Old deck boards recycled into bench

By S. Virginia De Herdt
Correspondent

A retired kitchen sink and redwood from our deck's old floor have found a new life in our back yard. With simple hand tools, we recycled them into a potting bench that stands beside the storage shed where I keep my gardening materials.

While my husband, Rick, is not a professional carpenter, the potting bench he made last summer seems pretty sturdy and is just what I've wanted.

After we sketched a design and discussed assembly strategy, he made the potting bench in two sections--the table section and the shelf section --which were then attached. The shelf section provides additional support legs at the back of the table.

Rick used a circular saw to cut all the needed pieces of 2x6 redwood. (All dimensions are in inches unless otherwise indicated.) Some of the pieces were imperfect, giving the bench an instantly rustic look. He didn't miter the corners--pieces were simply butted together and attached with wood screws.

Our old sink is 33W x 22D, requiring an opening of 32 1/4W, 21 1/4D. When we installed the sink, a small gap remained behind the sink. Rick attached a length of wood (3/4D) to fill the gap and support the back lip of the sink.

We also had a piece of plastic lattice, leftover from an arbor project, which we attached to the back side of the shelves.

Here are a few details to help plan a potting bench construction project using recycled materials.

• Total linear feet of 2x6 boards: 68.25
• Table section: 33H x 72W x 22D
• Shelf section: 58H x 76W x 6D
• Lattice behind shelves: 74W x 24D
• Phillips flat head wood (deck) screws: about 100 No. 8, 3-inch
• Tools: circular saw, electric drill and screw driver attachment, measuring tools, square, pencil and saw horses.

Brief directions.

1. Assemble table section: Construct the rectangular frame for the sink and the work surface. Attach one end of each work surface board inside it; attach other ends to a board inside the frame that separates work surface from and supports one side of the sink. Use wood lengths of appropriate thickness to fill any remaining gaps so that sink is supported on all four sides. Attach leg boards flush in each corner of frame. Insert sink in its space.
2. Assemble shelf section. Shelves butt inside the two legs.
3. Securely attach the completed shelf section to the table section.
4. Attach lattice to back of shelf section.

After the basic construction work was completed, I splurged on decorative hooks to fit the cat theme of our shed. On each shelf side, I installed hangers to hold 6-inch flower pots. Water must still come from a hose running from the spigot at the back of our house.