Thread: Help with designing Bench Seat for tidying up old pots n fertiliser storage area

Just found some western red cedar cladding (tongue n grove).

Which I haven't worked with before.

Wonder if there is any reason I should NOT use it.

133x10 western red cedar shiplap Lining Cladding timber wood
133x10 Western RED Cedar Shiplap Lining Cladding Timber Wood in VIC | eBay

I've also found some Kampus thats finger jointed as well.
That I haven't worked with before either.
It's half the price of the Merbau (Merbau not finger jointed).

Any thoughts?

I like the western red cedar. Is this area totally exposed to the elements?

Thanks for the reply.

Pretty much.

its half way under an awning attached to the house north side of the house.
But doesn't go any further.
So 1 meter under the awning and 1 meter not.

But it's on the north east side of the house so not exposed to the south western side of the bad weather.
With a 3' brick work surround and 8' high fence won the west side and the norht side and the two story wall hoding the awning right next to it.

So deducing I'd say no not totally exposed to full weather.

And pretty much we'll only see it a few times a year of just one side of each and the tops mainly.

I've pretty much decided on the Kampas as its so cheap. around $80 per box not covering the bottom.
Kempas Screening 90x16 Finger Jointed 5 7M Lengths Merbau Alternative in VIC | eBay


And the lady thinks the finger joints checkered coloring might be interesting.Garden storge area.skp


But some Merbau finger jointed here as well.
Merbau Hardwood Timber Screening Fence Fencing 70x10mm Treated Pine Specialists in VIC | eBay

If this is just going to be used for storage then you pretty much building a box. The only consideration that I would have is in regards to the width of this should allow access to the full length of the box. If this is going to be used as a prep station for potting then you might consider having the bottom section open. The drawback is if this is seen from within the house it might not look very pretty.

Thanks for the reply.

Just for storage.
Not a prep station as I've already made one.

Can't see it unless you're right on top of it.
Or looking for it.

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Not bad at all ....

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Note to self.
@5.4 meter lengths (had to buy 11 to get my 21 lengths of 2m.
with an extra 2m length.

And and extra 11 1.4 offcuts I can use for 14 600mm lengths
Leaving 4 1.4 cutoffs I can make into 8 600mms lengths left for the next box.

I calculated $98 for 4m2.
And ended up spending about $116 with a discount I didn't clarify.


Help carry the length as some splitting might occur at the finger join at the fulcrum of the 5.4 lengths.
Finger Joints are NOT perfect.
But pretty close as only a few of the joints needed work.
Like sanding down(2) or filling(1)

If you're getting the timber yard guy to cut it down for you,
make sure you get him to cut 15 to 20mm long as the tear out is pretty bad.

And make sure he stacks as many as he can to prevent multiple tear out.

The sliding saw he uses should have zero clearance channel.

Be happy as in comparison $1.99 lm is a fantastic buy!

The timber look pretty good.

Thanks Christos!

Anyone have a recommendation on 12mm ply frame?

In the vid he uses 36mm ply with battens.
He's got enough end grain to screw into securely.

12mm ply does't

So a quick frame on the end panels to start with.
then carried over to the bottom panel.

He also mentioned 3 * the thickest
so 3 * 12mm = 36mm2 battens

Im thinking

#6?
45mm buggel batten screws - hex head
course thread
Galvanised or Climaseal (Exterior)

suggestion are welcome

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Sam from masters on the south eastern and toorak rd recommended there screws.
The youtube vid suggested you don't need to pre drill.
With my super cheap Kempas you do have to pre drill.

$7.50 / wheel with 150kg rating.

Some pics so far.

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Update: full width 90mm kempas screwing in the middle I did NOT have to pre drill.

35mm wide and a bit too close to the end and the kempas did split.
Even after replacing and pre drilling it did split again.
Probably needs larger pre drill holes for that width and position. grrrrr

Garden supplies (before and after) cleaned up and storage seat in place! I swear its bigger than a coffin. Eileen on top to show how big it is. No we’re not sizing her up. Hard to tell but yes thats her happy. trying to put up with me and balance, pos and smile for a pic. LOL. Can't think of a better way to spend the Queens Birthday Holiday!


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Still needs to be oiled.

Can't decide to place hinges or not as I expect we'll be opening it once or twice a year.

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Looks nice wet from a decent rain.
Half exposed half protected.

Some of the joins are showing glue.
So sanded those back just a bit.

Did noticed some of the joins were pitted and will probably pool with rain.

Any suggestions on filler?



Wanted to inspect the structural ply inside.
The top was so heavy I had to install some hinges.

Best I could come up with:
https://www.masters.com.au/product/9...e-bronze-915mm

The other selection was a gate hinge.
None looked that great at this price.

So add another $28 to the cost of the project.

Had to trim the ply and the box frame back to allow for closing on hinges instead of just picking the lid straight up.

The ply was soaked wet thru on the inside lid after such a heavy rain.
None of the sides nor the bottom were wet.

Not happy to leave the lid like that.
Exposed to the elements etc.

Now wondering if I should sandwich a length of 3mm marine ply between the structural plywood box inner layer and the kempas outer layer just on the lid.

The front edge of the lid overlaps about 30mm to get your fingers under to lift open.
It was a bit spongy so added a few more screws and now rock solid.

Now thinking I should add a few more screws to the hinge boards.

And still needs to be oiled.

Great result Barry!!

keep the protective coating up to scratch. I would hate to see all that effort in planning
and making undone by lack of preventive therapy!!

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Garden Storage Bench v2