DIY Scrap Wood Step-up Platform

 


I thought I'd start out 2021 with some simple DIY projects and this scrap wood step-up platform is one of them. It's very easy to make and can be done for the price of collecting some wood scrap, some decking screws. and what ever finish you choose to use. It's made from the same scrap strapping skives you may recall I made the Birdhouse firewood rack with. If you haven't read that post, you can go ahead and take a gander at it now if you like, I'll wait...

For those that have read it, you'll be familiar with the scrap wood used in this project for those that haven't a quick recap as to what wood I'm referring to. Strapping skives are used under and for strapping bundles of wood you see at the local big box store like Home Depot or Lowes or lumber yards to hold them off the ground so the fork lift can get it's forks under the bundle and for stacking or shipping. I don't know the exact name for them but strapping skives is what I call them... they may refer to them as sticks at the yard. They have a groove cut in them long ways so the strap can nest in them and not slip off. And they're usually tossed out once the bundle of lumber has been gone through and generally, they're made from the same wood found in the bundle. If clear pine, they'll be clear pine. If pressure treated pine, they'll be pressure treated pine and so on. Big box hardware stores toss them as they go through so many bundles. For the asking, most of these stores will give them to you as it means they won't have to deal with getting rid of them if they do. Some don't, so be sure to ask before taking.

As stated in the Birdhouse Firewood Rack post, I use them for a variety of purposes. To set things on I'm painting or finishing, or to stack lumber or plywood on and keep it off the ground. But!... they can be used for other things such as the firewood rack or in the case of this project, a step-up platform. Hopefully everyone is caught up on the wood I'm using for this project so lets get into the build...

Again for a friend of mine who's house I've been working on for the past year. One of the projects was redoing her patio walkway and kinda redesigning the area and what went where. One thing moved was her small gardening work table or potting table, whatever, it's a outdoor work bench. I used some broken patio pavers that were replaced when revamping and repairing her small patio walk way area to set it on. I used other broken pavers to make her a little step-up platform since it wasn't ground level where it went. Which worked and looked okay... had that rock feel that went with the pathway rocks... kinda.


Being a broken piece of a 24x24 inch paver the step up platform  really didn't have enough width for her or the work bench. And with the broken side being only 12 inches wide she felt like she would step off the back of it. So... I came up with the scrap wood platform idea.

Keeping in mind I built this totally off the cuff so to speak, just shooting for approximate sizing using the scrap strapping wood pieces I had left don't feel you have to follow my dimensions. I simply aimed to make sure it was large enough but not too large and fit the area and bench it was being used for.

The one I made measures 15 inches deep by around 35 inches in length. The scrap strapping skives are not always the same thickness or width so you kinda have to play around and match your scrap wood up dimensionally or cut them all to size on a table saw or what have you if you're making yours to fit exact dimensions.

I used a piece of cut off scrap as a spacer in-between each board that was slightly larger than a 1/4 inch but not a 1/2. About 3/8 inch give or take. With that space in-between, and six pieces of scrap wood it came to 15 inches wide. I didn't set out to make it 15 inches wide, I was going for a width of between 14 and 16 inches max, with the spacer I selected to use, it worked out to be 15 exact - which was perfect. It just worked out that way and I felt that was a good size for where it was going.

I cut all the ends using that same 22.5 degree angle i did for the firewood rack. All angles slopping downward towards the ground. I faced the strap gullet up on the top boards facing upwards. I felt that would provide grip and the gullets once sealed water run off like gutters when it rained. The support cross pieces on the bottom, I faced the strapping gullet downward or in the opposite direction giving two flat surfaces to mate to each other. Take a look at the below pic and you should better understand what I mean...


I screwed all the boards together from the bottom. I didn't glue them though, if you want to make it even stronger I suggest you do. Use a glue such as Tite-Bond III which is exterior grade and waterproof if you are making this for outside as I am. And a little tip here, test fit first before gluing and screwing it together. Lay it all out and dry fit it to make sure you have things cut right. And you will probably find not all your scrap boards are perfectly straight. Some may be warped or twisted. I suggest arranging any warped  or curved boards to the outside and use the straight ones for the inner boards. It's easier fitting things together that way.

You'll see in the below image I put two full length cross support pieces at each end flush with the bottom edge of the angle of the top pieces. I didn't have enough of these scrap to make the center cross member out of a single board so I used two shorter cut offs and ran each facing edge along the center line.


I also set the center cross boards back a bit making the bottom angle flush with the long edge. I felt it would prevent any tripping or stubbing toes if done that way. The two ends stand proud of the edge with the top flush with the long edge. You can better see what I mean below.



I did make use of my vintage belt sander I fixed once it was all together hitting the top and sides to make things smooth and flush. You can sand each board prior to assembly as these strapping skives can be pretty dirty and have stamps all over them. They're pretty ruff some of them. Up to you and what you have.

I finished the whole platform top and bottom with Thompsons Stain Water Seal and Protector. Two coats as per manufacturers suggestion. The spacer I used to separate the top boards proved to be a wise choice for brushing the Thompsons water seal in-between each board. Any smaller it would have been a pain to get it down in there.

And that's it for the build from start to finish. Just let it dry for a few hours or over night if you wish before placing it. Personally, I only waited a couple hours after letting it dry in the South Florida sun as I re-leveled under the garden/potting bench and the area where this was to go before placing it.

Here's a couple before and afters to compare to...




And for the overall effect...



It's a quick and easy build as I stated. The home owner hasn't seen it yet but may see this blog post before her return, I think she'll like it. It looks great in person, much better in person than in the photos for sure. - it was really cloudy and a tad chilly this afternoon by the time it was ready to be put in place and I took the pics with my phone. Oh well. You get the idea.

A couple ideas for you... 
This would make a great entry mat for a covered patio, or exterior door mat to a garage or workshop door... entry to an outhouse? Given the strapping grooves you could scrap off the mud or snow from your feet. Once the mud dries just sweep it off. 
Or heck - Slap a set of legs on it and you have yourself a bench... now there's a thought.

For care, just re-apply the Thompson Water seal or whatever finish you chose as needed. If made from pressure treated lumber as mine is, it should last a fair amount of time if cared for.

Till next time people...
Stay creative and by all means - Stay Happy!
cheers..!

Comments

  1. Once again, you have turned "trash" into treasure, my friend. This well thought-out design looks like a piece of furniture, that would be too expensive to use as a platform for a potting bench. (It looks better than the bench for that matter, lol!) Kudos to you!!

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