In coming up with the design I considered soil depth for what Nic wanted to plant, total soil volume and weight, load limits of the deck (I asked the architect), Nic’s height (to figure how high to raise them), and where she wanted to put them.<\/p>\n
In the end I made 2′ x 8′ beds that could accommodate about 10″ of soil, which are\u00a032″ tall (about desk height).<\/p>\n
Want to know how? \u00a0Here’s an instructable!<\/p>\n LUMBER:<\/p>\n Note on lumber: I used cedar because it’s naturally rot-resistant, but it’s expensive. Tight-knot (“TK”) is cheaper than clear and still does the job. \u00a0I cut the two dozen 24″ boards\u00a0from inexpensive 6′ cedar fenceposts that were 4″ wide. Total lumber cost was about $100. \u00a0I chose not to use less expensive chemical-treated wood out of a concern for leaching.<\/em><\/p>\n TOOLS:<\/p>\n For each side, place a pair of 8′ 2x8s on the ground as shown above. \u00a0Position three 2x4s so their tops are flush with the upper edge of the 2x8s. \u00a0These will be the legs. \u00a0The outer legs\u00a0should be spaced 3\/4″ in from the ends of the 2x8s. \u00a0The middle leg\u00a0should be centered. \u00a0I used one screw per joint, then flipped it over and used a pair of screws for each joint. I drilled a pilot hole for each screw I drove through a 1x board.<\/p>\n Once the legs are attached, add the 2×2 floor support beams so the top surface is even with, or just above, the bottom edge of the 2x8s.<\/p>\n Stand your sides up and face them toward each other as shown above. Using your square and an\u00a0assistant, space the walls apart by temporarily fastening a few of your 24″ 1x4s to the floor support beams, along the length of the structure. I used three, positioned as shown.<\/p>\n Fasten your 24″ 2x6s to the top ends of the legs. \u00a0They’ll fit snugly between the walls. \u00a0For each end, attach the top one first, then the bottom one. \u00a0After both ends are complete, remove your temporary spacing boards.<\/p>\n Line\u00a0your 24″ 1x4s along the floor support beams, spacing them\u00a0anywhere from 1\/4″ to 1\/2″ between adjacent boards, for drainage. \u00a0Once your spacing is set, attach them to the floor support beams using 1 screw each.<\/p>\n Because this design has the legs on the inside of the structure, the width between the walls will be 24″, but the width between legs will be about 21″. \u00a0If you’re using actual 1x4s, which are 3-1\/2″ wide, you should only have to shorten three of them. \u00a0I used 4″ wide fencing posts, so I had to make notched cutouts for the boards that abutted the legs, using a handsaw (it wasn’t too hard).<\/p>\n Either way, it’s best to lay out the 24″ boards before attaching them, to determine spacing and also how many need to be shortened or notched.<\/p>\n So satisfying!<\/p>\n Line the bottom with landscape fabric to prevent soil loss, securing with your staplegun. \u00a0I went up the sides a bit because the fabric was 3′ wide, but you’ll be fine as long as the floor is covered.<\/p>\n Final touch was the lip. \u00a0I included one because it gives a\u00a0more finished look, provides a handy place to lay your garden tools or phone, and protects the top\u00a0ends of your 2x4s. \u00a0However, it’s certainly not necessary.<\/p>\n Position the long (91″) 1x4s first, with the inner edge even with the inner edge of the 2×4 legs, centered along the length. \u00a0Mark the ends with a pencil, apply a strip of wood glue, then reposition the board and fasten with screws.<\/p>\n Note: wood glue isn’t required, but provides stability. \u00a0Also, I figured that if there was a lip, it would be unavoidable that the structure would be moved around by lifting the lip, and I wanted to make sure it was secure.<\/em><\/p>\n Once the long boards are down, install the short boards the same way.<\/p>\n A note on the lip: I cut all of my lumber to length beforehand except<\/span>\u00a0the short lip\u00a0boards. \u00a0You want nice, tight joints on the corners, and it’s easier to cover up mistakes by using a longer-than-necessary board you can cut to size once in place.<\/em><\/p>\n Finish things up by giving the edges some attention with the sandpaper. \u00a0I left the wood raw, but the exterior can be stained or treated to maintain a nice color (untreated cedar will eventually grey).<\/p>\n So with the above, it’s easy to see how the size can be varied as needed. \u00a0Make a deeper or shallower bed by adjusting how far from the top the floor support beams are attached (adjusting wall height accordingly). \u00a0Make a taller or shorter structure by adjusting the length of the legs, although if you get much taller, consider a stabilizing rail (eg<\/em>, a 1×4 connecting the legs, about 4″ from the bottoms).<\/p>\n As constructed, my planter beds weigh 60 lbs each. \u00a0Lightweight potting soil weighs about 30-40 lbs per cubic foot, putting these at 500-600 lbs when full (10″ deep) of soil.<\/p>\n Hope you enjoyed this instructable! \u00a0Please feel free to leave a comment if you have a question.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" One of the coolest things about having a house again is that I can build stuff. \u00a0Nicole asked me to make some planter beds for a rooftop herb garden she wants to start. \u00a0I found several DIYs online, but faced a couple challenges: I wanted a raised\/standing design because Nic has back problems. I wanted\u00a0to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.littlebluedog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.littlebluedog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.littlebluedog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.littlebluedog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.littlebluedog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.littlebluedog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56,"href":"https:\/\/www.littlebluedog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20\/revisions\/56"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.littlebluedog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.littlebluedog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.littlebluedog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"IMG_6546\"](\"https:\/\/www.littlebluedog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/IMG_6546.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nHow to MAKE a STanding PLanter<\/h3>\n
You’ll need …<\/h4>\n
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Step 1: Make the sides …<\/h4>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\nStep 2: Attach the ends …<\/h4>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\nStep 3: Attach the floor …<\/h4>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\nStep 4: Finishing touches …<\/h4>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\nAnd,\u00a0done!<\/h4>\n
<\/a><\/h4>\n