How to Build a Stone Planter | This Old House

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Senior Technical Editor Mark Powers shows how to stack cast-concrete blocks to make a stone planter. (See below for a shopping list and tools.) SUBSCRIBE to This Old House: http://bit.ly/SubscribeThisOldHouse If guests tend to fly right by your drive, it might be time to add some oomph to your entrance. Install a stepped stone planter along the driveway, and suddenly you've got an unmistakable guidepost. Not to mention a natural spot to add a pop of color with plantings or the welcoming light of a lamppost. With a wide variety of block sizes and styles available, you can tailor the look to that of your home, from rustic to stately. Read on to see how senior technical editor Mark Powers put together this yard monument, which is sure to force passers-by—friends and strangers alike—to sit up and take notice. Cost: About $15 per square foot Time: 6 hours a day over 3 days Difficulty: Moderate. The digging and heavy lifting is laborious, but stacking the stones is pretty basic work. Shopping List for How to Build a Stone Planter: - Cast-concrete blocks. Choose those meant for freestanding and retaining walls, not walkway pavers. To calculate how many blocks you need, divide the area, in inches, of each wall by the area of the largest block's face. Add 10 percent to cover cuts and breakage - Paver base. A 50-pound bag covers 2 square feet at 3 inches deep - Leveling sand. A 50-pound bag covers about 6 square feet at 1 inch deep - Drainage stone. Get enough to fill your planter

Published 2015-01-16 · Watch on YouTube ↗
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