Last week I posted a lil tour of the front deck, now that it's finally coming together. If you missed it,
check it out here. So with this tour will come a
lot of tutorials, most of which are super easy. Luckily I've made many of the mistakes FOR you, so you don't have to...isn't that sweet? So first up, what started the front deck redo project, a raised bed:
I may have mentioned before, we have deer. Not just the occasional deer, but the visit 3-4 times a day type of deer. So an herb garden within their reach seemed out of the question, which is why we redid the front deck first. I love to cook, and this deck is right off the kitchen, so perfect, right? I wanted a good sized raised bed to grow herbs in, and started dreaming up this little beauty. I wanted the rustic look, so I went with fence lumber. It was also cheap..another quality I love.
Wanna make one? Hooray - Here's what you're gonna need:
- Wood! I used Redwood fence boards. I bought 2 - 1x8, 6 foot long pieces.
- A 4x2 OSB board. These are around $6, and will be the base.
- 1 - 4x4 - 8 feet long.
- Set of casters (optional but recomended)
- Wood screws
- Nails
- Hammer, Drill
- Minwax Polycrylic or other wood seal. Gotta protect the bottom from moisture!
- Your choice of tool to cut wood with. I used a Miter Saw.
- Optional: 2x2 - 4 feet, for bracing.
OK and now your cut list:
- Redwood Boards - Cut two 4' pieces, and two 22.5" pieces. Why not just 2'? Here's where you learn from me. In order for the bottom to sit snugly underneath the sides, you have to compensate for the thickness of the longer sides. Hope that makes sense.
- OSB - leave it as is, a perfect rectangle, hooray for shortcuts.
- Four 2' long 4x4's. That should use the whole 8 feet you bought.
- Optional bracing: Cut your 2x2's to 2 feet long.
So here's our empty spot. A weird greenhouse window in our living room of all places has left this area of the deck pretty useless. Until now!
Here we have everything laid out all nice n pretty:
Notice the bottoms of the 4x4's? I was just goofin around with the miter saw.. it was fun, I'm learning. If you do that, just make sure you don't cut the angles so steep you can't attach the wheels anymore.
First step? I laid the 4x4's down, and attached the short sides. I used nails first then screws after. I like to mix it up...go ahead and line the sides of the board flush with the sides of the 4x4s.
Then I just stood the two sides up on their sides, and attached one of the long pieces. You can line that board up flush with the sides of the two sides you already made. It sounds confusing to explain, but you're smart, you'll see what I mean. Nail, nail, screw, screw...
This is breezing by isnt it? Flip it over and attach the other side, as you might of guessed. Now, for the bottom, obviously those 4x4's are going to cause a problem right? Well, just chop some corners right out of that OSB. Measure your 4x4's, they are never exactly 4" wide. Cut corners of the same size out of your OSB. Or you could put the OSB on the ground, frame on top upside down, and just trace...up to you. I just kind of went with it.
Gently throw your frame upside down, slide your OSB on, and go crazy with the wood screws. You can see my errors here, that it's not lining up perfectly, and my corners have trouble. This is because I didn't measure correctly, and why I'm warning you to measure twice and cut once.. see what I mean? I've worked the kinks out for ya.
If you opted for the 2x2 bracing now's a great time to throw them in. Just place them along the inside sides of the 4x4's, and attach absolutely everywhere. While you have it upside down, attach your wheels. They should be pretty self explanatory.
Well there you have it! A planter box. Nevermind those blocks of wood on the inside, that was my brace job because I messed up. Ugh, will I ever live that down? Sure, soon as the dirt hides my mistakes...hehe.
**MUY IMPORTANTE** Osb is chipboard, and will eventually absorb the water (so I'm told). Drill drainage holes and be sure to seal the inside (and outside if you want) of the planter with any kind of seal. I chose
minwax polycrylic because I had it on hand. I didn't seal the outside because I want it to age gracefully, adding to our mountain charm, hah...
Well I think we're done, here's a shot of the optional bracing location, if my description was lame and didn't make sense:
Ha! The graphics kind of look like a bunny or chipmunk face... haha.. ANYway...
Grab some dirt and some plants and get to it:
Parsley:
Goofing around with the camera & the sun...
Strawberries:
Dwarf tomato, for patios:
One of 10 basil plants ( I love basil!):
Great, you made it to the end! What did you think? It's fairly easy. I'm sure there are millions of planter plans out there, and this is just another one for the pile. I know it might not last 100 years, but for the cost, ease of assembly and the fact that it's pretty light duty, this is perfect for our herb deck. Seriously this took me about 2 hours, with a lot of breaks. (I get so distracted)
If you decide to make one, share it with me! I love seeing your projects. Hope you have a fast week ahead & can get back to the weekend!
Muah!
-Jesse
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