DIY Potting Bench

[BigV]

I have traded in the turf on the parking strip for a flower garden. The "parking strip" is the space between the curb and the sidewalk, not actually for parking, go figure. It's owned by the city, but it is expected to be maintained by the homeowner. I don't care much for the flat green grass look, not to mention the fact that it is lots of work to maintain that way. I greatly prefer more variation in topography and in landscaping. I wanted more bees and butterflies and less mowing. I got into this project and decided that I needed a workspace that wasn't in the house or on the sidewalk, so I decided to make a potting bench. Here are the highlights from the construction process.

I went to my local lumber yard, Limback Lumber, here in Ballard and got several fence boards and a couple of 2x6s of western red cedar. Cedar is inexpensive (around here), easy to work with, naturally rot resistant, and very well suited to outdoor neglect.



I got 2x6s because that's what they had and I decided to rip them into pairs of 2x3s for the legs of the bench. Here's one that's been marked for ripping by my circular saw.



Before.



After. The line was straight by my cut has a little wobble in it. There's very little surface to support the baseplate of the saw. I'm happy with the cut and I'm ecstatic I didn't saw through my sawhorses.

[BigV]

Several of the fence boards were cut in half. Some would become leg stretchers; some would become the surface for the bottom shelf. Some would become shorter still for short shelf brackets for the top two shelves of the bench.



I also cut down some of the 2x3s which were eight feet long to begin with to make the front legs of the bench. I'd need three of these.



I predrilled the holes (notice the hex shaft drill bit, suitable for use by the impact driver) and then switched to a countersink driver bit to run the screws through the stretchers and into the legs. I forget the coating/grade of screws I used, I just got some screws long enough for the job that were advertised for use in decking. This is where I fell in love with the impact driver. This was not hard work at all for the tool, and it handled it easily. brtbrtbrtbrtbrtbrtbrt. Next! Man, I'm **never** going back to a different driving tool, evar.



Here's one of the three leg assemblies partly done. If in your imagination you rotate this workpiece counterclockwise 90 degrees, you'll see the front leg (vertical) on the left and empty space on the right where the full length leg will be attached like the short front leg is attached.

[BigV]

I laid out all the fence boards on the junipers so I could grade them for beauty. The big gaps you see in this picture represent holes where the boards that were "less pretty" got selected to be cut up for stretchers, brackets, and crossbraces.



I finally got the three legs completely built (the third middle leg is partially visible at the right of the frame). It was at this point that I realized that I couldn't continue my construction on the sidewalk, so I moved it to the front yard. Fortunately, I now had enough structure to actually move and support the rest of the build.



Here we are up in the yard. I have added some of the prettier boards as the main surface of the bench, enough to create a work area for the rest of the building process. You can see I've added the third leg, the main work surface, the apron for the main work surface, middle upper shelf brackets. The boards for the surface of the middle upper shelf are just lying there to help me picture how it will come together. I'd also selected which boards I wanted for each shelf, so putting them there helps me remember not to use them somewhere else. The whole thing is coming along nicely.



Here we can see I've put together the lower half-width shelf, the backsplash, apron and shelf surface for the middle upper shelf, and the brackets for the top upper shelf. These pictures of the bench in the yard are taken from the top step just outside my front door. It was the best angle to take in the whole bench. I have other shots taken from the same level as the bench, and they're not as wide/instructive.

[BigV]

Construction is complete and I've moved it to the permanent location just outside of my back door. I've completed the upper top shelf including the backsplash and apron, likewise for the bottom shelf. What you're looking at but can't see in this shot is the clear water based sealant I painted on the whole structure. That turned out to be a big hassle. Actually, not really a hassle, but AFTER I had it all built, I thought of a far easier way to add the sealant--paint the boards BEFORE assembly. :doh: Even easier: make a long shallow trough (like a gutter) and soak each board, then lay them out to dry. Easy peasy. Of course, I'd still need to coat the cut ends of the boards... Anyhow, lesson learned. I will probably make another one for Twil.



Here it is all loaded up with plants and pots and tools and dirts. I'm very happy with the results.

[glatt]

Very nice. I envy you your cheap cedar. Well done.

And that parking strip is huge. Ours are about 18 inches wide here. And our sidewalks are 3 feet wide. Yours look 4-5 feet wide.

[BigV]

Thank you!

The parking strip is nine feet wide and the sidewalk is six feet wide. I'll add some pictures of my flower garden eventually. This project was actually completed in April 2012. The garden has had a little time to grow in since then. Unfortunately, lots of that growth has been grassy/weedy. Time to take that stuff out.

[Lamplighter]

Very nice job, V. Was it your design too - looks like you covered all needs ?

I thought of a far easier way to add the sealant
--paint the boards BEFORE assembly. :doh:
Even easier: make a long shallow trough (like a gutter)
and soak each board, then lay them out to dry. Easy peasy.

This (trough) is what I suggested to my G-son for the cedar fence pickets he is using.
Spray guns are OK on fencing... if you don't have picky neighbors.
But pre-assembly staining is much easier.

[BigV]

Thanks! Yes, it is my design, but I made an extensive search of potting bench plans and designs and pictures on teh interwebs before I began construction. I made it the size that the wood came in, excepting the 2x6s and cutting some of the fence boards down for shelves and brackets, the idea being to minimize the number of cuts.

When I make one for Twil, I'll get the cedar from a lumberyard local to her (in fact the same one I tipped you to regarding the fence boards in a recent discussion) and since those boards are 4 inches wide and only five feet long, hers will be of different dimensions well suited to that stock.

[ZenGum]

Cool bench. Just one question.

Not poplar?

[BigV]

You know, this is a private bench and therefore, no, not poplar; see dere -->

[xoxoxoBruce]

So with all this bench building, planting and continuous weeding, you've eliminated that tedious chore of running the mower over the parking strip once in awhile.

[BigV]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

So with all this bench building, planting and continuous weeding, you've eliminated that tedious chore of running the mower over the parking strip once in awhile.

YES, THANK GOD, YES!!!

[Happy Monkey]

Very nice.

I need to get back to woodworking. I want to replace a crappy table that I got free with the condo with a short cabinet with roughly the same surface area plus storage space; I just need to start designing it.

[BigV]

Thanks HM!

[ZenGum]

Originally Posted by BigV

You know, this is a private bench and therefore, no, not poplar; see dere -->

this is a private bench

Dats-a what-a she-a cedar.