The Craftiest Workshop

Last fall, my husband drove to St. Paul to help a friend tear down his barn.
Though he was ok with helping, he was hoping to bring back some of the wood.

The outer part of the barn was reddish shiplap but it was the wood inside that interested him.

There were thick long beams and pieces of wood with spots worn smooth by animals rubbing against the wood.

One of the first projects he made was this bench made with some of the thicker pieces. I needed a bench on the side of the garage where it tends to always be warm and where I like to sit and sand projects.

Another project he decided to try were these tall planter boxes with the shiplap used for the outside. About halfway up inside is a shelf. The inside top section is lined with plastic, rock added, black landscape tarp and then the soil. He drilled a hole in the side just at the top of the rock and put in a piece of plastic tubing. The idea would be to fill the rock area with water via the tube and be able to go longer without having to water.

The one planter box has a full front and back.

I should mention that the yellowness of the pictures is the hazy wildfire smoke.

For the other planter box he built it with a square hole in it to hang a stained glass spinner that he had made.

This photo was taken a day later and everything looks much less yellow…less smoke.

These planter boxes were just moved onto the deck with the plastic, rock, black tarp and soil added. I may try to cut the plastic and tarp a bit more. Like most men, my husband finished it to be functional, not necessarily pretty.

Last fall they only salvaged wood from part of the barn.
He is supposed to go back and help with rest.
I wonder what other barn board projects he will come up with.