For a 100 ft hose hose box plans

Parts

Cut list

Kerf 1/8″ included. Every cut runs edge to edge.

Steps

• Tape measure
• Speed square
• Pencil
• Drill/driver
• Clamps
• Safety glasses
• Hearing protection
• Dust mask
• Circular saw or miter saw
• Miter saw, or circular saw in two passes, for 4×4 posts
• Jigsaw or chisel for the hose notch
• Sander, 120 and 180 grit

Underlined words have a short explanation: hover or tap them. All of them are on the glossary page.

1. 1Before you start

   Read every step once, start to finish, before you buy or cut anything. Each step names the parts it uses by letter; the parts list gives their sizes.

   Set up somewhere flat with good light. A pair of sawhorses with a sheet of plywood on top makes a fine work table.

   Wear safety glasses whenever a tool is running, hearing protection for saws, and a dust mask for sanding and for cutting treated wood or sheet goods. Tie back long hair and loose sleeves. Keep children and pets out of the work area.

   • Tip At the store, pick straight boards: hold each one up to your eye and look down its length. Skip boards that bow, twist or have big knots near the ends.
   • Tip Measure twice, cut once. Most mistakes are a misread tape, not a bad cut.

2. 2Cut and label the parts

   Cut every part on the cut list. Cut the longest parts first: if one goes wrong, it can still become a shorter part.

   To mark a cut, hook your tape on the end of the board, make a small V with its point exactly at the measurement, and draw a square line through the point with a speed square. Put an X on the waste side.

   Cut on the waste side of the line, so the blade's kerf (about 1/8″) comes out of the scrap, not your part.

   Write each part's letter in pencil on a face that won't show, and stack the parts by letter.

   Sand the faces before assembly while they're flat and easy to reach: 120 grit, then 180.

   ✓ Lay the parts out and count them against the parts list. Measure a few: if one is off by more than 1/16″, recut it now.

   STOP. Let the saw reach full speed before it touches the wood, keep both hands clear of the blade's path, and never reach under a board you're cutting. Support long boards on both sides of the cut so the blade doesn't pinch.

3. 3Pick the boards and the screws

   Cedar for the hose box: look for boards with mostly reddish-brown heartwood. Pale yellow-white streaks are sapwood, which rots years sooner; keep those streaks on the inside or skip the board.

   Sight down each board at the store like a rifle barrel. Skip boards that twist, bow more than about 1/4″ over 8′, or have big loose knots near where you will cut or screw.

   Use exterior screws only: coated deck screws (labelled for treated lumber, "ACQ compatible") or stainless steel. Plain steel reacts with the tannins in cedar and leaves black streaks running down from every screw. Indoor wood screws and drywall screws rust and snap outdoors.

   • Tip Buy one extra board of the most-used size. A split or a mis-cut then costs you nothing but a few dollars.
   • Tip Cedar splits easily: predrill every screw within 2″ of the end of a board with a bit about the size of the screw's inner shank.

   ✓ Every board is reasonably straight, and the screw box says exterior, coated for treated lumber, or stainless.

4. 4Build the front and back walls

   Lay two corner posts (A) flat on the floor, 31 1/8″ apart outside to outside.

   Screw the top front slat (B) across them first: its top edge flush with the post tops, each end sticking 3/4″ past the post (the side slats will butt into that space).

   Work down with 1/2″ gaps: 3 slats in all. The bottom slat ends 1″ above the post bottoms, so the posts are little feet that keep the slats off wet ground.

   Predrill and drive two 1 5/8″ screws through each slat end into the post.

   Build the back wall the same way.

   • Tip A scrap of 1/2″ plywood or two stacked paint stirrers makes a quick gap spacer.

   ✓ Each wall is square (diagonals match within 1/8″) and the slat ends stick out exactly 3/4″ on both sides.

5. 5Add the sides

   Stand the two walls up facing each other, posts inside. Fit the side slats (C) between the overhanging front and back slats so they butt against the posts, rows matching.

   On the side nearest your faucet, use the notched slat (D) for the top row, notch up and at the back: the hose runs out through it when the lid is shut.

   Two 1 5/8″ screws through each side slat end into the post.

   • Tip Cut the notch with two saw cuts and a chisel, or a jigsaw, before you screw the slat on. Sand its edges round so it can't scuff the hose.

   ✓ The box is square across the top (diagonals match within 1/8″) and stands without rocking.

6. 6Fit the floor

   Screw a floor cleat (E) inside the front wall between the posts, its bottom flush with the bottom slat's bottom edge. Drive 1 5/8″ screws from outside through the slat into the cleat every 6″. Repeat at the back.

   Lay the 7 floor slats (F) front to back on the cleats, with 5/8″ gaps, the outer ones tight against the posts. Two 1 1/4″ screws into the cleat at each end.

   The gaps let water drain and air dry the hose, so it doesn't sit in a puddle and grow mildew.

   ✓ Gaps are even (about 5/8″) and the slats don't rock on the cleats.

7. 7Add the centre post

   Stand the centre post (I) in the middle of the floor, 16 5/16″ from each side.

   Turn the box on its side and drive two 3″ screws up through the floor slat under the post into its end.

   Coiling the hose around the post keeps the middle of the coil open, so the hose pulls out without kinking.

   ✓ The post stands straight up and doesn't wobble when you push the top.

8. 8Build and hang the lid

   Lay the 6 lid slats (G) face down side by side with 1/8″ gaps.

   Set the lid battens (H) across them, 3″ in from each end and one in the middle, 1″ in from the back edge. They hang down just inside the walls and keep the lid from sliding off. Two 1 1/4″ screws into each slat.

   Set the lid on the box: flush at the back, 1″ past the front and 1/2″ past each side. Screw two 3″ hinges to the back edge of the lid and the top back slat, 4″ in from each end.

   Fit the lid stay on one side so the lid can't slam on fingers or flip back in the wind, and screw the handle to the middle of the front lid slat.

   • Tip Check the battens clear the corner posts before you screw them down: close the lid over them while dry-fitting.

   ✓ The lid opens and closes without rubbing, sits flat all round, and stays open on the stay.

9. 9Protect it from the weather

   Decide how you want the hose box to look in five years. Bare cedar and bare pressure-treated wood both weather to silver-grey and still last many years; doing nothing is a real option.

   To keep the colour, use an exterior oil or semi-transparent stain: brush it on, let it soak in 15 minutes, then wipe off whatever is still shiny. Renew it every one or two years. Avoid clear varnish or polyurethane outdoors: sun cracks the film, water gets under it, and it peels.

   • Tip Finish on a dry day above 50°F with no rain forecast for 24 hours.
   • Tip Oil-soaked rags can catch fire on their own as they dry. Lay them flat outside to dry or keep them in a sealed metal can of water.

   ✓ The finish is dry to the touch everywhere, with no wet or shiny puddles in corners.

10. 10Place it by the faucet

    Set the box within a few feet of the outdoor faucet, notched side toward it, on pavers or gravel rather than soil so the feet stay dry.

    Connect a short 3–6 ft leader hose from the faucet to your hose, through the notch. Coil the hose loosely in big loops, clockwise every time, so it doesn't twist and kink.

    Before the first freeze, drain the hose and bring it indoors or leave it disconnected from the faucet.

    ✓ The lid closes over the coiled hose without forcing.

11. 11Finish

    Ease every sharp edge and corner with 120-grit sandpaper so nobody gets a splinter.

    Sand all over with 180 grit, always along the grain (the direction the wood fibres run). Scratches across the grain show through stain.

    Wipe off the dust with a barely damp rag and let it dry.

    Outdoors, use an exterior finish: a penetrating deck oil or exterior stain, or primer and exterior paint. Leave cedar bare to weather silver if you like. If it holds soil for food plants, leave the inside unfinished.

    Let it dry for the time on the can before using it.

    • Tip Try your finish on a scrap of the same wood first: stain looks different on every board.