How To Build A Planter

So my sweet sweet hubby attempted his first real carpentry project a little over a year ago by building me a planter {here}. Well, lets just say hes learned a lot since then. The planter has not held up too well, so he surprised me yet again and decided to build me a new-and-improved one!!! This time around, updated tools were used, like the best hybrid table saw and thicker nails to ensure the wood is cut properly and holds together! Heres the last day of the old one:

It’s seen better days… but that’s probably what you get when it’s been exposed to the elements. We could probably build a DIY conservatory with clear Corrugated PVC Sheets for the roof so the little darlings could still get some sunlight. But that’s a project to think about later, right now we have to transport everything from the old planter to the new one.

Here is a detailed tutorial of how we built our own custom planter:

• First figure out your measurements. For us, we wanted to make the planter 86″ W {total with overhang}, 22″ H, and 22″ D. So after accounting for the 1″ overhang and getting our measurements J went over to Home Depot to purchase supplies and have them cut the plywood. {This is where it is important to make sure you have the right measurements laid out. J actually gave the guy the wrong measurements, but luckily we had some left over plywood that he was able to cut himself at the house} Hopefully, you’ll have the right measurements. If you’re looking to make your planter a similar size to ours, you could just use our measurements. However, we know that some people prefer meters instead. Perhaps you could use this m to in guide to help you get the correct measurements in meters. It’s up to you, just don’t make the same mistakes we did!

• After bringing the supplies home we made a standard box to go on the inside of the planter to provide support for the base. For this we just cut 2×4’s to the correct length and attached them to each other using glue and wood screws. Using a triangle make sure your box is square.

• Next we attached the plywood to the base using our nail gun, glue and a few screws. Since we will be covering the corners with 2×4’s and trim we used screws to attach the piece of plywood to each other at the corners. This will help with support.

• After the plywood, we cut and attached 2×4’s to the top and bottom on all for sides again using wood glue and finishing nails. We did use a couple of screws from the inside of the box to add more support. We were debating on whether or not to mitre the corners to give a more cohesive look but since the front of the planter is the only part visible and since it was a million degrees outside when we were making this, we cut corners (I know I know I kid I kid} We just made the corners pieces line up flush with each other and skipped the mitre.

• Next we added the corner trim. We cut 2×4’s to the correct height and then lined them up with each other and the top and bottom trim.

• Next we cut our 1×4’s for the front to the desired length and placed them in between the trim. This adds a nice feature to the box and makes it look a bit nicer. We only did this to the front. We secured the 1x4a with glue and finishing nails.

• Next it is time to move inside the planter. Since we did not want to waste a bunch of dirt we built a floor for the planter about 8″ up from the bottom. To do this we placed scrap pieces of 2x4s on top of the 2×4 base we made in the first step and attached it to the plywood from the inside.

• We then used scrap wood and plywood to create a false bottom. This will cut down on the amount of dirt we will need to fill the planter. {ps dirt is expensive, who’d a thought}

• We also added a divider in the planter to section off a portion for herbs, because apparently its bad to have herbs and flowers grow right next to each other {keep in mind, I had been growing my herbs next to flowers for a solid year, until I was ‘schooled’ by the man at Home Depot about it!}

• Next we built the top. We actually planned on using 1x6s for the top but this was too wide, so we trimmed our boards by and 1.75″ with our table saw and then mitered each board at the corner with our mitre saw. After doing this we would recommend to build the top separate from the box and then attach it to the planter since ours seemed to not want to line up perfectly. So after a some bending and adjusting our cut we fit the mitered corners together and attached them to the planter using finishing nails.

Nail guns are fun:)

• Next we filled in all the holes and corners with wood putty and sanded the whole planter once the putty dried.

• Now it was time to paint. We chose to paint it red again to match our door so we fired up the sprayer and purchased a quart of Behr paint and primer (exterior) and went to town. We did about 3 coats, and then added a sealer

Sorry mom, that was your craft table but it is now officially our painting table. Crafting-painting-all the same.

• Then we lined the planter using some heavy duty plastic. This was pretty simple just fold the edges and staple the plastic to the top and inside edges of planter. We also drilled holes in the bottom and stapled the plastic around the holes. This will allow for drainage.

This is Boomer saying happy bday to me. He is also wondering why on earth we were up that early, since I rarely get up before 8 {yes, I do have the good life}

Again, I swear J does have good style, just NEVER in our project photos…apparently that day he was all about the khaki