Hide Your Bins in a Handy Trash Centre

7/29/2019 Hide Your Bins in a Handy Trash Centre

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Hide your bins in a handy trash centre

At one time or another, every homeowner wakes up to a mess in the yard, courtesy of some

nocturnal scavenging animal. This project is your safeguard against those rude morning

discoveries

By Adrian Jones

Photo by Roger Yip

This trash hideaway will deter little claws from digging into your garbage, recycling and compost while keeping yourcurbside boxes hidden away. With this attractive project, garbage doesnt have to be unsightly.

Construction only takes a few tools. A tablesaw, drill, handsaw and router are all you need, although ajigsaw would

come in handy too. For lumber, I used the fence-grade cedar you can find in any home-improvement centre. Deck

screws and weatherproof glue hold everything together.
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Instructions

Getting started

Before you begin, study the plans. Youll see that the lid is angled downward 15 from horizontal to shed water. To

achieve this, you need to make a few bevels, including at the top ends of the side assemblies and corner posts, and on

the top edges of the front and back.

The anchor frame serves as a nailing cleat for the boards on the back and sides. Rip 2-by construction lumber into

11/2"-wide strips, making the three anchor frame pieces. Glue and screw the wood together to create a U-shaped

assembly.

Next, rip four 35/8"-wide pieces for the lower frame parts. Using biscuits, assemble the pieces with mitres at the front

and butt joints at the back. Secure the anchor frame to the lower frame with glue and screws driven from underneath.

Cut a 2x4 down to 11/4" x 1/2" to make the two corner posts and the three parts of the H-frame. Cut angles at the top

ends of the posts, as shown on the plans.

To assemble the side frames, lay five boards on a flat work surface. Create a consistent gap between the boards using1/8"-thick spacers inserted between each one. Square up this assembly, then attach the long inner cleat to what will

become the inside. Glue and secure these joints with 2" deck screws. Leave the side boards longer than

necessary.Youll trim them to length and add angles later. Repeat this process to end up with two sides.

Attach the two sides to the outside edges of the anchor frame using screws and glue. Install a temporary brace to keep

the two fence-like sections from falling over. As you work, make sure to extend the rearmost side boards beyond the

back edge of the anchor frame. Clamp the corner posts in place and secure with glue and screws. Then cut the upper

frame front, sides and back to size, and secure them to the H-frame and corner posts with glue and screws.

Attaching back boards

Next, attach the back boards. I installed five full boards from left to right (as viewed from the front) and three boards from

right to left. This leaves a 2"-wide gap thats best filled with a 11/2" strip to cover the space. Swing around to the front of

the project, and use screws to fasten the H-frame back. Reinforce the back boards by adding the long and short inner

cleats, as shown in the plans.

Trim all fence boards flush to the upper framea handsaw or jigsaw works well for these bevelled cuts. Add 21/2"-wide

face frame sides on the outside edges of the front now. Angle the top ends of the side boards before assembly.

Making the doors

Making the doors is simple: fasten vertical boards to horizontal, internal cleats using the same spacing as for the sides.The larger door also gets a diagonal cleat to prevent sagging. Assemble the door parts using weatherproof glue and two

#8 x 11/4" screws per joint. Hang the doors on corrosion-resistant T-hinges. The lid is like the door, with boards

connected by internal cleats.

There is a fixed portion of the lid at the back, and a hinged front so you can access the inside. The lid arm swivels on a

1/4"-diameter dowel that is fitted into a support bracket thats attached to the lid. The plans and materials list have the

details necessary to build the lid parts. Prepare these now and install them.

Finishing the job

I designed this project to include a shelf on the right-hand side to hold recycling or compost bins.

Add this feature now, if you have a need for it. Finally, install the floorboards, screwed in place on top of the lower frame.

One floorboard needs to be notched to fit around the front post of the H-frame. Use your favourite exterior-grade finish

or leave the cedar to weather naturally. Install doorlatch hardware, then clean up your shop and take out the trash.


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Tools and Materials

Part Material Size (T x W x L*) Qty.

Lower frame front 1" x 3 5/8" x 48 1/8" 1

Lower frame sides 1" x 3 5/8" x 28 1/4" 2

Lower frame back 1" x 3 1/4" x 40 7/8" 1Anchor frame back 1 1/4" x 1 1/2" x 46 1/16" 1

Anchor frame sides 1 1/4" x 1 1/2" x 23 3/4" 2

Corner posts 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" x 39 7/8" 2

Upper frame front/back 1 1/4" x 1 1/2" x 43 1/16" 2

Upper frame sides 1 1/4" x 1 1/2" x 27 1/8" 2

H-frame front 1 1/4" x 1 1/2" x 39 3/8" 1

H-frame back 1 1/4" x 1 1/2" x 44 3/4" 1

H-frame horizontal 1 1/4" x 1 1/2" x 23 3/4" 1

Wide back boards 5/8" x 5 1/4" x 47 3/4" 7

Narrow back board 5/8" x 1 1/2" x 47 3/4" 1

Side boards 5/8" x 5 1/4" x 47 3/4" 10

Face frame sides 5/8" x 2 1/2" x 41" 2

Large door 5/8" x 25 5/8" x 40 3/8" 1

Large door cleats 3/4" x 1 3/4" x 24 1/2" 2

Large door diagonal cleat 3/4" x 1 3/4" x 38" 1

Small door 1/8" x 16 3/16" x 40 3/8" 1

Small door cleats 3/4" x 1 3/4" x 15 1/8" 3

Shelf 5/8" x 18 3/4" x 23 5/8" 1

Lid back 5/8" x 8 5/8" x 49 5/16" 1

Lid 5/8" x 20 3/8" x 49 5/16" 1

Lid cleats 3/4" x 1 1/2" x 16" 3

Lid arm 1" x 1 3/4" x 21 1/16" 1

Lid arm bracket 1" x 1 3/4" x 4 1/4" 1Long inner cleats 3/4" x 1 3/4" x 23" 3

Short inner cleat 3/4" x 1 3/4" x 13" 1

Floorboards 5/8" x 5 1/4" x 24 7/8" 8

T-hinges 4" 4

Strap hinges 4" 2

Sliding bolt, stainless steel 1

All wooden parts made from cedar

* Length indicates grain direction


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Plan

Illustration by Len Churchill

Hide Your Bins in a Handy Trash Centre

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