Planter Box

Materials needed for three different planter boxes

North Side

Click for larger picture

You'll need the following pieces of lumber. I use untreated cedar.

Legs
4 pieces: 2x3" - 18" long
By one 6' piece and cut into four 18" pieces.
4 pieces: 2x2" - 18" long
By one 6' piece and cut into four 18" pieces.

Siding
6 pieces: 1x6" - 27" long
6 pieces: 1x6" - 10" long
By two 10' pieces and cut each into three 27" pieces and three 10" pieces.

Support for the floor
2 pieces: 1x2" - 25" long.
By one 6' piece and cut into two 25" pieces.

Floor
8 pieces: 1x3" - 10" long
By one 8' piece and cut into eight 10" pieces.

Casing
2 pieces: 1x3" - 32" long
2 pieces: 1x3" - 14" long
By one 8' piece and cut into two 32" pieces and two 14" pieces. These four pieces all need to be mitered (se below).

Screws
24 pieces: #9x 2½ inch screws.
½ lb.: #8x1-3/8 inch screws (or nails).

Total cost when I build it: $41.77

The finished product's outside dimensions will be 32"x14" and 18¾" high; its inside dimension will be 25"x10" and 16½" high.

South Side

Click for larger picture

You'll need the following pieces of lumber. I use untreated cedar.

Legs
4 pieces: 2x3" - 16" long
By one 6' piece and cut into four 18" pieces.
4 pieces: 2x2" - 16" long
By one 6' piece and cut into four 16" pieces.

Siding
8 pieces: 1x6" - 16" long
By two 6' pieces and cut each into four 16" pieces.
4 pieces: 1x4" - 16" long
By one 6' pieces and cut into four 16" pieces.

Support for the floor
2 pieces: 1x2" - 16" long.
By one 6' piece and cut into two 16" pieces.

Floor
6 pieces: 1x3" - 14 1/2" long
By one 8' piece and cut into six 14 1/2" pieces.

Casing
4 pieces: 1x3" - 20" long
By one 8' piece and cut into four 20" pieces. These four pieces all need to be mitered (se below).

The finished product's outside dimensions will be 20"x20" and 16¾" high; its inside dimension will be 16"x14" and 14½" high. ¾

Upper Deck

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How to put the planter box together

Note: The instructions refer to the North Side planterbox; however, all the three planter boxes are very similar. The pictures are not to scale.

Step 1: Joint the legs together

(Picture is from the top.)

First screw the legs together. Connect one 2x3 with one 2x2 as shown. Repeat for all four legs. Use three 2½ inch screws for each leg.

Step 2: Join sidings with two legs

(Picture is from the top.)

Now connect the long sidings to two legs. Connect the two legs with three sets of sidings. The sidings should be flush together and but up to the top of the legs. There should be some space between the lowest siding and the ground. Use six 1-3/8" inch screws/nails for each of the pairs. Repeat and join the two remaining legs with three sets of sidings.

Note: There are two ways to turn the legs when you attach them to the long sidings; it doesn't matter which way you turn them, it only effects the look of the box. Make sure that the sidings don't touch the ground.

Step 3: Attach the floor support

(Picture is from the side.)

Attach (using the 1-3/8 dimension) one of the floor supports to the lowest siding as shown in red above. The 2" part should be vertical and the 1" part horizontal. Repeat with the second floor support.

Step 4: Join the two pieces together to make a box

(Picture is from the top.)

Connect the two pieces to make a box as shown. The floor support pieces are shown in red.

Step 5. Attach the floor boards

(Picture is from the top.)

Connect the eight floor boards (shown in red) with the two floor supports (shown in greeen). It may not be necessary to nail these down to the floor support. Make sure there is some spacing between the floor boards.

Step 6: Add the casing at the top

(Picture is from the top with the casing in red.)

The four casing pieces need to be mitered; the measurement above (32" and 14") refers to the longes side of the casing. Use three 2½ inch screws for each casing to attach it to the legs.