Deck Box Design Ideas – The deck was always a disaster. It rains here almost every day and I have to take the chair cushions and lean them over the overhang so they don’t get wet. Mattresses and pillows were everywhere. It wasn’t working. I shopped around trying to find an affordable and stylish outdoor storage box and was blown away by the prices. Ridiculous! It was time to do my thing. It was very easy and exactly how I planned. Today I’m excited to partner with 3MDIY.com as one of their 3MDIY experts and share my instructions on how to make your own outdoor storage box and bench.

Let’s get started! We worked hard on our dimensions to keep the cost of the box low so we could use just one sheet of plywood, but still create a box that held all of our pillows. I’ve drawn a diagram for you below. Cut each panel to these measurements and you will have minimal waste. (Just don’t mope or you’ll end up buying more plywood!!!)

Deck Box Design Ideas

Now I used our table saw, but you can also use a skill saw. For safety and accuracy, always have someone help you cut. It is essential to wear the correct 3M Tekk Protectioneye. Chaff will fly everywhere. I wear my 3M Tekk ProtectionHolmes Premium safety glasses. There are always a lot of people sitting around us so there is no excuse not to protect our eyes. They look good and fit like sunglasses. I also use the safety headphones that come with the glasses.

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Below are all the cut panels. Measure twice and cut once. Wow! No cutting errors!

Step 2 Assembly: Now that I’m going to be using this storage box/bench outside of my deck, I want it to be as weatherproof as possible. We were going to use liquid nails, but decided to use 3M Marine Adhesive Sealant instead. We use it on our boats and know how effective and strong it is, so why not use it for outdoor storage boxes?

Be sure to place your baseboard on an elevated surface and let it hang slightly over the edge. We’ll see why in a minute. Run a strand of glue along one long side edge.

Then line up the back panel on the edge you just glued. Have someone hold it steady and secure it with nails every few inches. For this, use a nail gun with finishing nails.

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You will be nailing hard and it will come out strong! Protect your ears with headphones or these great 3M Tekk ProtectionWorkTunes™ hearing protectors. I can connect it to my iPhone or use the radio with over 50 preset channels. All my kids fight over WorkTunes™ when they mow the yard, so we got another one for them.

Continue around the box, along the sides, apply sealant to each edge where the panels join, then nail.

With the same sealant, remove all seams inside and out. You can always use paintable putty for this part, but 3M Marine Sealant takes care of everything. Keeping it nice and dry.

Step 3 Details and Painting: Congratulations, you’ve just made a box. But a box is boring. Let’s add some dynamism to it with some simple embellishments. Cut the trim board with straight cuts, glue and nail the top and bottom trim boards first, then measure the sides and cut the trim boards to length. Tip: For easy and accurate trim measurement, hold the trim board in place, then mark with a pencil where you want to cut. (See image below left). This method will give you an accurate cut and save you the hassle of pulling out the tape measure every 2 minutes.

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Finish the edge of the lid with a PVC quarter-round trim. It is light, easy to cut and yet strong and very soft. Glue and nail to the box.

For added strength and rigidity, cut two 1×2″ trim boards and nail them to the bottom of the lid. (See the knots? Then you want a really good piece of plywood. These knots were unique to the blade, so we decided to deliberately hide them at the bottom of the lid. They can always be filled with wood filler. If you prefer. )

Place the box on a Scotchblue cloth and prime every surface of the box with 2 coats of quality primer, including the bottom. Next, give your box at least 2 coats of a good exterior latex paint.

Deck-fast (white): Deck Box, Dice Box, Mtg Magic Fab Ygo Dnd Spell Cards Edh Commander Fab Ptcg Tcg

I painted the bottom of the outdoor storage box lid in “Provence” Annie Sloan Chalk Paint for a fun pop of color. I didn’t want to paint turquoise on the bottom of the lid’s quarter round molding, so I taped it with ScotchBlue™ painter’s tape and then painted over the accent color.

The outdoor storage box easily fits all our cushions and we use it as a side table and extra seating. I love it!

Here is an update of what it looks like 5 years later (Summer 2018). It could use another coat of exterior paint, but overall it still looks fantastic and has held up incredibly well. The outdoor storage box has been out of the elements for the past 5 years (lots of hurricanes and blizzards!). Check out the rest of our coastal makeover here.

And be sure to visit their “Expert Corner” where you’ll see me featured along with some DIY fanatics.

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This post is a collaboration with 3M DIY. Visit 3MDIY.com to stay up to date on projects, products and samples. Hide the mess and package delivery in this DIY outdoor storage box. Get woodworking plans for this project and start building!

I seem to have a thing for storage boxes and benches. They are so useful, especially for hiding all those toys. One of my first big woodworking projects was this outdoor storage bench for our front porch.

But after years in wet Seattle winters, the paint was peeling and the trim was falling apart. Not exactly the appeal I was looking for…

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But the top was made of solid cedar, so I took the time to strip the paint and return it to natural wood so I could stain it for my new project.

This porch box is an elongated version of a planter box I recently made for the same space. A combo set brings the entire front porch together and looks great.

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Cut all the 2×2 pieces according to the plan’s cut list. If you plan to use this storage box as a bench, you may need to switch to a 2×4 so it can support more weight. We found that we usually sit on the steps instead of the bench, so I went with 2x2s because they are light and cheap.

Drill pocket holes in the ends of the boards. Make sure the pocket hole template is centered so you are not drilling into the side of the board. These narrow 2x2s can be a bit tricky!

First make the front and back frame pieces identical using waterproof wood glue and 2 ½” screws.

I put chamfers on all four legs to prevent the corners from splitting if the box is pushed onto the rough concrete porch.

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I recommend staining the frame now rather than waiting until the entire storage box is assembled. When it’s open like this, it’s so much easier to get to all those tricky places! I used leftover Ready Seal stain in Natural Cedar from when I stained our deck last year.

I love using cedar fence pickets for projects like this. This is an inexpensive way to close off a box or space (such as under deck steps) with weather-resistant wood. Dig through the pile to find the best pieces with the least lumps and stains. I discovered some beautiful cedars from that giant pile!

If you don’t have a table saw to cut these boards into different widths, you can buy 5 ½” and 3 ½” fence posts to achieve the same look. You will only have one narrow strip in the middle instead of two. I have used this pattern in many other external projects (eg