Thursday, July 19, 2012

Bench and raised beds

We worked in a garden for a return customer this past week. Rarely do I get gardening work like this as a handyman/builder. Very pleased to build this bench and raised garden beds and paint them purple!

This project came about from a trip to Italy my customer made last year. She returned with these beautiful 2 x 2 Italian hand painted tiles. The tiles were to be used as an accent in her master bathroom, never happened. So she had these tiles for about a year and really wanted to use them for accents. Finally we added 4 of the tiles to the purple garden beds and 2 of them to the garden bench.

Here is the 12 foot long purple garden bench. I used twice dried pressure treated lumber that is ready to paint right from the lumber yard. The lumber is called Cox Lumber it is not sold in the big box stores (you need to dry their lumber 4-6 months before painting). It is expensive a 2 x 6 x 12 costs $4 more a board to give you an ideal. We primed the bench and them painted with a very high quality paint from Sherwin Williams.

When I took these photos it was 97 degrees, the purple paint was too hot to sit on. The only draw back I could see on this beautiful bench, I love colorful things anyway.

The previous photos did not show the accent tiles I routed into the bench as show above, one on each end of the bench seat. First I made a template with a scrap of plywood and secured it and routed in the cut out to install the tiles. Set them in latex caulk and painted it in.
Above shows the higher quality of the Cox lumber, barely any knots to speak of. One might ask at what angle did we tilt back the bench backrest, it was 15%. You can see the outriggers under the bench with the back supports bolted together with 2 1/2 inch galvanized carriage bolts. Everything is mounted on 4 - 4 x 6s concreted in 2 foot deep. Very comfortable to sit in believe me!
Above is the raised garden beds, one is 2' 8" x 16' and the other is 2'8" x 20'. They are made with Cox lumber 2 x 10s staked in the ground with hidden 2 x 3 stakes. We lined the inside of the boxes with left over rubber roofing to keep the chemicals from the treated lumber from leaching into the soil. The tops were made with 2 x 6s cut down to 4 1\/2 inches wide and screwed down about every 10 inches. We regraded the site by hand and added the creek gravel and medium river rocks in the foreground. The slate patio had been there a long time, the space was not really used with no furniture to sit on.
Here we go the job complete it just needs plants and water.

12 comments:

Kitty said...

Tat's beautiful.

Anonymous said...

Bah, humbug on Blogger. This is my third try to leave a comment. I bet she's tickled with such a novel use of those tiles. Great job, Randy, in the heat and all.
Posting as anonymous, but it's me, Nell Jean.

Indie said...

Gorgeous! Those tiles are beautiful and such great accents for the bench and beds.

Rhonda Gales said...

Loving the bench. I'm picturing it in red or yellow in my backyard!

Bonnie K said...

I love the color, the raised beds (I seem to adore all raised beds), and the tile is the perfect finalie. Thanks for sharing such great ideas. You should be proud of your work. I also appreciate the 15 degree angle information.

Caroline Gill said...

Wow, Randy! The bench with tiles is utterly spectacular. Would love one in my garden (though it would need a roof to keep the rain away!).

Skeeter said...

Job Well done! It looks like a great place to sit and watch the plants grow!

ryan said...

Really nice. I love the color, how the tiles are used in the wood and also how the beds are staggered. Gonna be great when the beds are full of plants.

Janet, The Queen of Seaford said...

Love love love that big purple bench!! It will be a great place to sit when the weather is cooler.
You said you lined the planter boxes...are there drain holes in the bottom or is there no bottom to the box? Love the accent tiles on both the planter boxes and the bench.

Mil said...

I never thought of painting my raised beds before. The beds are beautiful!

Buy Final Fantasy XIV Gil said...

Really like love love that big violet bench!! It will be a good spot to sit when the elements is chilly.
You said you covered the planter containers...are there strain gaps in the end or is there no base to the box?
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