01/16/2022
What: Making a wooden elevated planter
When: April 2021
Supplies: Wood (lots of it), router, sander, wood screws, rubber feet (optional), wood stain, wood sealer, wood filler, drill, driver, shop vacuum, clamps, circular saw, ruler/square, pencil, rubber mallet, wood glue, weed barrier cloth
Time: a few days’ worth of time for me
The Planning: I spent a LONG time researching and planning for this project. It was very exciting for someone who had never done anything dealing with woodwork before aside from randomly putting two pieces of wood together into a makeshift stool. Hours of image and product searching along with videos. Here are few of the images I found online that I ultimately decided on using as reference:
The Process (in pictures!)
Getting Started:
^This was the gathering and decision stage where I had to decide how I wanted to orient the wood, made a few test cuts, measured out some things, figured out roughly the size I was going for and if it was reasonable given the material. Wood quality and that kind of thing are new to me, so I wasn’t sure what to buy, and then just went for it. Vertical or horizontal planks? In the end I went for horizontal for less wood cutting and less screws required. My sister has a pre-made planter she bought with vertical planks, and it wasn’t secured, so somehow squirrels dug into them and knocked them all out. Not happening with this planter.
Router Work:
^Very fun to use a router and it was very first time, to boot! I found out that router bits are very sharp, that routing makes a MASSIVE mess and should be done outside, if possible (still finding sawdust in every single nook and cranny of the basement), and there’s a reason why router tables are a thing. I would definitely use a routing table the next time if I could.
Frame Assembly:
^As you can see, I don’t have a very large basement at all. Neither do I have sawhorses. I didn’t even have enough clamps and had to improvise a lot of what I was doing. This was probably the most frustrating part of the project, trying to weed through all of the wood for straight wood, doing all of the math and measurements, only to require revision half-way through, then having the frame continuously fall apart from lack of appropriate equipment, and dealing with the little imperfections here and there. It kind of looks like a bed frame, doesn’t it, though? I was so proud when I achieved the last picture in this set.
The Slats
^Dry laying of the wood and then using spare pieces of wood as spacers. Turns out that it wasn’t perfectly even, but that’s okay, because who would notice? The spacing is for airflow for the plants and water drainage. I debated whether or not to place corner slats, being afraid that water would just sit without being able to be drained, but went for it anyways, considering it would be sealed with the rest of the planter. I guess if I wanted to get fancy, I could have graded the wood a bit away from the corners.
Remaining Assembly
^Little things like trying to figure out how many and where to place screws without them overlapping or breaking the wood. Not too many, but not too few. Where would it be best of lift the hefty thing especially when it’s full of wet soil? It was very difficult and painstaking to cut the top trim and secure the 4 corners. Then routing those to a smooth edge and sanding it all down to smoothness but also to rid of the pencil marks. My lack of proper clamps came back to haunt me with the top trim. Then wood filler to fill in the holes and more sanding. This part took a huge chunk of the time and made a massive mess. But it’s mostly done! And it looks good!
Stain and Seal
^ Yay! Then I decided to put feet on it because I didn’t want the wood to just sit on the ground soaking up water. That’s where one of the leg pieces that was full of knots continued to be the bane of the project. Also, I used the wrong screws. Make sure you’re using wood screws. It’s not shown, but I caulked around the rubber feet and the wood.
Finished Product
^ Not shown in pictures, but you can see the weed barrier I line it all with so that the soil won’t fall through the bottom of the planter. Grandmother = Very Happy. Me = Proud.
In Conclusion: This entire project took me about 3 weekends to do and honestly, by the end of it, I just wanted to be done (especially because I ended up crushing my foot something awful with some of the equipment early on). It cost me around $300 – 400 in equipment and supplies (mostly because wood prices in 2021 were sky high) which puts me over the amount to just simply buy one pre-made. On top of it, the sheer weight of pure wood is substantial and something I didn’t really consider when planning the project. Nor was I planning on so much leftover wood. One of the biggest problems I ran into with it all was the quality of the wood. SO MANY of them were too bowed or warped to work with and now they’re just sitting there being a fire hazard in my basement because it cost me so much money to begin with. However, the process, the planning, the doing, and then the reception by my grandma, grandpa, and other relatives made it all worth it for me. I was and continue to be proud of what I did despite the mistakes and imperfections. The best part about it all is that I know that if I ever wanted to attempt it or something similar in the future, then it will take much less time simply because I know more about what I’m doing (and also because I the right tools now). I have other ideas in mind (like a top for the planter and an outside squirrel-proof tomato plant cabinet) that hopefully I can bring to fruition one day.