# Outdoor Plant Stand



## custard (2 Jun 2019)

I need to make a quick job for the house, a plant stand that rests against a wall. It will look something like this.






Here's my question. How would you prevent the feet from rotting? It will sit on flagstones rather than soil, so I was thinking of a stainless steel screw in each foot to lift it above the moisture, but does anyone have any better ideas?

Thanks


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## Mrs C (2 Jun 2019)

Masonry paint was suggested to me for some thing similar which sits on grass. Too soon to know if it works, but the advice was on good authority!


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## Marineboy (2 Jun 2019)

I'm not sure if the screw will be the complete solution. It will keep the foot of the upright off the flag but in my experience you will get as much water bouncing off the flag onto the wood as might be absorbed through the base.


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## Bm101 (2 Jun 2019)

Yeh but it won't be sitting in water. And air will circulate so it can dry. Tanalised timber treated every couple of years should be fine shouldn't it?
You sure you're up to the joinery for this Custard?!? It's a pretty involved undertaking. 
:shock:


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## Callum (2 Jun 2019)

I saw a video today on YouTube where someone painted the bottom of his fence posts with bitumin paint. Don’t know if you painted an inch or so up the leg of that would help?


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## doctor Bob (2 Jun 2019)

I made outdoor benches, I put M8 stainless steel bolts in the bottom. not only stops them sitting in moisture but can be used to level them up.


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## Osvaldd (2 Jun 2019)

All my outdoor furniture has bolt feet. No sign of rot after 2 years yet.


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## Nelsun (2 Jun 2019)

Made some planters and used stainless bolts too. Figured the endgrain could do with "something" other than just paint and used pound-shop epoxy I had kicking around.


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## Bm101 (2 Jun 2019)

Just a thought Custard. We used to use Ensele for decking. Hot day ideally, leave the ends standing in a pot. The Ensele was blue but dried clear.
But knowing your love for Osmo...
https://www.wood-finishes-direct.com/pr ... gJFQPD_BwE


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## Phil Pascoe (2 Jun 2019)

I soaked the legs of a garden bench in preservative, let them dry then stuck Flashband to the bottoms - we moved fifteen years later and there was no sign of rot.


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## Hornbeam (2 Jun 2019)

You could use plastic corner blocks (the square ones not the 45 degree ones) and screw them in to the bottom to form feet about 10mm high
https://www.screwfix.com/p/white-assemb ... pack/25399
Ian


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## Jamesc (3 Jun 2019)

+1 for stainless scews

Our garden regularly floods during the winter and we have woodend structures that are now 14 years old. 
I was told (i think it was on here) that as long as the timber has a chance to dry out it will take the soakings, it seems to be working

James


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## custard (3 Jun 2019)

Thank you all for your suggestions. Stainless steel screws/lag bolts it is.


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## Sawdust=manglitter (3 Jun 2019)

You could always try out epoxying the end grain as well as the stainless bolt for a bit more piece of mind?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oY6JMxYrAoQ

Edit: I missed Nelsun's suggestion above


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## Jamesc (3 Jun 2019)

To mind I worry about sealing the ends as any moisure that gets in will be trapped by the sealing.

James


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## Woody2Shoes (3 Jun 2019)

Yup +1 for stainless screws/bolts (two on each foot) to allow air to circulate underneath.

IME all timber - tanalised/treated or not - which cannot dry out properly (ie by being in direct contact with the ground) will rot, the only question is when.

Painting impermeable stuff on the bottom will trap moisture and accelerate rot.

Cheers, W2S


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## thetyreman (3 Jun 2019)

I recently made this 



Finished Outdoor Steps 2 by Ben Tyreman, on Flickr

used coach screws M10 size to raise it from the concrete.


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## MattyT (4 Jun 2019)

Hi,

My outdoor furniture has bolted feet and prevents rotting because of the air flow. 
I'd bore 2 holes into the bottom of each leg of the plant stand and then use a hammer to tap a T-nut into each hole such as these: https://www.accu.co.uk/692-tee-t-nuts
Then thread a hex-head machine bolt into each T-nut. You can then add a hex nut which tightens up against the t nut to keep the adjustment on the bolt.


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## Sgian Dubh (4 Jun 2019)

custard":2wsmew9z said:


> Here's my question. How would you prevent the feet from rotting? It will sit on flagstones rather than soil, so I was thinking of a stainless steel screw in each foot to lift it above the moisture, but does anyone have any better ideas? Thanks


I'd just use European oak, or the slightly less durable American white oak, and not bother with any feet or protective treatments. Both are classed as durable and will give 20 - 25 years life if in contact with soil. Maybe the cost of the material is a consideration(?), and oak is relatively expensive, so maybe that's why you're asking. Slainte.


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## doctor Bob (4 Jun 2019)

Sgian Dubh":30n3df1p said:


> custard":30n3df1p said:
> 
> 
> > Here's my question. How would you prevent the feet from rotting? It will sit on flagstones rather than soil, so I was thinking of a stainless steel screw in each foot to lift it above the moisture, but does anyone have any better ideas? Thanks
> ...



May well last but will look horrendous if it sits in water or moisture. May well grey but the part wicking water will just go black.


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## Sgian Dubh (4 Jun 2019)

*PS. Did some editing the following day to replace the original image with a better photograph of the dry leg rather than when it was wet.*



doctor Bob":3m02mg04 said:


> May well last but will look horrendous if it sits in water or moisture. May well grey but the part wicking water will just go black.


There is a possibility of that, but the oak leg below has sat on a paving slab for the last seven years or so, and it's certainly gone darker, but it's not noticeably blacker near the foot than elsewhere. This snap I think illustrates the lack of significant colour difference between the foot touching the ground and that part further up: Interestingly, the wood appears darker further up the leg than it is at the foot, which is perhaps surprising. Anyway, I do think it's possible you may be somewhat overstating how black oak can become at the point of ground contact, and spreading upwards from there, in circumstances such as this, certainly in the first ten or fifteen years of an oak item's life in ground contact on a slab of some sort.







When made in 2012 or thereabouts, the table looked as below with a lick of boiled linseed oil gashed on just to prettify it up a bit for photographing. The same leg as above is on the near left - the knot gives it away, ha, ha. Slainte.


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## Woody2Shoes (5 Jun 2019)

I've just looked again at the OP and realised that it may not just be the feet that spend a lot of time being wet and in contact with soil - if the plan is to cover it with plant pots?


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## MattyT (10 Jun 2019)

As woody2shoes pointed out, the water from the plants could be a problem. It will be subjected to more water than I previously thought therefore I would countersink the screws to prevent rusting and water collection. It will look nicer too. I'd use countersunk wood screws in stainless steel such as these: https://www.accu.co.uk/en/745-pozi-coun ... ood-screws and drive them further into the wood and plug the hole, before sanding it and covering with epoxy resin and paint. 
I'd also use saucers underneath the plant pots to keep the wood a bit drier too.

Matty


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