DIY Paver Planter

Recently I announced my partnership with The Home Depot for the 2015 Do-It-Herself (DIH) Workshops Program. Today, I'm sharing the first DIH project I will be demonstrating live at 6:30pm this Thursday at The Home Depot in Orion Township Michigan Click Here To Register.  During this free workshop Home Depot professionals will show you the steps required to make a Planter Box out of simple materials using easy to operate power tools. I will be there to co-host, share ideas on how to put your own twist on the project and show off my version of the Paver Planter. (If you are not local, no worries. You can attend your local Home Depot workshop instead).

Here is a sneak peek of my customized version of the DIH Paver Planter…

To make my planter I followed The Home Depot's Paver Planter instructions, but I made a few tweaks to customize the look.

Before I show you how I made my version, let me introduce you to The Home Depot's version and show you how to make it…

Tools you will need:

A circular saw

A power drill and bits

A caulking gun

Utility knife

Sand paper block

A paintbrush 

Two 48"Bungee cords

Tape measure

Pencil

Gloves 

Safety goggles

Materials you will need:

Four 12x12 pavers, any color

Two 8ft 2x2s

A bag of moisture control soil

A small roll of landscape fabric

A box of 3" exterior screws

Stain and polyurethane

Newspaper

Construction adhesive

Start by putting on your safety goggles and cutting the 2x2s into four pieces of 16" and eight pieces of 12". Using a sheet of fine grit sand paper sand each piece until it is nice and smooth. Wipe with a damp cloth to remove sanding dust. Apply your stain and polyurethane finish according to the instructions on the product and allow it to dry.

Next, pre-drill and countersink the 2x2 pieces together with the 16" pieces forming the legs and the 12" pieces forming the support between the legs. Apply construction adhesive and then screw in the 12" support pieces in so that they sit at 12" down the legs. This will allow for the top of the pavers and the top of the legs to sit flush around the entire top. Then, grab your remaining four 12" 2x2"s, pre-drill, apply some  glue, space them evenly across the bottom and screw them into the frame. Place a thick bead of adhesive along the inside edges of the frame. Gently place each paver into place from the front to direct any adhesive seepage to the inside of the planter.

 Once the pavers are all in place, wrap your bungee cords tightly around the planter. Allow at least 12 hours for the glue to set and form a strong bond before removing your bungee cords. Now your ready for some planting! Line the planter with landscape fabric, add planting soil and arrange plants or flowers however your heart desires. 

Now that you know how to make The Home Depot  DIH Paver Planter, I'd like to show you what I did to put my own twist on the project…

1. Instead of staining the 2x2 strips of wood before assembling my planter, I painted them black along with all sides of each paver using Rustoleum Satin Enamel. I gave the wood and the pavers two coats of paint, allowing 12 hours of dry time in between coats. 

2. Once my black paver planter was fully assembled and cured, I personalized it with our family Monogram. To create the monogram, I applied DecorArt Metallic Lustre Wax in gold to a wooden "M" purchased from the craft store. I attached the gold monogram to the front of my paver planter using Liquid Nails Adhesive. 

3. The last step I took to customize my paver planter was to embellish it with decorative finials. I purchased two sets of Martha Stewart Curtain Rod Finials and painted them black to match the planter. Then I attached one to each corner by pre-drilling a hole in the top of each post and screwing the finial into place. 

I'm so happy with the way my planter turned out. I'm in love with how it looks on our porch with a live Arborvitae planted inside. As a matter of fact, I love it so much that I am making another one to create a pair flanking our front entry. One tip I'd like to offer if you are going to be making this project, is to prepare all of your supplies in your work area, but move everything to the final location before assembling your planter. I recommend doing this because once it's fully assembled and filled with dirt, it is very heavy. My friend Kelly at LiveLaughRowe gave me this advice and I greatly appreciated it.

For more tips please visit your local Home Depot this Thursday, April 16th from 6:30-8:30 for a live demonstration on how to make this project. These free, hands-on workshops are held the third Thursday of every month at all Home Depot locations. Each month will feature a different project.

Local folks, I would love for you to come out this Thursday and join me for the live DIH Paver Planter Workshop in Orion Township! Please be sure to pre-register here. 

*This post is sponsored by The Home Depot. 

**The Home Depot partners with bloggers such as me for DIH Workshop program. As part of the program, I received compensation for my time. They did not tell me what to purchase or what to say about any product mentioned in these posts. The Home Depot believes that consumers and bloggers are to form their own opinions and share them in their own words. The Home Depot's policies align with WOMMA Ethics Code, FTC guidelines and social media engagement recommendations.