DIY potting table bench

My mission –should I accept it is to build a potting bench from leftover bits and pieces that are hanging out in Jamie & Andy’s garage, including a former privacy fence gate, a shutter,  some former display racks and random 2×4’s and 4×4’s.

In addition, there were 3 long sections of short privacy fence.

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This is the dismantling process.  I ended up using two full sections of this short fencing.  The coke can is there for depositing loose nails.

There were a couple of choices for the location of the potting bench, up against the house, or maybe on the deck.  However as we started putting it together, jamie pointed out this concrete pad that sits between the overhead door of her garage and a set of large swinging doors.  You can see how perfectly it fits there.

While I got busy sawing and building, Jamie started staining (sealing) with Thompson’s Water Seal I got from Haven last summer.

We both were surprised how much we loved the color—Desert Brown.

I did a dry fit for the front of the potting table, using 2×4’s and 4×4’s.

I joined all the pieces with pocket holes I made with my Kreg Jig.

I had to use 2×4’s for the back legs because I didn’t have enough 4×4’s.   I really love this handy assortment of Kreg Jig Screws.

Voila!   The table base is complete!

Included in the mix of available items were these wooden display shelving pieces.  I laid the tape measure on it so you can get a feel for the size, because I didn’t want you to confuse them with pallets.

My phone died, and I’m thinking that’s why there are no pictures of these steps.   I used two of the display pieces and some of the crossboards from the short privacy fence sections to complete the shelves.  The shelves are attached with pocket holes.  The bottom shelves are made from the short privacy fence boards that are more narrow and thinner than regular dog eared fence boards.

This view is looking at the table from the back.

This is building one of the doors.  I used my nail gun and Gorilla wood glue.  The doors are different sizes.  One is 6 boards wide, the other is 5 boards wide.  I built this potting bench for Jamie at her house, and my tool selection was limited.  It’s tough working without a table saw, everything had to be divisible by 4”. 

While I was busy building doors and such, jamie was working hard staining the entire piece.

We were losing daylight as a long 11 hour day comes to an end.  Jamie continued to stain the doors, the side pieces and the top slotted tray piece.

You can see it was getting quite dark as we get to this point.

Day 2!  Tasks include attaching side boards, doors, hardware, and a shelf.

I have attached the sides, as Andy shows up to see how things are going, and offers a brilliant suggestion.  Can you see that he is holding a slotted shelf in place?  We had planned to rest it on the top in order to allow for potting soil to fall through to a container for reusing.  Andy suggested installing it from beneath so that it would be part of the structure.

Here is the slatted piece in place held with pocket holes.  You can see the container that will catch the potting soil (it currently has a lid on it)

It was great having some extra hands while installing the doors.

I haven’t really said much about these little lids/trays.  The area on the left is where jamie will scoop her potting soil. The lids simply lift off, but give extra work space if needed. You can see both doors are on, and latched with a simple hook.

Last but not least, is a simple upper shelf.  This step almost didn’t happen because we couldn’t find an extra board.  I dug deep into the garage and found one deck board that wasn’t being used.  It was long enough for a shelf, and 3 brackets.

The large tote on the shelf holds potting soil.

Jamie loves it, and so do I!  We haven’t done a DIY project for awhile, and it was great hanging out with her and accomplishing something so useful and practical.  The only cost of this piece was the hardware.  Had we done this at my house, we wouldn’t even have had to buy those.

This was a great weekend project and as soon as Andy’s family left (on Easter)  Jamie got busy transplanting this geranium.  Some neighbors walked by while we were doing that, and they were admiring the new potting station.  Jamie was happy to show it off.  Didn’t she have a great design plan?

Do you have a potting bench?  I wish I had a place to have one. 

gail

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