlined. All the engraving was done with my Dremel 8200 MultiTool and #107 engraving bit. I prefer using the Dremel 8200 because it's cordless and can go anywhere, but you can do this project with any multitool as long as you have the proper engraving bit.
Meranti doesn't have much in the way of grain running through the wood, so it's very easy to engrave smoothly.
After outlining the letters you can remove the stencil and start to fill in. At this stage I added the comfort grip to reduce strain, or you could use a Flexi Shaft.
Although the board was sealed, the engraved areas also need to be sealed. For this I used Woodoc 30, a clear sealer that dries to a matt finish. The sealer enhanced the natural colour of the Meranti board.
To mount the board onto the wall two keyhole hangers were attached to the back and this was placed over screws (with wall plugs) already in the wall.
