Build a home for garden tools

During a recent repair to our potting shed, we decided to organize our garden tools. We’d been storing the shovels, rakes, brooms, etc. in a plastic garbage barrel, and from a distance the conglomeration resembled a large, ugly floral arrangement. The handles would get tangled up, and it was hard to get what you needed when you needed it.

So we decided to design a homemade receptacle that would solve the problem once and for all.

The idea was to stand the tools up, handle down, in some short pieces of plastic pipe, bundled together in a frame and mounted low against a wall. By drilling pipe-size holes in plywood, we could space the pipes just how we wanted them.

The process was simple, quick and inexpensive, and the end result turned out to be perfect.

We started by cutting two rectangular pieces of 5/8-inch plywood, one for the rack’s upper shelf and the other, matching it, as the bottom shelf. We decided our sheets would be 2-by-4 feet in size, but any size is fine if it fits your particular needs. For more tools, use larger plywood sheets.

We screwed the two sheets together during the drilling process, so the holes would be in perfect alignment.

And we spaced the holes far enough apart that our tools wouldn’t smack into each other when placed in the rack. The pipes in each row were 4 inches apart (center to center) and the rows were 6 inches apart. Again, the spacing can be whatever you want it to be.

We also staggered the holes in each row, which added versatility.

Once the layout was complete, we drilled the holes. We chose 2-inch plastic pipe because it has a large enough inside diameter to hold picks and other large handled implements. Again, you can pick the pipe size right for you.

We then used a 2 3/8-inch drill bit to cut holes in the plywood to match the outside diameter of 2-inch PVC pipe. Ten minutes later, we had the top and bottom pieces drilled and ready for assembly.

Since we had decided to build the rack into a wall, the next step was to mount ledgers to hold the shelves. We cut 1-by-2-inch boards to equal the length of our sheets and attached them to the wall. The bottom ledger was 3 inches off the floor, and the top ledger was nailed 21 inches off the floor. We had decided on 2-foot-long tubing, and wanted it to protrude above the top shelf by about 3 inches.

Next, we placed the long side of one of the drilled shelves onto the lower ledger while supporting the opposite side with a few blocks of wood to keep everything as level as possible during assembly.

We then screwed (nails are also OK) the bottom shelf to its ledger, and then mounted the top sheet. We used an upside-down flower pot and a few shims between the shelves to hold the top one in place during attachment.

With the ledgers and plywood snugly secured, it was time to create and add the side pieces. We cut two pieces of plywood 2-feet square. They equaled the depth of the drilled shelves and were a few inches taller than the top shelf. We screwed 1-by-2-inch ledgers to the inside face of the side panels at the same height as the ones on the wall, and then positioned the side panels and screwed the top and bottom panels to their respective ledgers.

We had already precut a bunch of 24-inch lengths of PVC pipe. (By the way, we used schedule 80 pipe because it is so strong.) The next step was installing them.

Here’s what made this project so very easy and sturdy. We simply slipped each pipe down through the top hole into the bottom hole and let the bottom rest on the ground. With the back row of pipes in place, we wedged two screws between the outside of the pipe and the inside, bottom edge of the hole in the plywood. Next, we did the same thing at the top edge. We installed all the tubes one row at a time, from back to front.

Next, we cut a piece of plywood to cover the front of the assembly, and screwed it into the shelves and side panels. Note that the box and shelves had become very sturdy when the tops and bottoms of the tubing were wedged into place with the drywall screws.

As a finishing touch, we added pipe drain escusions (trim rings) on the top shelf around each protruding pipe. That covered any drilling imperfections and the attachment screws.

In summary, the task goes like this:

•Cut 2 sheets of plywood to matching length and width.

•Lay out the holes and drill to the selected pipe diameter.

•Cut ledgers and attach them to the wall.

•Attach the top and bottom plywood shelves to their ledgers. The shelves must align vertically. Use temporary supports at the opposite side of the sheets to ensure they are level and true.

•Cut and install side panels with additional ledgers for connection strength.

•Cut and insert the PVC pipe tubes.

•Wedge a drywall screw or two between the outside of the pipe and the inside edge of the hole in the plywood, both top and bottom. We used two screws at each location just to be sure. Work from back to front, attaching one row at a time to ensure easy access.

•Cut and install a front panel by face-screwing it into the side panels and shelves.

•Trim the finished product with escusions for a professional look.

•Putty and paint.