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Gas Meter Cover | Outdoor Eyesore

ByGail Wilson Published on Updated on
31 Comments

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It’s time for a challenge. The challenge? Build a project to spruce up your outdoor space! It seems like that’s all I’ve been doing lately for my backyard camper retreat. Today’s project is a gas meter cover—a decorative option to cover up this outdoor eyesore! Be sure to check out my friends’ projects at the bottom of this post!

Outdoor Eyesore | Diy Gas Meter Cover

how to hide your outdoor eyesore - your gas meter

We all have them, outdoor eyesores. This is the gas meter that needs to be disguised.

faux gate covers gas meter

Isn’t it perfect? I love it so much! Let’s see how this gas meter cover project came together.

free pallets

When it was time to figure out my project, it seemed like a no-brainer to make it out of one of these pallets left over from the deliveries during the backyard makeover.

Visit the My Repurposed Life Amazon Store to shop my favorite items.

duckbill deck wrecker

I started dismantling the pallets with my Duckbill Deck Wrecker. Within an hour I had all three of the pallets separated and was well into getting all the nails removed.

How to remove a stubborn pallet nail

how to remove a stubborn nail from a pallet

There were actually very few nails left in the stringers. When I dismantled the pallet for my pallet love seat bench I learned a new technique for removing stubborn nails. On that pallet, I was able to “unscrew” the nail with my vice grips. These nails would not unscrew. I twisted them around several times to break their bond, then pried them out with the vice grips.

pry pallet nail from stringer with vice grips

Luckily, these stringers were not notched, and they were smaller than most. They would be part of my faux garden gate that will be the gas meter cover.

Easily harvest pallet wood

how to take apart pallets

Three pallets, all different in size. I didn’t realize that until I separated all the boards. For more great projects and tips, see my post Tips For Dismantling Pallets.

all pallets are not created equally

The length of the pallet boards was 36”, 44”, and 48”. I laid out the boards to decide which set I wanted to use for the gas meter cover project. You may notice the boards on the left are much thicker.

design a faux garden gate to cover the gas meter

I actually chose the shortest boards to make the faux garden gate.

Repurposed crib

vintage crib repurposed as a faux garden gate gas meter cover

While looking for some spindles to make up the posts of the faux garden gate, I chose this old crib. The height of the spindles was what determined how tall the pallet boards could be.

remove hardware from crib end

First, I needed to remove all the crib hardware. I generally save crib hardware, but some of these pieces were plastic.

click here to see more crib projects to inspire you

Dismantle crib with saw

use reciprocating saw to cut crib end

Because I didn’t know how the saw was put together, I chose to use a reciprocating saw to dismantle it. Had I used a rubber mallet to separate the pieces, I may have had too much patching to do.

crib end spindles

You can see that I would have to patch the entire length of the crib end as well as some dowels. When in doubt, I prefer sawing.

Test fit of faux garden gate

test fit pallet boards and crib posts

I did a dry fit to make sure the boards would all work together.

modify crib post and finial

After removing the finial on the crib end, I cut off the curve on the miter saw. But first, I removed the threaded piece in the image on the right.

Assemble the gas meter cover

kreg jig pocket holes

Because I wanted a quick and easy project, I chose to use my kreg jig to drill pocket holes in both ends of all the pallet stringers.

secure with pocket hole screws

To leave enough reveal on the front side, I used a scrap piece of wood to raise the stringer off the table. I repeated this on both ends of all three stringers.

Attach Pallet Boards

exterior wood screws secure pallet boards

Each pallet board was secured from the front with three wood screws,  one in each stringer.

faux garden gate gas meter cover in progress

Did you notice that I turned the crib posts upside down? Those are the legs of the crib posts sticking up. It doesn’t look much like a garden gate, does it?

Cut arch to the faux garden gate

arch top of faux garden gate

Because I want the gas meter cover to resemble a garden gate, I made it have an arch like the pallet bench that’s on the opposite side of the backyard. I used the same twin headboard for this project.

How to add dowels to crib finials

add dowels to crib finials

In order to give some height to the garden gate sides, I decided to add the finials to the top. Remember, this is actually the legs of the crib posts.

This handy drill bit gauge is helpful to figure out what size bit I need to match the dowel. Using an Irwin quick clamp keeps my hands safe while drilling the hole into the wooden finial. Gorilla Wood Glue secures the finial.

Paint Sprayer Tips

paint garden gate gas meter cover with a paint sprayer

Even though I wanted light coverage, sort of like a whitewash look, I decided that it would be easiest if I used my Homeright Super Finish Max. The paint was diluted slightly with water. I prefer to paint the back of my project first, then I turn it around and lean it lightly on the sawhorse.

The adjustable spray tip comes in really handy on a project like this. I was able to switch from a horizontal spray pattern on the board slats to a vertical spray pattern while I was spraying the posts.

Spray paint gate hardware

spray paint gate hardware

I spray-painted the hardware and attached it to the faux gate. It really changed the look of the faux garden gate gas meter cover.

gas meter cover that eyesore with a faux garden gate MyRepurposedLife

The little welcome sign is so much cuter since I put the new twisted wire hanger on it. Granted there are still more outdoor eyesores on the back of the house, but with this new gas meter cover, at least your eye has something pretty to focus on. Maybe my guests will not notice the other lesser eyesores on the back of the house.

how to disguise an outdoor eyesore such as a gas meter with a faux garden gate MyRepurposedLife

Thanks for pinning my project before you go check out the other great projects in this month’s challenge!

Sharing here: My Wee Abode Tuesday Turnabout

This project was featured at Homestyle Gathering via Serving Up Southern

 

 

More Outdoor Projects to Inspire You

Gail Wilson is the author and mastermind behind My Repurposed Life. She is obsessed with finding potential in unexpected places and believes that with a little hard work and imagination, any old thing can be made useful again, including herself!
Gail reinvented herself during a midlife crisis and has found purpose again. She hopes you will find new ideas for old things and pick up a few tools along the way.

31 Comments

  3. Such a great pallet project! We love to reclaim wood from sources just like this too 🙂 . Your’s looks just like a garden gate. The use of the crib legs/spindles was such a great idea! I am kinda a spindle-holic myself 😉

    Reply

    1. heheh I get ya Cindy! I have buckets of spindles stored just waiting for their purpose! But none of them fit the bill for this project like the crib spindles did. They were perfect!

      thanks for stopping by and taking the time to leave a comment, it’s greatly appreciated!

      gail

  4. Gail, how smart is this? Such a cute ‘cover’, but a wonderful addition to your garden! Congrats on your feature at Homestyle Gathering! We’d love to have you link-up at Tuesday Turn About… we open today at 3pm PST.
    Will you be at Haven this year? I remember sharing lunch with you once last year. 🙂

    Reply

    1. Julie,

      Yes, I’ll be at Haven. I’ve never missed one yet! Hope to see you there! (though please forgive me if I don’t recognize you)

      Thanks for the invite, I’ll head over to link up!

      gail

  5. Hi Gail!
    You’re garden gate is such a neat idea! It’s a great way to re-purpose a pallet, and I love how you used crib legs for the posts. The hook and eye latch and the cute sign are the perfect final touches. I found you by way of Talk of the Town. I would love for you to share this at Homestyle Gathering link party via Serving Up Southern.
    >>> Kim

    Reply

  6. I love that you made this entire thing from repurposed items! So clever! It’s got me wondering what I have lying around that could hide my eye-sores… 😉

    Reply

  13. Gail I love it! It looks so sweet and the perfect way to hide your water meter! You are so awesome, I love the sign too and the planters on the sides!

    Reply

  14. This is a cute idea to hide the gas meter. I plan to build a cover for ours too. I haven’t started researching ideas yet because it will be part of the landscape plan for that section of yard. It’s on my project list for this summer. Nice work!

    Reply

    1. I don’t really have any “summer” projects planned. It’s so hot and humid here in the summertime. I think I’ve completed all the backyard ideas for now. I don’t want to “junk” it up too much.

      gail

    1. Good point Donna, but I’m not worried about that! lol

      seriously, I don’t think there are any laws about it. There may be some guidelines, but I’m sure that’s not an issue for me. The faux gate simply leans on the meter.

      There are definitely rules about calling BUD if you dig around any utilities. That’s why I didn’t secure the faux garden gate in the ground.

      gail

    1. Judy,
      Great question!

      Because I didn’t want to dig so close to the meter, I have it leaned against the meter. That way the meter reader can still get to it. My ground is not level, so I didn’t think I could make a base for it. Each application will be different depending on your situation.
      It’s REALLY a lot heavier than it looks, so I don’t think the wind will blow it over. This way it will be fairly easy to move when I need to use the string trimmer or lawn mower.
      gail

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