Plywood Bottom - Help!

blueandwhite 2/9/2013, 2:10 pm

I've assembled a 4'x4' SFG box (which really is 4'2" x 4'2" because I did as Mel instructed and rotated the corners when building the box). This will be a table top garden, so I'm ready to attach the plywood. And, as he instructed I purchased a 4'x4' piece of plywood (not even realizing at the time that the box is actually slightly larger than 4'). So now we're actually a bit short on plywood - it does not reach to the edges of the SFG box. I've searched and searched and not seen any other posts about this. Doesn't the plywood need to reach to the edges of the box so that it is as secure and supportive as possible? I'm using 3/4" plywood. Thanks in advance for the help!

JackieB999 2/9/2013, 2:14 pm

I'd want the plywood to be for the entire square. If you wanted to move it, a loose bottom wouldnt work and it also wouldnt keep some bugs out.

Can you adjust the frame down to 4x4? I would try that before buying another bottom.

blueandwhite 2/9/2013, 2:18 pm

Thanks, Jackie, for your thought on that. I'm sure we can adjust it down by dismantling the whole thing. We'd lose some gardening space, but I suppose that's fine. What I don't understand is - am I the only one to run into this problem? We followed the instructions to a t. We keep thinking maybe we're just missing something here, misunderstanding, reading something incorrectly.

JackieB999 2/9/2013, 2:25 pm

You know, you're right. A 4' board with another one attached to the end makes 4'2". Mel put his directly on a weed mat and grass in the book. I'm using 5 gallon containers myself (12" diameter). So that is an excellent question!

mtottle 2/9/2013, 2:39 pm

It's actually 4' 1½".. Unless you specifically ask for dimensional lumber, a 2x4 is 1½x3½".. Wink

The best thing to do is to disassemble it and chop 1½" off each board, then reassemble it, since you will not find plywood 4'1½" wide. You want the plywood to go edge to edge so that you can center the screws into the lumber. Otherwise you'll wind up splitting it.

**camprn** 2/9/2013, 2:42 pm

I would just screw a few rails on the interior of the box boards on all sides and drop the plywood bottom into the box. Line with weed barrier, add Mel's Mix and go.

That or put stretches (support strap) from one side to the other, then drop the plywood into the box.

greengrass 2/10/2013, 1:28 pm

how does this work for drainage?
is it just a case of drilling lots of holes into the ply,
or is there some other way.
gg

blueandwhite 2/10/2013, 1:29 pm

GreenGrass - the book says to drill a hole in each square foot section, plus an extra hole in each corner.

**camprn** 2/10/2013, 1:45 pm

greengrass wrote:how does this work for drainage?
is it just a case of drilling lots of holes into the ply,
or is there some other way.
gg

That's what I do. I want drainage not a sieve, so I put 1/4"-1/2" holes every 6"-8" apart.

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Plywood Bottom - Help!

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