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This is the budget king of elevated planters — four cedar fence pickets (the cheap dog-eared ones are fine), one 2x2, one 1x2, and a box of screws. The design gets away with so little material because the picket cladding IS the structure: two boards high screwed to 2x2 corner legs, everything flush to the outside edges, no frame inside.
Because the pickets do double duty, the flush-to-outside-edges instruction is structural, not cosmetic. When each picket lands flush on the leg edge, the box walls close into a rigid tube; proud or shy boards leave the legs carrying twist on their own, and 2x2 legs have no twist to spare.
The bottom is the detail that makes this a planter instead of firewood-in-waiting: 1x2 cleats screwed to the legs carry picket slats laid with gaps, and the source flags the cleat length as measure-and-cut-to-fit because picket thickness varies board to board. Soil sits on landscape fabric over the slats; water runs straight through. A solid, gapless bottom is the classic elevated-planter mistake — it holds water, rots first, and dumps thirty pounds of wet soil on your shoes a season later.
At this size the box holds roughly three cubic feet of soil — wet, that's real weight. Fill it where it will live.
| Item | Qty |
|---|---|
| Cedar fence picket, 5-1/2" x 72"Dog-eared is fine — plan the cuts so the clipped ends land in scrap or under soil. | 4 each |
| 2x2, 8 ftLegs. Furring-strip grade is fine; pick a straight one. | 1 each |
| 1x2, 8 ftBottom cleats. Furring strip fine. | 1 each |
| Self-tapping wood screws, 1-1/4" | 50 each |
| Landscape fabricLines the slatted bottom — holds soil, passes water. | 1 each |
Overall cost: $. Lumber prices vary by region, species, and season, so we give a band rather than a figure we would only be pretending to know.
| Part | Qty | T × W × L |
|---|---|---|
| Legs2x2 | 4 | 1 1/2" × 1 1/2" × 23 3/4" |
| Side boardsCedar fence picketTwo per side, stacked. | 4 | 5/8" × 5 1/2" × 35 1/2" |
| End boardsCedar fence picket | 4 | 5/8" × 5 1/2" × 17" |
| Bottom cleats1x2Measure and cut to fit YOUR box — picket thickness varies and the inside length moves with it. | 2 | 3/4" × 1 1/2" × 34" |
| Cleat ends1x2 | 2 | 3/4" × 1 1/2" × 14" |
| Bottom slatsCedar fence picketLaid with gaps — the drainage plan. | 4 | 5/8" × 5 1/2" × 17" |
Buy 8 boards at 8 ft.
2 boards
2 boards
4 boards
Assumes 8 ft stock, a 1/8" saw kerf, and buying each part at its own width. Change the board size or kerf on the full board plan →
Screw two 17" picket boards across a pair of legs — two 1-1/4" screws per joint, everything flush to the outside edges. Build the second end on top of the first so they match.
Flush matters here more than usual: the pickets are the structure, and a flush skin is what makes the box rigid.
Stand the two end assemblies up and screw the four 35-1/2" side boards to the legs, outside edges flush, two screws per joint. The floppy pieces become a rigid box on the last board.
Measure the actual inside of your box — not the cut list; picket thickness moved it — and cut the 1x2 cleats to fit. Screw them to the legs and lower board, two screws per joint, level with each other. These four sticks carry all the soil weight, so screws into the LEGS, not just the thin cladding.
Lay the four bottom slats across the cleats with even gaps and tack each with a single screw per end. The gaps are the drainage — do not close them up.
Line with landscape fabric, carry the planter to its permanent home, THEN fill. Wet soil at this volume is a two-person regret if you fill it in the garage. Plant herbs, lettuce, or the tomatoes that will absolutely outgrow it.
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