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Mojo Hand

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I had a big section of exposed foundation near our mudroom entry that I was having a tough time figuring out how to deal with.  It was kind of narrow, so it was gonna be hard to do any big plants to soften the space.  I had some 1/4" steel plate cut to spec, then welded up a raised planter box.  16" deep and about 36" high.  I forgot to take pics during the build, but I used 1x1x1/8" angle iron to stiffen everything up and cross-brace it.  Finished it with Penetrol as a clear coat.  It'll take some maintenance, but I didn't want it to rust out, and I didn't want to paint it.  Planted a few smaller plants, and hoping the rosemary spills over.  May do some ivy at the base too.  Still need to fill in the gap between the steps and the box with some decomposed granite or mulch if I go with the ivy, but really happy with how it turned out.  

IMG_2441.jpeg

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1 hour ago, Spaulding Smails said:

I had a big section of exposed foundation near our mudroom entry that I was having a tough time figuring out how to deal with.  It was kind of narrow, so it was gonna be hard to do any big plants to soften the space.  I had some 1/4" steel plate cut to spec, then welded up a raised planter box.  16" deep and about 36" high.  I forgot to take pics during the build, but I used 1x1x1/8" angle iron to stiffen everything up and cross-brace it.  Finished it with Penetrol as a clear coat.  It'll take some maintenance, but I didn't want it to rust out, and I didn't want to paint it.  Planted a few smaller plants, and hoping the rosemary spills over.  May do some ivy at the base too.  Still need to fill in the gap between the steps and the box with some decomposed granite or mulch if I go with the ivy, but really happy with how it turned out.  

IMG_2441.jpeg


Pretty damn fine solution.  You added drainage holes, right?

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2 hours ago, blacklab said:

where did you get the steel plate? How much was it? 

I'm looking for some for a smoker I'm building and everything I'm seeing is stupid expensive.

Westbrook Metals.  I think it was about $1,800 for all the materials including the cuts on the plate.  Way more expensive than the last significant build I did 3-4 years ago.  Easily double what I was thinking.  

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56 minutes ago, thunderlounge said:


Pretty damn fine solution.  You added drainage holes, right?

Yep.  Drainage holes on both sides.  But it also sits under an overhang and has lots of 2" bull rock that I had left over from another project in the bottom, so it should drain well regardless.  I don't have irrigation yet, but also ran a sleeve of PVC vertically with a 90 and a hole in the bottom to pull drip irrigation through eventually.  Already tired of hand watering it.

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Back when I moved into the current house, I built a deck rail box out of cedar.

Lined the bottom with pond liner, and put (2) 4” drain tiles from end to end in the bottom.

Then put a 1/2” hole through one end for a horizontal pipe overflow, top of hole even with top of tile, and put a vertical pipe about 6” taller than the side, that went through the top of one of the drain tiles. This was the fill pipe.

Covered the drain tile with old t-shirts, and put dirt in it.

 

Self watering, took the hose to it every week or so until it just started to come out the overflow.
 

It finally met its demise last summer when we rebuilt the deck. 12 years of service, can’t complain (other than what it would cost to do the same now.)


When I move in a few years, I’ll definitely be incorporating similar where called for. 

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Not finished still a good amount to do, but sized it up and got the drawers and drawer fronts installed.  

I built the top piece to go on as well.  

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Built the top shelving and above that will be my rack mount for my media server.

First coat of paint on, hope to have it all done by Friday.  Might get a bug up my ass and install the drawer pulls tonight

 

image.thumb.jpeg.3a641e068ee0b4a0485d0a9f89e612c7.jpeg

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On 4/9/2024 at 8:05 PM, uoftorange said:

Not finished still a good amount to do, but sized it up and got the drawers and drawer fronts installed.  

I built the top piece to go on as well.  

image.thumb.jpeg.a44da8c903b96afebc238083b2d4ef0b.jpeg

Built the top shelving and above that will be my rack mount for my media server.

First coat of paint on, hope to have it all done by Friday.  Might get a bug up my ass and install the drawer pulls tonight

 

image.thumb.jpeg.3a641e068ee0b4a0485d0a9f89e612c7.jpeg

Hiding cash under your shoe in a clear box, huh? 
 

That looks great.  Following because full closet is in my list. But I don’t have the talents for this.  If wife would let me weld something up, I’d be in business. 

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14 minutes ago, fattyflattie said:

Hiding cash under your shoe in a clear box, huh? 
 

That looks great.  Following because full closet is in my list. But I don’t have the talents for this.  If wife would let me weld something up, I’d be in business. 

Actually it's some extra insoles lol.  They work amazing in Jordan's and dunks.  

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And I got that bug and went hard after it.  Painted the last coat on the top box late last night.  Then painted the wall, etc.  Got it all installed and cleaned up!  I'm pretty excited to be done with it.  I can start putting my closet back together now

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15 hours ago, Gil Bang said:

We bought a sink that came with a bamboo cutting board.  The board is looking a little funky.  Can I sand and oil to refresh? 

You can - though by "funky" do you mean it's splitting? Or just grimy from food?

I try to sand + refinish our built in cutting board about yearly. One round of 120 grit + food safe finish and it's back to new. I've used Tried and True Danish Oil in the past for this.

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