Temple Project

                       Summer home project-Temple Making

Temple Assembly Drawings

Don't be overwhelmed by these designs, done by my architect husband. I was surprised and confused when I looked at them too! I even thought of taking a step back and rethinking about our decision and just buying one ready-made :) It had been a long time since I wanted a temple and all options here in US were dark wood or copper/tin. They were nice but making something by hand was so interesting. Also I found some temples online made by others from home depot/lowe products ;) and to dismay of my husband the DIY bug bit me.  The examples online were so awe inspiring that I surely thought it was an easy project. Ever since then I have been asking him if we could work on one. So this summer we decided to! :)  Well, the truth being we thoroughly enjoyed the concept planning to basic modelling to aesthetics phase of the project, I would now say it is a moderate difficulty project. Below is parts info. You can directly skip and go to instructions and come back to it later.

Temple Assembly Parts

Home Depot

Temple Base and Pillars:

PS: The numbers mentioned below are part numbers from home depot, which can be entered directly in their search box on website to pull up the item.

185435000907 SHELVING 1X24X48 LAMINATED PINE  -- cut base(2ft*2ft) and drawer top (1.5ft*1.5ft)  = $17.87
750805419148 PRIMED BALUSTER 5205 SQ TOP 41" - 4 staircase bar used as temple pillars-cut according to height 4*4.98 = $19.92
750298153253 2X4-96 STUD2X4-96" PREMIUM KD WHITEWOOD STUD -- used for drawer/plinth support cut into 4 parts of 1.5 ft each to support the top of drawer = $2.87 204771223 1/4 in. x 2 ft. x 2 ft. PureBond Red Oak Plywood Project Panel -1/4 inch thin for top cut into (1.5ft * 1.5ft) = $5.40

Temple top:
095624515672 1X36DWL SQUARE DOWEL 1" X 36" $3.58 000868926047 BLOCK 7-5/16 X7-5/16 PINE DM358 O/S CRN $26.82 000868926023 CROWN ISC 7-3/8 X7-3/8 PINE DM358 I/S BLCK $7.51 100544892 DM ICBB458 - 1-1/8 in. x 1-1/8 in. x 4-1/2 in. Solid Pine Miterless Inside Corner Block for Base Moulding 4*1.35 4 ft. x 2-1/4 in. x 3/4 in. Maple Galley Rail (16.76*2) = $33.52

Tools:

764666663602 OT SCRW PK  ASSORTED OUTDOOR USE SCREW PACK $8.94
6920000601097 CAULK GUN  SMOOTH ROD CAULK GUN 10OZ $2.77
022078190728 LIQ NAIL HD  LN HEAVY DUTY 10 OZ $2.52
037083050035 TB II 8 OZ TITEBOND II WEATHERPROOF WD GLUE 8OZ $3.97
3-2/3 in. x 9 in. 60-Grit Coarse Garnet Sandpaper $3.97  021200471032 EXT MNT TAPE EXTERIOR MOUNTING TAPE $4.97
Drill with suitable drillbits

Decoration and Paint:

043374560169 SHEET METAL 1'X2' CLOVERLEAF AL SHEET - BRASS $18.98
3LT DIMMABLE LED PUCK - WHITE (lighting) $19.99
Greecian White 4 in. x 12 in. Polished Marble Base Board Wall Tile (4.99*2) $8.98
White spray paint, White regular paint, Red paint
Liquid gold leaf paint
wood brass coasters, drawer knob, essence stick stand from world market
Part of materials list from amazon:  http://amzn.to/1UapgP8

Temple Assembly Instructions

1.Use 2ft*4ft laminated pine piece. Cut the plinth of the temple 2ft by 2 ft 2 and cut the base 1.5ft by 1.5ft. Get them measure and cut at home depot.
2. Cut the 2*4 - 96inch stud in: 4 pieces of 1.5 each to support the base on plinth.
3. To the plinth(2ft*2ft piece) attach 3 of the above 4 pieces and create a raised platform for base/drawer. Remember to keep one bottom panel open as drawer opening.
4. Determine the height you want for the temple and cut the four staircase baluster each same height. Sometimes home depot won't cut such small pieces for you, at those times we found ourselves struggling with the tools in cutting area of these stores, working up a great appetite and gaining some workout muscles :) at the same time asking dumb questions like if we could rent an electric saw to cut those 4 tiny pieces.
5. To base (1.5*1.5ft) of temple attach the four blusters as pillars. For both the steps above use screws from the screw box.  As shown below:

6. Place the base on plinth like a raised platform as below. Remember to keep one bottom panel open as drawer opening or you will end up removing the screws again :P Though we remembered to keep the drawer piece of wood open, we had a really long discussion till a day later about how we want the drawer to open - sideways move, hinged rotate, pull push! Remember the number of options is equally proportional to time it takes to complete the project. Such are the complexities of life:P :)

7. Cut the 1\4 inch thin top plywood panel in 1.6ft*1.6ft and place it on top of the pillars. Again attach the pillars to ply with screws as per pic below. For the top, my dad suggested something more authentic and similar to top of temples. So with ideas from him we dismmised the design below and continued to think of something else.

 

8. Cut the Maple Galley rail to place over the top and base of the temple to create a verandah. Also, stick the crown molding outside corner and inside piece together with wood glue and make a temple kalash out of it a below. Before attaching the temple kalash create a small hole in center of plywood top for wiring for light.

9. Cut back plyboard size to desired height. Place the cloverleaf metal sheet and attach it to the back of temple. We used push pins/needles to actually hold them in place since  anything else was too thick for the metal and top plywood. Attach the ply board behind the metal sheet again with very thin screw.
10. Use the remaining pieces or stair baluster to make side staircase.
11. Add knob to drawer
12. Attach the puck light with a 3M mounting tape.

 

13. Spray paint base in white.Paint all the decor pieces, poles, kalash, back panel etc with liquid gold color, so as to maintain uniformity. Decorate with colors and stickers the way you like. If you like put some flowers, bells and toran decoration.

14. Use Marble pieces in front of drawer where you can put diya and dhoop so that the wood does not get stained. Also (not shown here) get a piece of marble slap to put atop the base to place idols on so that it does not stain during pooja and prasad. This piece was a home run! It is a no work but awesome usability kind of piece:)

This project took about 3 weeks from start to completion with numerous trips to home depot, atleast 10:) and an ultimate question from my dad "why are you making this?", because he thought we were making this for some occasion or event :). Since we didn't actually know what to buy, what will work, what will not etc, it took longer to complete and more trips than expected. I think we solely took up the project because we stayed within 1.5 mile of home depot :) Thought of putting together this DIY post incase we need to make improvisations in future or if someone wants to try making a temple. If you do plan to build one, please take all necessary precautions in using various tools described above and share the pictures!

Ideas and design by Sayli Deshpande and Aditya Deshpande (ar.aditya at gmail.com)

Alternatively order some parts from Amazon except cut wood:
Basic structural wood pieces are from home depot since they can be precision cut as per temple size.
Pillars:   http://amzn.to/1eDvmYb cheaper available at home depot
outside corner: http://amzn.to/1MweIYo

inside block: http://amzn.to/1MwfTah

Maple Galley Rail http://amzn.to/1KBm39E

Dimmable Puck Lights amazon: http://amzn.to/1U9PotA

CloverLeaf Brass back: http://amzn.to/1Ibj4Po

60-Grit Coarse Garnet Sandpaper: http://amzn.to/1SP7iiz
Mounting Tape for light: http://amzn.to/1DduqWk
TiteBond 2 weatherproof wood glue: http://amzn.to/1U9SRs6 
Caulk Gun: http://amzn.to/1KBGS4J
Liquid Nails: http://amzn.to/1SPkhkg
Assorted screw pack:  http://amzn.to/1U9QCVx

Liquid gold leaf paint: http://amzn.to/1JyBFcC 
Drill: http://amzn.to/1Ub6Iyd Drill bits: http://amzn.to/1eEPlpy

Materials list from amazon:  http://amzn.to/1UapgP8