Introduction: Backyard Planter and Seating
I got a new house with a teeny tiny backyard (roughly 15 x 10) that ends at someone else's side wall. When you look out the dining room window, all you see is brick. So I thought it would be nice to make some planters in which to grow climbing green things (so far, got cucumber, tomato, and various peas). But it would also be nice to have someplace to sit out back when we're grilling, so enter the planter-seats.
The real thing ended up remarkably like the digital plan. I'm impressed, and for that I have to thank Patrick, who made this plan into a reality.
Step 1: The Plan
The nice thing about having a plan is it kind of allows you to measure twice and cut once (though you should also still measure twice and cut once...). Here we used google sketchup, which is a really nice and simple free product. Patrick did a great job getting the plan just right.
Creating a detailed plan also helps you conserve your resources and use only as much material as you really need. We decided to make the long planter 12 feet long, 1 foot wide, and 18 inches deep. Short one in 5 x 1 x 18. The seats are 4 feet and 11 feet, and 15 inches deep.
Once you have the plan, it's time to get the materials...
Step 2:
I'll just give generic materials, since my particular measurements aren't necessarily relevant to the reader. The large bench in this case was 12 feet long with an 11 foot seat, and the short bench was 5 feet long with a 4 foot seat. For that, we got:
Materials
- Wooden boards for the outside - cedar, cypress, or black locust are most advised for outdoor use as they are all very rot-resistant. I asked a cabinetmaking friend of mine what he thought of black locust, since it's all the rage in "green" circles, and he said it's good, but very hard to mill. In the end, our local place only had cypress or cedar anyway, and the cypress was very cheap (as it turned out, mainly because they were crappy boards), but seemed like a good bet.
- Plywood for the inside- We went with pressure treated plywood, since it will stand up best to the elements.
- Pressure-treated 2x2 - for the corners
- 1 1/2 inch, 14 gauge steel square tubing- for the structure. Oh by the way, you're going to have to know how to weld...
- Inch by 1/2 in steel channel - For holding up the seat boards.
- Decking screws - specially coated stainless steel screws to hold up to the elements.
- Plastic lining
- Rocks, dirt - to fill. I got my topsoil amended with leaf compost (50/50 mix) in bulk from a local place in Alexandria. $15 for half a cubic yard, which didn't quite fill up the whole planter.
Tools
- 115V flux core wire feed welder
- Abrasive cut off saw
- Chop Saw
- Grinder
- Cordless drill
- Sander
- Vacuum - this wasn't technically used in the creation of the planters, but you're sure going to need it afterwards...
Step 3: Build the Skeleton
I don't have shots of the tubing being cut, but you can imagine it's not that exciting. Weld up the skeleton. This may take more than one person to make sure things are level and at right angles and whatnot.
Make sure you have enough support. Don't forget, when you add wood, rock, and dirt, this things going to way a ton (possibly literally). So err on the side of too many legs. Plus, it makes it less dangerous 20 years down the line when this thing is rusting out. Patrick couldn't stop thinking about the potential lawsuit down the road. But I guess there's plenty of time to save for that contingency.
Step 4: It's Ply Time
Now cut the plywood for the inside of the planter boxes. We considered many different ways of attaching the cypress boards to the side, but in the end, Patrick liked this best. You lose an inch on the inside, but in the end there's still plenty of space. Make ply inserts, reinforced with the 2x2, and slot them into the planter skeletons.
Drill holes in the bottom of the plywood, approximately a dime-sized hole every 6 inches (we did kind of a zigzag pattern, so 6 inches along the hypotenuse).
You might want to spraypaint the metal where it touches the plywood, as the chemicals in the pressure-treated plywood can make the metal corrode faster. In the end, we actually just lined the plywood with plastic which folded over between the plywood and the metal, so it should not be a problem.
When you line the box with plastic, make sure to cut the bottom open so that the water can drain out of the holes you've made.
Step 5: Attach the Boards
Screw the boards on from the bottom (on the seats) or from the plywood-side (for the back and sides) so that you can't see any screws from the outside. It will give it a more clean, modern look.
Next, sand them and seal them, or don't. I haven't decided, but I'm leaning toward either plain old butcher block conditioner (oil and beeswax) or teak oil. I'd like to keep it natural, and I like that gray, weathered look that the wood gets eventually.
Step 6: Finish It and Watch It Grow...up!
I lined the bottom with big rocks, then littler rocks, and then compost-amended topsoil.
Next up: plant seedlings and watch them grow!
Next up after that is probably building a rainbarrel irrigation system, but at least give me some time to bask in the glow of a mostly complete project...
First Prize in the
Gardening Challenge
Finalist in the
Woodworking Challenge
Participated in the
Make It Real Challenge
17 Comments
11 years ago on Introduction
If you plan on putting edible plants into this planter, you would NOT want to use pressure treated lumber because of the chemicals used to treat it. However, if you just plan on planting flowers or some ornamental grasses, i say go ahead. If you plan on using all wood construction, i suggest getting a wood with natural rot-resistant properties (cedar, white oak, etc.) that way you can plant whatever you like (edible or not) and not have to worry about the chemicals in the wood.
Reply 5 years ago
There is heat steam pressure treated wood. I don't think it contains chemicals but please correct me if I'm wrong (before I go out and buy some!).
11 years ago on Introduction
This is lovely! I want to build this in the spring. Thanks for sharing.
11 years ago on Step 6
this is a NICE work. I am so impress!
wonderfull
11 years ago on Introduction
Very attractive and a great use of limited space. Could the framework be made with pressure treated wood instead of metal? If so, I'm going to steal this idea too!
Reply 11 years ago on Introduction
You could definitely do that, and it would probably be cheaper. My boyfriend was urging an all-wood construction, but aesthetically, I just preferred the mix of steel and wood.
11 years ago on Introduction
Can you forgo the welding if you use L-shaped steel channels with holes for bolts?It'd mean being slightly less sturdy (and your measurements would be limited to the length of the channels, i.e. 5' 6' 7' etc.) but with some galvanized locking bolts and perhaps an extra leg on all sides, it might do well, perhaps?
Reply 11 years ago on Introduction
Yes, you can probably bolt the whole thing together (we bolted the two main structures together at the corner, so we could take it apart if we ever want to get it out of the backyard without having to grind off the welds). I think it would actually end up being somewhat more work to do it that way, but you certainly could. Depending on how many bolts you use, it probably wouldn't be that unsturdy.
11 years ago on Step 2
You have pretty much made the plastic useless by punching holes in it. The entire bottom panel will be wet, and will eventually fail. The plastic, itself, will fail if it's biodegradable, or if it's too thin.
There are many alternative solutions for liners, although not as cheap as plastic, unless you can scrounge up used material. Fiberglass and resin is a good alternate, and you can include a pipe at the drain holes to allow the water to drip away from the wood. If you just have the hole there, the water will spread out across the bottom of the plywood.
Other alternatives are metal sheets, such as copper or aluminum flashing. They may not be wide enough for the planter, but you can solder the copper and you can connect the aluminum with foled seams and sealant.
Another altertnate is membrane waterproofing typically used for basement walls.
In all cases the drain holes should have a pipe connected to drain water away from the wood bottom.
Reply 11 years ago on Introduction
The pressure treated wood should hold up pretty well, even touching soil. The only reason I used the plastic is to keep the soil away from the pressure-treated wood because I'm paranoid about the chemicals leeching into the soil/plants (at the bottom it's less likely to get into the soil), not to make it waterproof.
But if I was trying to make it waterproof, I like the drain pipe idea.
11 years ago on Introduction
OOOO I want one! I hope my husband can build it! :)
11 years ago on Introduction
Well done!
I rarely make such detailed drawings but I can see how it would help here since the framework for the seats is pretty complex. Your tomatoes should like the heat reflected off the brick wall.
Reply 11 years ago on Introduction
I rarely do either, but the Make it Real contest was good incentive. I think Patrick got a little carried away with it, but it is a fun program to play around with. And, as you say, helps for the more complex projects. PLUS, it was a good way to make sure what was in my head is what was in Patrick's before we started working at cross purposes.
Reply 11 years ago on Introduction
Yeah, I noticed the make it real banner right after I commented ;)
Hope you win something...
BTW I put your project on this week's Show and Tell
Reply 11 years ago on Introduction
Thanks!
11 years ago on Introduction
Beautiful Definitely going to steal this idea.
Reply 11 years ago on Introduction
Thanks! Steal away! That's the whole point of Instructables, isn't it?