PROJECT: Convertible Coffee Table

Lars Dalsgaard — Wed, 18 Dec 2019 20:41:53 +0000

When space is tight, furniture that can serve two purposes can be a big help. A great weekend project, this clever piece gives a whole new meaning to “taking your coffee in bed.”

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PROJECT: Portable Gazebo

Lars Dalsgaard — Fri, 31 May 2019 15:28:59 +0000

Our octagonal gazebo can be placed anywhere as long as it is on a level surface. Decks and patios are ideal locations, but a flat, grassy area will work, too.

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PROJECT: Fold-up Greenhouse

Lars Dalsgaard — Wed, 15 May 2019 17:13:44 +0000

Greenhouses are great for starting plants earlier in spring and extending your growing season in fall. Unfortunately, they normally take up lots of precious yard space, can’t be disassembled or moved easily and are often difficult and expensive to build.

Your greenhouse will last a lot longer if you disassemble it at the end of the growing season and store it in a garden shed or garage. The walls and roof panels are hinged in pairs, so once construction is complete, there are only three assemblies plus the platform.

Not so with this design. It measures only 4 x 4 feet, disassembles in minutes with wingnuts and can be built in a weekend for less than $300.

Hang your plants on metal cables or long hooks. A long catch holds the door open for better ventilation on hot days.

Although this greenhouse is small, it can be used to start an entire garden’s worth of seedlings or grow a year’s supply of herbs. I use mine for tomatoes and cucumbers — plants that are tough to grow outside in our short, cool Denmark summers.

Stick-build the Gables Using a Template

– Place the back wall adjacent to a piece of plywood and draw the gable shape. Mark the angles (approximately 60°) on the rafters (pieces 12) and make your cuts.

– Join the rafters at the peak and to the top plate. Use exterior glue and galvanized screws. Make the job easier by pre-boring all screw holes and by clamping the workpieces together prior to driving the screws.

– Mark for the two angled cuts on the door header and make the cuts. Then glue and screw the header to the rafters.

Building the Roof and Wall Panels

Each joint is made with two screws spaced 3/4″ apart. Drill pilot holes to accept the screws. Be careful when screwing into end grain: it may split.

I used 1″ x 4″ pine for building the wall panels. Rip 6-ft. lengths to obtain all the long verticals (pieces 5 and 6), cross braces (pieces 7), door and door frame (pieces 8 and 9) and roof framing (pieces 14 and 15).

Make the process of assembling joints easier by clamping the parts together before driving screws. Use galvanized or stainless fasteners.

Break all sharp edges with 120-grit sandpaper, removing any splinters. Then cut to the lengths specified in the Material List. Next, cut all the horizontal framing members, including pieces 1 and 2.

To make the half-lap joints in the cross braces, make several crosscuts halfway through each brace. Then remove the waste with a chisel.

Rough-cut pieces 3, 4, 10, 11, 12 and 13, making them all an inch or two long. It’s easiest to take exact measurements for these parts, and make final cuts, during assembly.

Assemble the cross braces with exterior wood glue and screws. The author drives his screws at an angle to help ensure a secure joint.

Assemble the two sidewalls and back wall (all three are identical) using galvanized screws and mending plates. For the front wall, lay out pieces 1 and 5 in position on a flat surface. Lay a piece of plywood adjacent to the wall top.

Attach the vertical brace to the top and bottom plates with galvanized mending plates and screws. Check for square throughout the construction process.

Mark a centerline on the plywood. Then lay the boards for the rafters (pieces 12) in position and carefully mark them for the angled cuts. You’ll know the parts are placed correctly when the rafter boards and centerline intersect.

After assembling the roof frames with screws and mending plates, make the bevel cuts at the ridge-edges of the panels. Adjust your table saw to 30° to make the cuts.

The angle at the top plate should be approximately 30° and the angle at the peak should be approximately 60°. Make your rafter cuts and position them on the plywood once again. Now lay the door header (piece 13) in position and mark for the angled cuts.

Make a test assembly of the entire greenhouse by fastening the parts together with clamps. Check to see that everything fits together correctly.

Follow by measuring for pieces 8 and 4, making final cuts only when you’re sure they’ll fit snugly. You can then assemble the front wall using screws and mending plates.

At the non-hinged corners, drill holes in the framing for 3/16″-diameter bolts. A good way to keep the holes plumb is with a simple homemade jig, as shown. Pre-bore holes in the jig to guide the drill bit.

Take exact measurements for the door only after you have assembled the front wall. Cut door pieces 3, 9 and 10 to length, allowing for a 3/16″ gap around the door perimeter. Assemble the door using screws, and attach the door hinges. Cut duplicate rafters (pieces 12) for the back wall and assemble it in the same way you did for the front wall.

Once the wall panels are completed, you can clamp them together (check for square as you go) and fasten the remaining hinge leaves to the frame with screws. Clamp the hinges in place as you proceed around the corners.

Now assemble the roof panels using galvanized mending plates and screws. Bevel the top edges of the roof panels so they meet smoothly at the ridge. Make test cuts in scrap wood to find the proper angle.

Brace the two roof panels together at the proper angle. A helper or workstation with a clamp will come in very handy for this operation. The author recommends joining the roof panels along the ridge with three hinges.

Finish the door, wall and roof panels with a good primer and two coats of exterior enamel. When it’s dry, install the door stop (piece 17) and a latch in the front wall.

Adding the Glazing

Attach the polyethylene sheeting to the panels with staples. Work from the panel middles to the corners to avoid wrinkles. Then cut wood trim pieces, shown above, to fit over all edges and over the cross braces. Nail them in place with brads or with a power nailer.

The panes for the greenhouse are not made of glass — it would be too heavy and dangerous to move around. Instead, the frames are covered with plastic film, which is a less expensive but very efficient solution. The least expensive solution is to use the heaviest mil polyethylene you can find. Although it will eventually become brittle and cloudy due to the sun’s UV rays, it should get you through two or three seasons.

Once the trim pieces are in place, carefully cut off any excess sheeting with a utility knife. Use the trim pieces to guide the knife.

If you want something longer lasting, use greenhouse film. It is clear, strong and guaranteed to withstand the sun’s rays for up to four years. Greenhouse film is more expensive than the polyethylene you can buy at a home center, but it’s still less expensive than glass or acrylic. The cost of glazing for my greenhouse was approximately $100. Attach the film with staples, and then cover the staples and edges with trim.

Making the Platform

The platform is made of decking boards and sleepers. Lay out the sleepers and screw on the two end boards. Then evenly space the boards, leaving gaps for drainage. Screw them to the sleepers.

Cut decking boards and sleepers (pieces 18 and 19) to 55″ lengths and assemble them using galvanized screws. Evenly space the boards, allowing gaps for water to drain through to the ground.

It’s very important that you keep the platform level, so you should either level the ground or shim underneath the platform as necessary. Once it’s level, drill a hole in each corner of the platform for four landscape spikes.

Use pressure-treated wood for all decking boards as they will be subject to moist conditions and would otherwise rot.

Erecting the Greenhouse

Fasten the side-and-back-wall assembly to the platform using hinges, bolts and wing nuts. Do the same with the other side and front wall.

You are now ready to erect the greenhouse. With the assistance of a helper or the use of clamps, join the front wall to a sidewall with three hinges and secure it to the platform with a fourth hinge. Use bolts and wingnuts with all platform connections to make disassembly quick and easy.

You can join each non-hinged corner with two 3/16″ bolts and wing nuts. (Note the landscaping spike.)

Assemble the back wall and the remaining sidewall in the same manner and attach it to the platform. Then bore holes for joining the walls at the non-hinged corners and fasten these with bolts and wing nuts. Carefully attach the roof panels with bolts and wing nuts as well. Although the structure is quite stable at this point, I recommend the added precaution of staking the platform to the ground. Simply bore holes in the platform corners and drive landscape spikes through them.

To secure the roof panels, tap in the bolts and hand-tighten the wing nuts.

Add the plant containers next. Square plant containers will make the best use of the space and can be built from leftover scrap wood. Make them as large as possible so the soil does not dry out too quickly and so plant roots have plenty of growing room. Don’t forget to bore holes in the container bottoms to promote adequate soil drainage.

Where to Place Your Greenhouse

Locate your greenhouse in a sunny spot where you don’t mind losing a small patch of lawn. You can place it near a fence or building as long as the exposure is southern. A sheltered location will protect your greenhouse from winds and help it maintain warmer temperatures.

Click Here to Download the Drawings and Materials List.

Lars Dalsgaard is a woodworker from Denmark.

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Lars Dalsgaard, Author at Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To

PROJECT: Convertible Coffee Table

PROJECT: Portable Gazebo

PROJECT: Fold-up Greenhouse