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Our front porch steps have needed some floral additions for quite a while, but whenever I looked at the style of planters I wanted, the price made me reconsider. We tried plastic window boxes but we couldn’t find the right size.
So we decided our time was well spent if we could build our planters for very little material cost. Each planter ended up costing us around $10.
I got some inspiration from Bower Power’s $20 Tall Planters and Juggling Act Mama’s How to Make a Tall Cedar Planter Box then made my own measurements and design.
My planters needed to be two feet long and around nine inches high. After playing around with some angles, we decided on 24 inches long, 8 inches wide at the bottom, 12 inches wide at the top, and about 8 inches tall.
We made six (which took us three days of work from start to finish), but I’m going to give you the materials list for one.
Materials:
- (2) ½ x 3 ½ x 6 Picket
- (2) 1 x 2 x 8 Treated Pine
- (16) ¾ inch Exterior Screws
- (1) 7x 23 inch Board (If doing more than one, rip up a plywood sheet)
- 1 ¼ inch Pneumatic Finish Nails
- ½ inch Pneumatic Staples
- 120 Grit Sandpaper
- Stain
- Pea Gravel
- Landscaping Fabric
Equipment:
- Tape Measure & Ruler
- Drill with Bits (We love our Kobalt)
- Miter Saw (Check out this Dewalt)
- Circular Saw (Check out this Craftsman)
- Nail Gun (Check out this Bostitch)
- Staple Gun (Check out this Bostitch)
1. Measure and Cut the Pickets
For the front, put two pickets side by side and mark 6 then 12 inches on the top. Using a speed square or sheet of paper cornered at the 6-inch mark, find the future center of the bottom. Then using that mark as center, mark 4 inches on either side. Connect the 12-inch top marks with the 8-inch bottom marks for your angle.
Now draw another for the back. If you were precise, then you can just measure 8 inches on the top and 12 on the bottom to get another set.
Using trigonometry, the angle should be 16 degrees. However, we found 14 degrees on our miter saw fit best. Cut the front and back.
For the sides, set the saw back to 90 degrees and use the remaining pieces of picket to cut four 23 inch boards.
2. Measure and Cut the 1×2 Furring Strips
Using the same degree measure of your angle, cut four 8.25-inch pieces width side down and four 8.25-inch pieces depth side down. See the picture below if needed.
We will cut the top trim later.
3. Sand and Stain
We stained near the end but I wish we stained everything after cutting so I’m adding it as step three for you.
4. Measure and Cut the Bottom
We used leftover boards from old projects to cut our bottoms. Make them 7 inches by 23 inches and at least ½ inch thick.
5. Attach Trim to Sides
Pre drill holes. We only used one screw per board but you should use two. Line up the trim so it overhangs on one side as pictured. This will create legs to keep the planter off the ground. The inner parts of the other side should be flush as pictured.
The trim should stick out ½ inch from the picket pieces. Use an extra board to measure this. Attach with screws. Repeat on the other end then complete the other side.
6. Add the Front, Back, and Bottom
This is when it starts coming together. Your front and back will now fit into your sides. Make the top of the planter flush (the “legs” should stick out a little on the bottom) and use a nail gun to secure to the sides.
Place the board for the bottom evenly into the planter, then nail from the front and back at an angle making sure the trim in the next step will cover your holes.
7. Add the Front and Back Trim
Use a nail gun to add trim to the front and back.
8. Trim the Top
You’ll need to do some more measurements and cutting to trim the top. The inside of trim for the long sides was 23 inches for me every time, but the measurement for the shorter sides varied every time.
Attach using the nail gun.
9. Add Pea Gravel
You may need to rinse your pea gravel before placing a layer at the bottom of your planter. One bag filled all six of our planters.
10. Add Landscaping Fabric
Cut a 35-inch by 22-inch piece of fabric. It’s a little tricky so extra hands will help when you staple the fabric. The short sides will need to be folded and tucked.
Add Soil & Flowers
This ended up being the most expensive part of our project! The planters – $60. The flowers – $50 (and that was mainly clearance).
But check it out – I love them!
Do you plan on making some planters soon? Do you have any questions?
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