Over time we have amassed a decent amount of scrap wood. Some from pallets, some from junk piles, and some from other projects that had seen their end. Believe it or not... this is the first project that we've ever done that contained pallet wood, at least to this extent. We decided to take all of this scrap and make a wishing well to hide a sewer cleanout in our side yard.

Make sure you check out the video; it shows quite a bit more of each step.

Here's what we used to make it:

Lot's of scrap wood (pallets, leftover plywood, scrap 2x4s, etc)
Screws
Nails
Tools - nail gun, compressor, planer, drill, impact, etc.

Step 1: Gathering Wood - Lots of Wood...

We spent a decent amount of time getting all of the wood from the pallets we had just how we wanted them. We removed all of the nails of course, and then ran them through the thickness planer several times.

Step 2: Building the Frame

I had some old used pieces of 2x4 laying around that someone had given me that I think were part of a makeshift bunk bed at one time. We used these to make the frame of wishing well, which was basically just a large box. We spent some time drilling and countersinking holes, countersinking since we were eventually going to cover them with some of the pallet wood.

The whole box or inner frame was basically just two square frames sitting on top of each other with 2x4s at the corners and two 5 foot posts running vertical on the inside that the roof will eventually rest on.

Step 3: Adding Slats (or Siding?)

Once the box was done, we created some corner trim out of some of the nicer pieces of wood from the pallets. These were various hardwoods, not sure what kind though.

Once those were in place on all 4 corners, we started adding the slats in between the corners to make the siding of the wishing well. We spaced these out with a small piece of scrap wood that just happened to be laying on the table.

Step 4: Making the Roof

Since this was a build it as we went type of project and wasn't planned out, making the roof was a bit of a struggle. We found the angle we wanted with the bevel gauge and got it marked out and cut. We attached those to the inside of the 5 foot vertical uprights and the scabbed over them with a scrap piece from the pallet wood. The top was cut to a point to match the angle on the outer arms and then we ran two pieces of the pallet wood over top of both of those angles, basically making a super generic truss.

Step 5: Roofing a Tiny Roof

Once both of those were done, we cut a couple pieces of scrap plywood to match, with a little overhang and then slapped some leftover roofing on it.

Step 6: All Done!

I did build a box that sits down in the empty space that holds a plant, and we attached another length of wood under the roof to hold a hanging plant. All in all it was a pretty quick and easy build and it does the job of hiding our cleanout fairly well. It took us about a day and a half to make it and cost us no more than our time and whatever hardware we used.

We will most likely either add a clear finish or paint to it, but we're not sure what direction we want to go yet. We are going to let it weather just a bit and see what we think.

I want to thank you for taking the time to check out this project. I hope you'll take a second and subscribe to our YouTube channel or check us out on Facebook or Instagram.