Garden Tool Cabinet

This slim shed can store your rakes and shovels next to your lawn.

Get yard gear out of your garage and close to where you need it

Most of us store our yard and garden tools in the garage because that’s the only space available. But here’s a better solution: This cabinet lets you clear clutter out of your garage and put tools near the places where they get used. And, designed especially for yard tools, it keeps them organized and accessible. It doesn’t have the capacity of a shed, of course, but it makes efficient use of every inch and takes up only a small area of your yard or patio. It’s also easy to build, even if you’ve never tackled a carpentry project like this one.

ASSEMBLE THE BOX

Cut the plywood sides and 2x10 shelf, prop up the shelf with 2x4 blocks and fasten the sides to the shelf with 2-in. screws.

Assemble the main box

Exterior-grade plywood is the basic building material for this project. Unfortunately, you’ll never find absolutely flat pieces of plywood at a home center or lumberyard, but the flatter you can find them, the better this project will turn out. Choose “BC” grade plywood. Put the good side (“B”) on the outside and the “C” side inside. Once you get the plywood home, keep it out of the sun or your flat panel will turn into a tortilla chip in no time. It’s best to cut the pieces in the shade or in your garage. A long straightedge cutting guide for your circular saw will help you get nice straight cuts if you don’t have a full-size table saw. Look at the Cutting List below and cut all the parts to size except the door stiles, rails and trim pieces, which are best cut to fit once you’ve constructed the main plywood box. Choose the flattest sheet of 3/4-in. plywood for the door cores. As you lay out all the pieces, choose the best-looking side of the plywood for the painted parts. The sides of the cabinet form a 30-degree slope for the roof. Use a Speed square ( see Photo 1) to mark the angled roof supports (H) and ends of the trim pieces that follow the roofline. It’s easier to cut

ADD THE BACK

Screw the back to the sides and center shelf. Use a level or straightedge to mark the shelf location on the back side of the plywood.

FRAME THE ROOF

Cut the subrails (D) and the roof supports (H), then screw them into place. Use 2-in. screws for the subrails and 3-in. screws for the roof supports.

INSTALL FLOOR SLATS

Glue and nail the 1x2 cleats (E and F) to the sides, back and subrail (D) and then screw the 1x4 floor slats (G) to the cleats. Start with the center slat and leave 7/16-in. gaps.

INSTALL THE ROOF

Mount the 1x2 roof trim to the 3/4-in. plywood roof, then center it and mark the position. Then temporarily screw it to the roof supports with a pair of 2-in. screws on each side.

TRIM THE SIDES

Glue and screw the 1x4 side trim to the plywood sides, keeping the trim pieces 3/4 in. proud at the front. Cut the 4-in.-diameter side vents. accurate slopes on the larger side pieces (A) by first measuring each side, marking a diagonal line from point to point and then cutting along the mark. Assemble the main box of the cabinet as shown in Figure A and Photos 1 – 5. Drill pilot holes for all screws with a No. 8 combination countersink and pilot bit. Use 2-in. galvanized deck screws to fasten the sides to the shelf and 1-5/8-in. screws to fasten the back to the sides. Note: Cut a piece of 1/4-in. hardware cloth to fit under the floor slats of the cabinet. This wire mesh will keep furry critters from making your tool cabinet their home. Cut the roof panel (J) and trim pieces (K and L), then glue and nail the trim to the front and side edges of the roof panel. Center the panel (Photo 5) and temporarily screw it to the roof supports so you can install the side trim (P) and the upper rail (M).

Add trim and assemble the doors

Make sure to extend the front edge of each side. Set the trim (P) 3/4 in. beyond the front edge of the plywood side (Photo 6). Next cut and nail the front upper rail (M) and the lower rail (N) to the subrails. Both ends should butt tightly to the side trim. Even though the doors are made mainly from plywood, the rail and stile trim boards glued and screwed to the front side give the doors a handsome frame-andpanel look. Be sure to lay the doors out on a flat surface and then glue and nail the stiles (long vertical pieces) and rails (short horizontal pieces) to the plywood surface. The stile on each hinge side must hang 3/4 in. past the plywood ( see Photo 10 inset). You’ll need to alter the factory T-hinge for the inset design of the doors. The hinge flap is screwed to the side trim (P) as shown in Photo 8. If you were to use the factorysupplied pan head screws, the door would bind on the screw heads. To solve this problem, taper the edges of the existing holes with a countersink bit. Remove just

enough steel ( Photo 7) so the head of the tapered No. 8 x 3/4-in. screw fits flush with the hinge flap surface. Cut the small door stops with a handsaw and then glue and nail them to the edges of the subrails. With the door stops in place, set the doors into the opening. Make sure you leave a 1/8-in. gap at the top and bottom and a 3/16-in. gap between the doors. You may need to plane or belt-sand the door edges to get a good fit. Note: Because the flaps of the hinge that fasten to the side trim are about 7/8 in. wide instead of 3/4 in., your doors will sit about 1/8 in. proud of the side trim.

Mount the cabinet to the wall

Fasten a 4-ft. 2x4 to the top flange of a 4-ft.-long piece of steel angle ( Figure A). At a hardware store, you can usually find steel angle that measures 1-1/2 in. x 1-1/2 in. with holes drilled every 3 in., but any steel angle that’s at least 1/8 in. thick will do. Locate the exact position of your cabinet on the wall at least 3 in. above grade and then fasten the angle to the wall with 1/4-in. galvanized lag screws. It must be level. You may need to cut a course or two of siding to get the angle to lie flat. Our slab was several inches off the ground, so I drilled into the side of the slab, installed lag shields and fastened the angle. If your slab is too close to the ground, you can fasten the angle farther up into the wood studs of the garage. The weight of your cabinet rests entirely on this wall cleat. It’s not necessary to fasten the bottom of the cabinet to it. Mark the locations of the wall studs on the cabinet back. Locate three 1/4-in.-diameter pilot holes in the hang rail (V) and another three holes 4 in. up from the bottom at the stud locations. Now, strap your cabinet to a furniture dolly (with the doors and roof removed to reduce the weight) and wheel it over to the wall cleat. Set the cabinet onto the cleat, center it and temporarily brace it against the wall. Drill 5/32-in. holes into the wall studs

COUNTERSINK THE HINGES

Taper the holes in the inside of the hinge flaps to accept the tapered heads of the mounting screws.

MOUNT THE HINGES

Position the flaps of the hinges against the plywood sides at the centers of the door rail locations. Drill pilot holes and drive the screws into the side trim to secure the hinges.

BUILD THE DOORS

Glue and nail the door rail and stile trim to the 3/4-in. plywood core. Overhang the stile on the hinge side of each door 7/8 in. See for the exact placement.