11/02/2014 Copyright 2014 Marsha Lehman 1. 11/02/2014Copyright 2014 Marsha Lehman2 Raised beds can be made of many different materials Lumber is probably
11/02/2014Copyright 2014 Marsha Lehman2 Raised beds can be made
of many different materials Lumber is probably the most common, due
to initial cost and length of life White oak Cedar Locust Pressure
Treated lumber (new materials no longer use arsenic) Composite
decking material (brands such as TREX) Straw bales Concrete blocks
Stacked stone This tutorial will be using pressure treated
lumber
Slide 3
11/02/2014Copyright 2014 Marsha Lehman3 There are many reasons
gardeners make their garden beds 4 x 8 : 1.4 is the maximum
recommended width, as this means you will have to reach 2 to get in
to the middle of the bed. Some find this too much of a stretch and
will make their beds 3 wide. 2.8 is the maximum recommended length
for garden beds. Longer than this and the pressure of the soil may
cause the sides to bow, requiring additional support to the sides.
3.Most people can find a way to haul 8 long lumber without having
to pay a delivery charge. 4.An 8 long board can be cut in half to
get two 4 pieces for the ends of a bed. 5.Home Depot and Lowes, and
others will make free cuts. 6.Three pieces of lumber will make one
4 x 8 raised bed. 7.At 4 x 8, there will be no scrap lumber left
over.
Slide 4
11/02/2014Copyright 2014 Marsha Lehman4 I planned to make six
garden beds, each 4 wide and 8 long. I decided to document the
process as a tutorial for others who are interested in building
their own garden boxes. When I buy pressure treated lumber from
Home Depot or Lowes, I pick through the inventory to find boards
that are not warped, with no cracks, and minimal knots. This is
usually a #2 select grade of lumber. This takes some time and
effort. But I never have to buy extra lumber. I purchase 8 boards,
and have their staff cut some in half (4) for the ends of the beds.
This saves me time in not having to cut lumber, and it makes it
easier for me to transport the lumber in my vehicle (a Scion xB
youll see it later) When I buy pressure treated lumber from a
commercial entity, such as Christmas Lumber, I get a #1 grade
lumber that has been treated with copper. They will deliver in the
Knoxville area at no charge. The tradeoff is that I do not get to
pick the boards. So to cover the possibility of a warped, cracked,
or knotty board, I purchase 10% more than my calculated need. And
they will NOT make any cuts.
Slide 5
11/02/2014Copyright 2014 Marsha Lehman5 Each bed that Im making
will be 4 wide and 8 long. I will need three 8 boards for each bed.
Two of the boards will make the long sides. The third board will be
cut in half to make the two ends. As I plan to make six beds, I
need 18 boards in total: 12 boards will be 8 long -- for the long
sides 6 boards will be cut in half to make the ends
Slide 6
11/02/2014Copyright 2014 Marsha Lehman6 I purchased 8 long
boards of 2 x 8 #1 grade pressure treated lumber from Christmas
Lumber. I needed 18 boards, but since I didnt get to pick the
boards, I ordered 10% extra and got 20 boards delivered. Heres my
pile of lumber. Now lets get busy!
Slide 7
11/02/2014Copyright 2014 Marsha Lehman7 First, I laid out four
boards, which appear numbered in the photo. This is to support the
6 boards that I will be cutting in half. I used a board on the side
(see the arrow) to line up the boards that I will be cutting. I
used this board on both sides, going back and forth until I was
sure that I had the boards aligned. 1 2 3 4 If you purchase from
Home Depot or Lowes, have them cut your end boards for you -- and
you can skip this step.
Slide 8
11/02/2014Copyright 2014 Marsha Lehman8 These are the six
boards that I will cut in half to make the ends of the boxes. After
getting all the ends of the boards aligned (prior photo), I
measured 48 (4) from both ends and found the middle of the boards.
I marked each board, and then used this piece of lumber to draw a
straight line across all of the boards. My pencil line didnt show
up well in the photo, so I inserted the dashed yellow line. 1 2 3 4
5 6 If you had Home Depot or Lowes cut your lumber, you can skip
this step, too.
Slide 9
11/02/2014Copyright 2014 Marsha Lehman9 Using a circular saw, I
cut the six boards in half following the line that I had drawn. It
may be obvious now why I had four boards lying flat under the six
boards to be cut. The boards underneath provide clearance for the
saw blade (I didnt want to hit the concrete) and I wanted to
support the boards so that they remained flat while making the cut.
Just be sure that you dont cut the underlying support boards! And
voila the six boards are now twelve end pieces. If Home Depot or
Lowes cut your lumber, you can skip this step, too.
Slide 10
11/02/2014Copyright 2014 Marsha Lehman10 I used 4 lag bolts to
connect each end of the bed to the sides of the bed, or 8 lag bolts
per bed. (If your beds are more than 8 deep, you will want to use 6
bolts on each end or 12 per bed.) I chose lag bolts that are 5 / 16
in diameter and 3.5 long. What Im doing here is marking where I
will drill holes in the end boards for the lag bolts. I used my
quick square to mark in 0.75 from the end of the board (half the
thickness of the boards -- a 2 thick board is really only 1.5) and
then marked 2 from the top and bottom of each of these pieces. If
you had Home Depot or Lowes cut your boards, this is your first
step
Slide 11
11/02/2014Copyright 2014 Marsha Lehman11 Heres what it looked
like after the marking. I want the lag bolts to easily go through
these end pieces, so I used a drill bit that is the same diameter
as the lag bolts ( 5 / 16 ) (Note: I will NOT be drilling the long
side boards just the ends) You can use other diameter lag bolts.
Just dont go smaller than 0.25 ; and theres no need to go larger
than 0.5 diameter.
Slide 12
11/02/2014Copyright 2014 Marsha Lehman12 When drilling, be sure
to keep the drill level and square to the board, so that the lag
bolt will go squarely through the end board and into the long side
board. Use a drill bit that is the same diameter as the lag bolts
that you purchased. Remember: we are only drilling these holes in
the short end boards. If you purchased lumber from Home Depot or
Lowes, this is the only power tool you will need a drill.
Slide 13
11/02/2014Copyright 2014 Marsha Lehman13 The end boards are now
all cut and drilled. Time to do a little cleanup. I simply used a
broom to sweep the boards to remove the sawdust created by sawing
and drilling. Nothing more than that! I swept the sawdust into the
grass. Sometimes I save it for sopping up oil spills. As its
pressure treated, it should NOT go to the compost bin.
Slide 14
11/02/2014Copyright 2014 Marsha Lehman14 This end board is
swept clean. You can see the line that was drawn 0.75 from the edge
(half the width of the board we will be attaching to) and the holes
that were drilled. I easily inserted the lag bolt into hole, as it
was drilled at the same diameter as the lag bolt. (this was a test
fit, without the washer)
Slide 15
11/02/2014Copyright 2014 Marsha Lehman15 The lag bolts that I
purchased are 3.5 long. I wouldnt recommend anything shorter than
3.0, as 1.5 will be used to pass through the end board, leaving
only 1.5 penetration into the long side board. At the same time,
anything longer than 4 in length is probably a waste of money. I
will also add a washer to each lag bolt before inserting into the
board.
Slide 16
11/02/2014Copyright 2014 Marsha Lehman16 It took me 30 minutes
to cut and drill the end boards. Now starts the more time consuming
steps: assembling the boxes. The most important thing is to get the
boxes square each corner must be 90 degrees. You will want a quick
square, as shown here, or a T-square or a woodworking square. Note
the lag bolts with a washer on each. This gives an idea of how much
of the bolt length will be in the end board and how much will end
up in the side board. Quick Square
Slide 17
11/02/2014Copyright 2014 Marsha Lehman17 Oh yes, remember to
remove the tags and staples from the boards. Even the thickness of
a staple can interfere with getting the corners square.
Slide 18
11/02/2014Copyright 2014 Marsha Lehman18 I used both a quick
square (shown in prior photo) and a large wood working square that
I have in my shop. Having two squares was really helpful.
Slide 19
11/02/2014Copyright 2014 Marsha Lehman19 Using the squares, I
got the first corner square. (The first corner is always the
easiest.) I added a washer to each lag bolt and inserted it through
the end board. I used a hammer to tap it into the side board, just
to get it started.
Slide 20
11/02/2014Copyright 2014 Marsha Lehman20 I used a ratchet
wrench to finish the insertion of the lag bolt into the long side
board. As you can see, I did this manually. You might have an
attachment that lets you use a power drill to do this step. If you
have it, use it, as it took a lot of pumping to get that 3.5 lag
bolt fully inserted.
Slide 21
11/02/2014Copyright 2014 Marsha Lehman21 The second corner that
I connected is opposite the first corner. It was as easy to square
as the first corner. Repeat the process of squaring and inserting
the lag bolts (with washers). I have now completed two halves of a
box, each shaped like an L. The third and fourth corners will be a
bit more challenging.
Slide 22
11/02/2014Copyright 2014 Marsha Lehman22 On the third corner, I
used both of my squares. It was a bit more challenging because the
other end of the long board was already attached and there wasnt as
much give. And the fourth corner will let me know whether I got the
first three corners square!
Slide 23
11/02/2014Copyright 2014 Marsha Lehman23 How did I know that
all of the corners were square BEFORE I fastened the fourth and
final corner?? I measured the diagonal, as shown here. In order to
be square, the diagonal measurements MUST be the same. In my case,
it was 110 5 / 8 inches. I walked around the box making minor
nudges, adjusting little by little, until the two diagonals were
the same measurement. Then I drove home the final two lag
bolts.
Slide 24
11/02/2014Copyright 2014 Marsha Lehman24 It took me one hour to
assemble the first box, and I had five more to go. What could I do
to shorten that time? Get out the tape. I chose to use painters
tape. (I have also used regular masking tape.) I placed tape both
inside and outside the box, at each corner, and approximately
midway on each side and end of the box.
Slide 25
11/02/2014Copyright 2014 Marsha Lehman25 Heres what it looked
like when I removed the box. This will provide a great starting
point for each of the five remaining boxes to be built. I will
still use the squares, but the set up will be so much faster with
these markings on the garage floor.
Slide 26
11/02/2014Copyright 2014 Marsha Lehman26 This shot shows how I
used the tape markings to help line up the boards when assemblying
the remaining five boxes. While the first box took one hour to
build, each of the remaining boxes took 25-30 minutes. Thats the
value of the tape markings on the floor!
Slide 27
11/02/2014Copyright 2014 Marsha Lehman27 Here are the six
finished boxes, stacked and waiting for my hubby to help me carry
them to the back yard to set in place. My total time, from start to
finish, including cleanup was four hours: 30 minutes of
cutting/drilling, one hour for the first box and tape marking, two
hours to build the remaining five boxes, and about 30 minutes for
cleaning up and putting away tools. And yes, I did all of this by
myself. You can do it, too. And its even more fun with a helper.
This is my Scion xB, in which I often haul 8 lengths of lumber and
all sorts of garden tools and supplies. At the time of this photo,
it had six bales of peat moss in it just part of what will go into
these new garden boxes. 1 2 5 3 4 6
