Adventures in Table Top

So I am beginning my adventures with building some Table Top frames. For quite some time I have had ideas floating around in my head about what I wanted to build and have finally started constructing one. A couple of years ago, I had some early success with SFG using 2 - 4x4 boxes on the ground. That success only lasted about 1/2 the summer thanks to the fire ants, squirrels, cats and my dislike of working on the ground. 

I plan to build a 4'x4' TT about 32" off the ground. I am using 4x4 posts for the 4 corner posts and am trying to decide how high to go with them. Currently they are 8' but I don't think I want them that tall. I am thinking about cutting them down to 7' that way I can still reach the top without needing a ladder. I want all 4 corners to be that tall, so I can enclose it to keep the cats out, have built-in trellises and maybe even build in some sort of arbor on the top. (The general design would be similar to Chopper's) 

I have started the build and was able to notch out the 4x4's


More pictures and commentary to come.

Look forward to follwoing your progress, ralitaco.

Kelejan wrote:Look forward to following your progress, ralitaco.

+1

my 4x4 is set on concrete blocks and I have no problem with neighbors cats.....or my 2x4's.......and will last a lot longer.............ants could be a problem.......try sprinkling dry cleanser powder around the supports.......works with RV's while camping.....also
TABLETOPPER

Making progress a little at a time after work:
Got the sides cut, but at the expense of my old circular saw (I let the smoke out of it and couldn't get it back in.) Fortunately, I was able to limp through the last 3 cuts and temporarily attach the sides to the posts.

Smoking saw:

Corner close up - Outside:

Corner close up - Inside:

4x4 TT frame:

I'll be especially interested to see what you do with the top/trellis area.

Do you have much in the way of wildlife to be worried about?

Me too...but I have several ideas and if they don't work out the way I hope, I can fire up the chain saw and cut them off and then I will have the legs for another TT. 

As for critters...squirrels and cats with the occassional deer

So I ended up cutting the posts at 7'.
I went with 2 carriage bolts on the sides and a carriage bolt and 2 screws on the top. I felt like that would keep the box sturdy without having angle supports running to each leg. 

Just need to put the bottom plywood in and the plastic and ground cloth. 
Any suggestions on the thickness of the plywood. I am leaning towards 5/8" or 3/4" since the only support will be the 1.5" ledge it will be sitting on.

Here are some pictures (insert musical DaDaDaaaa now):

- Carriage bolts installed in sides



- Slightly offset so the bolts didn't hit each other in the 4x4 post


- Inside view of the carriage bolts for the side


- Deck picket for ledge for the plywood


- Ledge for plywood


- Top Corner with 1 Carriage bolt and 2 screws


- Inside Top Corner


- Top of Top Corner



Ready for some WHITE paint because my wife won't let me paint it BLUE and trim it out like the TARDIS.

Some things I learned so far:

1. This is very important...4 - 4x4x7' posts, 4 - 2x8x4' sides AND 4 - 2x4x4' top rim is VERY HEAVY.  

2. If I want a VERY HEAVY wooden structure in a certain spot in the yard...I should build it THERE not 50' away. 

3. My brain and ingenuity are what separates me from...ummm...Honey what did you say my brain and ingenuity separate me from again? 

4. I also learned that a dead push lawn mower with the motor removed, a 5' scrap of 2x6 and some screws come in very handy for items 1 and 2.  





Still very heavy but I was able to lift the end without the mower and push it across the yard with relative ease. I plan to modify the lawnmower deck so it is flat or so the board stays on top where the motor would sit. As it is now, the right side is lower than the left and that caused some slight issues as the frame slid to the wheel on the lower end.
A second mower deck on the other end would nice too. Especially if the wood is connected to the mower deck, then I may be able to steer  
Time to put on my thinking cap...

No one can say we aren't a clever bunch!

So several months have passed and all I have done is paint it white...so many months have passed that I think I need to repaint it, but that's what happens when people expect me to work my FT job. 

Any way, I am hoping to get some plywood this weekend and put a bottom in. If I am doing the math correctly...since a 2x8 is actually only 7.25"... and the ledge I installed is 1.5"...and the plywood is .75"; that will leave ONLY 5" from the top of the side to the bottom for the MM. I am wondering if that will be too shallow. If so, I am thinking I can find some metal bed rails to use for my ledge instead...any thoughts.

 (top pieces not in place yet in this photo)

Next: As you can see from the pictures, I have a 7' tall TT with "trellis" at the top. I am still not sure what I will do with them right now, but for now I was thinking about draping clear plastic over the entire thing...2 - 4' wide strips and tacking the edges to the vertical posts about 2/3 of the way down and weighing down and securing the bottoms in such a manner that I could easily lift them up to access the plants. 

Another option is to attach some 2x4's closer to the soil and draping the plastic from there in order to have a smaller area to heat.

In either case, I am not sure what to do to the bottom. I can enclose it with some plywood or put some syrofoam sheets under the plywood...any thoughts on either.

Thanks in advance,
Jim

I've found tanglefoot keeps any crawling creatures away from a raised area.
Just swab it on without leaving a space, nothing will pass.

Especially good on hanging  hummingbird feeders.

jimmy cee wrote:I've found tanglefoot keeps any crawling creatures away from a raised area.
Just swab it on without leaving a space, nothing will pass.

Especially good on hanging  hummingbird feeders.

thanks for the note on tanglefoot. I didn't know it work that well.

Ok So I built my TT in September and let it sit around until January when I painted it white. It has been sitting in the same spot since then but seems to have developed a mold issue. Not sure why this happened...thinking maybe since I only painted the one side or just because of the way the sun hits it there. Any thoughts on the cause and a solution? I am thinking of painting over it ENTIRELY with KILZ and running 6 mil plastic up the sides to prevent any contact with the soil...let me know your thoughts. Thanks

     

One more thing...the supports I put on the inside to hold the plywood are only 1.25" thick so with the plywood in place, I will have 5.25" of Mels Mix so that is what I am going to go with for now.

OMG...the Row Gardening devils are conspiring against me  ...I cleaned the mold last night with Hydrogen Peroxide. I am on call this weekend but didn't have any calls come in and was planning on painting my Table Top again this morning, then while that was drying prepare the plywood for the bottom and hopefully add the Mel's Mix that has been sitting in my shed for several years. I looked outside about 7 am and it was clear and sunny BUT NOW IT IS RAINING!!!! I already missed the window to plant cool crops and it looks like at this rate I will miss the rest too....ugh

ralitaco wrote:Ok So I built my TT in September and let it sit around until January when I painted it white. It has been sitting in the same spot since then but seems to have developed a mold issue. Not sure why this happened...thinking maybe since I only painted the one side or just because of the way the sun hits it there. Any thoughts on the cause and a solution? I am thinking of painting over it ENTIRELY with KILZ and running 6 mil plastic up the sides to prevent any contact with the soil...let me know your thoughts. Thanks

     

I work for a company that manufactures wooden pallets.  We always have a mold issue if the wood is not cured enough and just because we live in a high humidity area.  Wood has moisture in it.  That moisture, maybe high humidity, heat, no air movement, not enough sun, will all help to produce mold.  What we do to kill the mold on the pallets is to spray them with a mixture of water and household bleach and then let them sit in the sun and allow for proper air movement.

Thanks Yolos, 
That makes sense. I went back and I looked at the original pictures and didn't see any mold on the sides that have mold now. So there must have been moisture in those pieces...they may have been from the same lot. The back side that didn't have mold may have been from another lumber lot. 
Either way, I scrubbed them down with Hydrogen Peroxide and got out there and painted over them. Hopefully that will take care of the issue, if not there always Plan B...no wait...C or is it D? I didn't use Bleach because of some things I read on the Internet AND of course *everything on the Internet is true, right? 

So the SFG gods decided to smile on me today and they stopped the rain. So I went ahead and put a coat of paint on. If it rains again, I will look at this coat as a primer coat.
 


I also was able to cut the bottom and get it in place...WOOHOO  



Next I need to lay out the plastic to keep the MM from contacting the painted surfaces and the weed cloth to keep the MM from falling out the holes. Then I get to empty my shed so I can get to the MM that is stored in the very back corner.

Any suggestions on how much NEW compost I need to add to "re-activate" the old MM?

*Bon Jour,
Your friendly French Model 

Don't forget to drill the drainage holes in the plywood.

Thanks Sanderson...1 hole per square plus 1 in each corner (1/4" holes)
Doesn't look like enough but that's what the book says so...

Plant when you can and be happy doing it...We really cannot depend on weather any more

A Picture is worth a 1,000 words...so let me use about 8,000...

6mm Plastic to help protect the plywood and to act as a buffer between the MM and the Paint
 
Weed Cloth to keep the MM from going out the holes
 
Now where did I store those bags?????


And FINALLY after starting this project back in September 
(Click to PLAY MUSIC)
Heeeeeeeeeere's MEL'S MIX    
   


I still have to put in my grids and I am going to put a cap along the top edge of the box. 2 reasons for that: 1. so I have a shelf to sit my drink or tools, etc AND 2. to give me a little more height on the sides. By the time I put in ridge for the plywood to sit on and the plywood, I only ended up with 5" to the top of the box. While I think that will work, I want a little more height.

Almost forgot, I did get that MM soaked pretty good in its new home and just as advertised...the excess water drained off out the little holes. However, I did find out that I forget to do one thing before I added the MM; I forgot to level it out. One corner had a steady stream running out of it, but nothing I can't go back and fix...it'll just be a little more work.

jimmy cee wrote:Plant when you can and be happy doing it...We really cannot depend on weather any more

As far as depending on the weather, we never could and we never will. Except that it will do exactly the opposite of what we want when we want it.

Ta da!

Just wondering if I messed up by not putting any support under the plywood except along the edges. 

I am thinking I could run some metal straps or steel cables under the plywood if needed.
Of course I think of this AFTER I put in the MM.

Has anyone else built their 4x4 TT with support just along the edges?
Anyone have any horror stories of the bottom falling out?

Thanks