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Leaving the box itself untreated is a deliberate trade, not an oversight: treated lumber's preservatives are exactly what you don't want leaching into soil that's growing food, so only the legs — which never touch the growing medium — get the benefit of rot-resistant stock. Raising the whole bed off the ground on those legs also does double duty against a real pest problem: soil-dwelling insects like vine borer beetles have to actually climb up and over the legs to reach the plants, instead of simply being in the ground the bed sits on.
Every corner of this box is a metal strap-tie rather than a screwed butt joint or a mitered corner, which is what lets it go together fast with only a drill — no dado joints, no pocket holes, nothing that needs a jig. The trade is that the ties are visible on the outside of the box, which is a fair price for a raised bed that goes together in an afternoon.
| Item | Qty |
|---|---|
| Pine, 2x6, 16 ftUntreated, so nothing leaches into the soil. | 4 each |
| Cedar, 4x4, 8 ftRot-resistant — used only for the legs, which stay clear of the soil. | 1 each |
| Wood screws, 2" | 2 box |
| Metal strap-ties, straight | 16 each |
| Metal strap-ties, bent 90° | 8 each |
| Wood glue | 4 oz |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Box base and wall sidesPine 2x6 | 10 | 1 1/2" × 5 1/2" × 60" |
| Box end wallsPine 2x6 | 6 | 1 1/2" × 5 1/2" × 19" |
| LegsCedar 4x4 | 4 | 3 1/2" × 3 1/2" × 24" |
Buy 12 boards at 8 ft.
2 boards
10 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 →
Drill two screw holes on one end of a 60" side piece, spaced 3/4" from the end and 1-1/2" from the sides. Set a 19" end piece at a 90° angle, lining up the ends, and drive a 2" screw into each hole to form an L-shape. Repeat for all three pairs, so each of the three walls gets one L-shaped corner.
Connect each L-shaped corner to its matching side and end piece, drilling two more holes and driving two more screws to close the L into a full box. You'll end up with three 22" x 60" wall boxes.
On one of the three wall boxes, line up four 60" base boards side by side and drill two holes through each into the box wall below, fastening the solid base in place. Flip the box over so the base faces up, and attach a 4x4 leg at each corner: drill through the base into the leg and drive one screw, then reinforce with two bent strap-ties per leg (one on each side), fastened with screws.
Flip the base-and-legs unit upright. Run a bead of wood glue along the top of the base wall, set the two remaining wall boxes in place, and join each seam with straight strap-ties — eight per wall, near each corner — fastened with screws on both ends.
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