Build a plant stand, advice for protecting it?

[amoriarty21]

The top 5 shelves are for bonsai, the rest will be for a few bonsai in training, a couple houseplants and seedlings. The two cantilever shelves and in fact, the whole shelf are fairly solid, to the point of overkill. The blue 5 gallon sitting on the shelf is full to the top with granite gravel, to the tune of perhaps 60-70 pounds. I used a photo of a cheapo knockoff 50 dollar piece of junk for the idea, then obsessively overengineered it because I was concerned about it feeling rickety.

It turned out better than my meager woodworking experience and few tools would have led me to expect. If you look closely, edges of the shelves are overlapping as opposed to mitered, and nothing was detailed with a router or anything fancy, but its solid. Its like a Jeep, not conventionally beautiful or well crafted, but it won't let me down.

I used a drill, circular saw, tepe measure and sanding block for construction. Splurged on stainless trim screws. Now I just worry about it getting waterlogged, moldy and rotting into a pile of mulch.

I know this is an old thread, so this might be a long shot, but I love your plant stand!

I'm interested in trying to make something similar and would love any tips you might have.

Did you end up documenting your design/materials/cost other than the pictures above?

Also, what did you end up using to seal it? And how has it held up?

 

[Matt B]

I know this is an old thread, so this might be a long shot, but I love your plant stand!

I'm interested in trying to make something similar and would love any tips you might have.

Did you end up documenting your design/materials/cost other than the pictures above?

Also, what did you end up using to seal it? And how has it held up?

I ended up making 3 stands, 2 for myself of slightly different form, and 1 for my fiancee's family. I made all with pressure treated lumber, and left them raw for the first year after which they got completely dried inside, as pressure treated wood has that chemical treatment. Of course they were being used for the whole year as plant stands, but surface water dries. After the first year, I sanded all the remaining greenish chemical residue and burrs off, and I treated them with Defy wood stain $52 on Amazon for a gallon, which was waaaaaay overkill. It did all three stands and I have plenty left over for another treatment next year. The first coat from last year is going strong. All of the stands are rock solid, none of the overhanging shelves warped or sagged. I can still sit on the top shelf without it feeling precarious, and I weigh 180. If I had it all to do over, I wouldn't change a thing. I'll take some photos and some measurements for you next weekend, as I'm out of town this week.

 

[Matt B]

 

[Matt B]

Here are some pictures that show the construction of the stands. The dimensions are not all that important, as long as the measurements and cuts are very consistent. I used a mixture of 2x2 pressure treated wood and1x2 pressure treated wood. I pre-drilled all holes to make sure that the screws wouldn't blow out the side of the slats and I countersunk each screw. To avoid splitting the wood I pre-drilled the space where the head of each screw would occupy when countersunk. Each vertical post is held to the base by 3 galvanized 5-in screws for stability. Try the best you can to send each piece of wood before you cut them. This will save a lot of unnecessary sanding of small pieces. Good luck, and I hope this helps.