Raised Bed Construction - Raised Bed Gardening - page 59

Section 3: Lumber Raised Bed Frame Construction
Steps to Build a Raised Bed Frame:
1. Measure and Cut Lumber
2. Decide Frame Orientation
3. Mark and Drill Pilot Holes
4. Attach Frame with Screws
5. Attach angles or Corner Brackets for Additional Strength (Optional)
Step 1: Measure and Cut Lumber
Depending upon the size of your raised bed and the size lumber you buy, you may not need
tomakeanycuts,butinmostcases,lumberwillneedtobecut.Somebuildingsupplystores
will make these cuts for you.
I have three 5x10 foot raised beds built from 2x12 lumber. I bought the lumber in 10 foot
lengths, so three boards were needed for each frame. Only one 10 foot board was cut in half
for each bed.
Step 2: Decide Frame Orientation.
Now decide which way the frame will fit together. There are three different ways ( Figure
38 ) to construct a simple frame with four sides. Figure 2 is an example using two, five foot
boards and two 10 foot boards. Decide if you want the bed to be slightly longer (example A
- Drive screws through the 5 foot end boards into the the ends of the 10 foot side boards),
slightly wider (example B - Drive screws through the 10 foot side boards into the the ends
of the 5 foot end boards), or split the difference (example C - start at one corner and lap
each board over the end of the next board). If you care about such things, Example A has
a "cleaner" look when viewed toward the short ends. Example B has a cleaner look when
viewing the long sides.