Stand ‘n Plant

Shipping pallets are a popular DIY muse for multiple reasons: price, versatility, and resilience. We published an article a few weeks ago dedicated to the beauty of shipping pallet decor (this one) to get you excited for a pallet project we can take ownership of! The idea came from Chrissy Ronje at The Grounds Guys, LLC who helped us put it all together.

What you’ll need for this Planter’s Workbench is:

• Power drill and drill bits
• Saw
• Screws (heavy duty, outdoor screws. Pallet wood is really hard)
• Nails
• Hooks
• Five shipping pallets
• Vinyl cover
• Tape measure
• Hammer
• Crowbar
• Level

The first stage of the building process is actually deconstruction. If you look at a pallet you’ll see there are three supporting planks spanning the length of the pallet. We detached each plank in order to access those support boards because they actually serve as the legs of our workbench. (Crowbar and hammer)

After we freed those boards we stood one up and marked how tall we wanted our table to be. We also hammered flat all of the nails that remained stuck in the wood for safety reasons. From there it was just a matter of cutting the wood down to size and making the other three match. If you want a smaller tabletop than what you see here, this is the appropriate time to cut your pallet down and use only half of it. (Saw, tape measure and hammer)

We laid the pallet right side up and attached the legs. To do so, we marked where the screws would enter the leg and where they would enter the pallet and made sure they lined up properly. Because pallet wood is so hard, it was crucial to pilot the holes first then put the screws into the designated holes. We used two screws on each leg. (Power drill, drill bits and screws)

Once all four legs were attached we flipped it upside down and balanced the construction on the four posts – the legs – and slid another pallet into the space between them. **Note: slide it in upside down – the idea here is that you’re working from the opposite direction, so when you turn it back over, you want the decided table side to be facing up. (Power drill, drill bits and screws)

Flip the construction back over and set the backing where you want  it attached. This is where you will screw in the hooks for your tools, make sure you can reach it for easy accesibility. Once you’ve placed the backing and made sure it is straight, screw the backing to your table top. Use at least four screws to ensure sturdiness. (Power drill, drill bits and screws)

Pilot holes in your backing where you will station your hooks. We used hooks designed as screws so all we had to do was twist them into place. (Power drill, drill bits and hooks)

Lay out your vinyl cover – this piece is optional. You can fill in the gaps between each plank of wood with scrap wood from your deconstruction process, but vinyl is very easy to wipe clean after you’ve finished playing with potting soil! We used a vinyl tablecloth, but your local fabric store will hold an abundance of color choices if you don’t like your grocery store options. We liked this one, it is festive and bright!  Nail it into place, screws will twist and destroy the vinyl. (Vinyl, hammer and nails)

Voila! What do you think?

We think this turned out absolutely wonderful; for those with green thumbs and bad knees, this is the perfect solution!

Thanks to The Grounds Guys for partnering with us on this project. We had a blast working with Chrissy! For great tips, be sure to follow The Grounds Guys on Twitter and like them on Facebook.

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