16″ wide little free library 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 and a straight edge (or have the store cut the sheets)
• Miter saw, or circular saw in two passes, for 4×4 posts
• Post-hole digger
• Wheelbarrow and hoe
• Level (2 ft or longer)
• Jigsaw
• Tin snips
• Utility knife with hooked blades
• Hammer
• Socket or impact driver for the 6″ structural screws
• 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. Cut sheets with the good face down when using a circular saw: the blade splinters the top face.

   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. 3Call 811 and check the spot

   At least 3 working days before you dig, call 811 (or use call811.com). It's free. They send people to paint or flag buried gas, electric, water and cable lines near where the library post will go.

   Check your property line on your survey or plot plan, and ask your town about setbacks, easements and whether this needs a permit.

   Pick ground that drains: not a low spot where puddles sit after rain, and not over a septic field.

   STOP. Don't dig until the marks are down. Hitting a gas or power line can kill you and is expensive to repair.

4. 4Pick the spot and mark the hole

   Choose a spot beside the sidewalk where people can stop without standing in the street or blocking the walk. Keep it on your own land, at least 2 ft back from the sidewalk edge so the open door doesn't swing over the walkway.

   Face the door toward the sidewalk. Look up: keep clear of low branches and overhead wires.

   Drive a stake at the post centre. The post stands 36 1/2″ above the ground; the cross-arm on top brings the bottom of the box to 40″.

   ✓ From the sidewalk, you can see where the door will be and reach it without stepping on planting beds.

5. 5Dig the post hole

   Dig a hole 10″ wide and 30″ deep with a post-hole digger.

   That depth is 24″ for the post plus 6″ of gravel underneath so water drains away from the post end.

   Make the hole slightly wider at the bottom than the top, like a bell. Frost then can't grip the concrete and lift it.

   Pour 6″ of gravel in the hole and tamp it with the end of a 2×4 or the post itself.

   • Tip Your town knows the frost depth: it's how deep footings must go so winter frost can't push them up. Enter it in the options and the holes will be dug deep enough.

   ✓ The hole is 30″ deep before the gravel and 24″ deep after it.

6. 6Set the post plumb

   Stand the post in its hole.

   Hold a level against one face of a post until the bubble is centred: that face is plumb. Then check the face around the corner. Both faces must read plumb.

   Brace each post with two 1×4 or 2×4 boards: screw one end to the post and the other to a stake hammered into the ground, one brace on each of two sides at right angles.

   ✓ The post is plumb on two faces, in line with the string, and the braces hold it there when you let go.

7. 7Mix the concrete

   You'll use 2 bags of 80 lb concrete mix for the post hole. Mix one or two bags at a time in a wheelbarrow: concrete starts to stiffen in about 30–45 minutes (faster on a hot day), so only mix what you can place right away.

   Pour about 2 quarts of clean water into the wheelbarrow first, then empty one bag on top. (Each 80 lb bag needs about 3 quarts in total.)

   Mix with a hoe or square shovel: pull the dry powder from the corners and bottom into the wet middle and chop through it. Keep going until there are no dry pockets.

   Add the last of the water a cup at a time, mixing between each.

   Get the thickness right. It should look and feel like thick oatmeal or stiff peanut butter. A hoe dragged through leaves ridges that stand up, and a handful squeezed in a gloved hand holds its shape. Too dry: it crumbles and won't stick together, so add a little water. Too wet: it flows flat, water pools on top, and the concrete will be weak and crack. Then add some dry mix from a spare bag.

   • Tip More water makes concrete easier to push around and much weaker. Resist the urge.
   • Tip Rinse the wheelbarrow, hoe and shovel before the concrete sets on them. Don't wash concrete into drains or onto the lawn: let leftovers harden in a scrap box and throw them out.
   • Tip Buy one more bag than you need. Running out halfway through a pour is the most common mistake.

   ✓ Even grey colour throughout, no dry powder, no puddles of water on top; a ridge made with the hoe stands up.

   STOP. Wet concrete is caustic and burns skin. Wear waterproof gloves, safety glasses, long sleeves and long pants. Open bags slowly and wear a dust mask: the dust has silica. Rinse any concrete off your skin right away.

8. 8Fill the hole

   Shovel concrete into the hole around the post. Every 6″ or so, poke it hard with a stick or a piece of rebar to work out air pockets.

   Fill to about 1″ above the ground and shape the top into a little mound with a trowel, sloping away from the post so rain runs off.

   Check plumb again on both faces while it's still wet, and adjust the braces if needed.

   ✓ Posts are still plumb and in line after the concrete is in.

9. 9Let the concrete cure

   Concrete hardens by reacting with water, not by drying out, so keep the concrete around the library posts damp for the first 7 days: mist it with a hose morning and evening, or cover it with plastic sheeting held down at the edges.

   Keep it from freezing for the first week. Don't pour when it's below 40°F (5°C) or frost is forecast in the next two days. On hot days, pour in the early morning and shade it.

   You can walk on it or remove braces after 1–2 days. Wait 3 days before putting real weight on it. It reaches full strength in about 4 weeks.

   ✓ The surface is hard and grey-white when dry, with no powder when you rub it.

10. 10Fit the cross-arm and braces

    Check that the post top is level both ways with the level. If not, mark a line all round and saw it flat.

    Centre the cross-arm (B) on top of the post. Screw a galvanized T-strap across the joint on the front and the back faces, the long leg down the post, using every hole.

    Fit a brace (C) on each side of the post under the arm, long points touching the post 5 1/2″ down and the arm 5 1/2″ out. Drive one 6″ structural screw through each brace end, predrilled.

    ✓ The arm is level side to side, the braces sit tight at both ends, and pressing down on one end of the arm doesn't move it.

11. 11Build the box

    Exterior plywood is made with waterproof glue; keep the smoother "B" face outward on every part. Sand all faces and edges with 120 grit.

    Stand the two sides (E) on the bottom (D), flush at the outside edges and the front. Spread a thin line of exterior wood glue on each joint, then drive 1 5/8″ screws up through the bottom into each side: 4 per side, 3/4″ in from the edge so they hit the middle of the plywood. Predrill each one; screws close to a plywood edge split it.

    Glue and screw the top (F) down onto the sides the same way.

    Lay the box on its front and glue and screw the back (G) on, flush all round, with screws every 4″ into the sides, top and bottom. The back squares the box: before you drive the last screws, measure the diagonals of the front opening and push the box until they match.

    Drill three 3/8″ drain holes through the bottom near the front, so any water that blows in can run out.

    • Tip Wipe glue squeeze-out with a damp rag right away: paint won't stick to dried glue.
    • Tip Prime and paint the outside now, before the roof goes on. Inside, a clear exterior finish keeps it bright and wipe-clean.

    ✓ The front opening measures 16″ × 22″ and its diagonals match within 1/16″.

12. 12Fit the shelf

    Mark a level line across the inside of each side 10 5/8″ up from the bottom. Slide the shelf (H) in with its back against the back panel and its bottom on the lines. It is 1″ shallower than the box so the door closes past the books.

    Drive two 1 5/8″ screws through each side into the shelf ends, and three through the back into its back edge. Predrill each.

    ✓ A level on the shelf reads level, and it doesn't rock.

13. 13Cut and fix the gable ends

    The roof is a gable roof: two slopes meeting at a peak, sitting on two triangles called gable ends. Its slope is 10 in 12: the roof rises 10″ for every 12″ it runs sideways.

    On each 17 3/8″ × 7 1/4″ piece, mark the centre of one long edge, then draw lines from that mark to the two bottom corners. Cut along the lines. Clamp the two triangles together and sand the edges until they match.

    Set one triangle on the top of the box, flush with the back, and one flush with the front. Glue the bottom edges, then drive 1 5/8″ screws up through the top into each triangle, 4 per triangle, predrilled from below.

    ✓ Both peaks sit at the same height and line up when you sight across them.

14. 14Fit the roof panels

    Each roof panel (J) is 15 1/4″ up the slope by 19 1/2″ front to back. That leaves 3″ of overhang past the box at the front, back and both sides: the overhang throws rain clear of the door and walls.

    Set the first panel on the gable edges, its top edge at the peak. Predrill and drive 1 5/8″ screws into the gable edges every 4″.

    Fit the second panel so its top edge laps over the end of the first at the peak. Screw it the same way, and drive three screws through the lap into the first panel's edge.

    ✓ The panels meet tight at the peak, and the overhang is even at the front and back.

15. 15Drip edge and underlayment

    How a roof keeps water out: it is layers that overlap like the feathers on a bird. Every upper layer laps OVER the one below it, never under, so water running downhill always flows over a joint instead of into it. From the wood up the layers are: the roof deck you just fastened, drip edge on the edges, underlayment, and shingles on top.

    Drip edge is a bent metal strip shaped like an L with a little kick at the bottom. You need 1 10′ piece. Cut it with tin snips. Along the eaves (the low edges, 39″ in all) nail it on now, straight onto the deck, with the bent lip hanging down over the edge. Water coming off the shingles drips off that lip, clear of the wood. Use 7/8″ roofing nails every 12″, high on the flat part. Overlap pieces 2″.

    Underlayment is a roll of water-resistant felt or synthetic sheet: the second line of defence under the shingles. Unroll the first row along the eave so it laps over the drip edge you just nailed. Each row above overlaps the row below by 4″ (most rolls have a printed line to follow).

    Pull it flat with no wrinkles and fasten it with roofing nails every 12″ near the top edge, where the next row will cover them. Lap the top row 6″ over the peak onto the other side, then do the other slope the same way so it laps back over the first.

    Now nail drip edge along the rake edges (the sloped side edges), this time ON TOP of the underlayment. Start at the bottom so each higher piece laps over the lower one. The one rule to remember: drip edge goes under the underlayment at the eaves and over it everywhere else.

    • Tip Snip the vertical flange where eave and rake pieces meet at a corner and fold it around, so the corner is closed.
    • Tip Synthetic underlayment is lighter, doesn't tear and is less slippery than felt. Either works.

    ✓ Run your hand up the roof from the bottom: you never catch the edge of a layer. No bare wood shows anywhere, and every drip edge lip hangs straight.

    STOP. Do this with the roof at a comfortable height if you can (before the post goes up, or with a stable stepladder). Don't lean a ladder against the finished sign.

16. 16Shingle the roof

    A 3-tab asphalt shingle is a 12″ × 36″ strip. The top half gets covered by the next row; the bottom half is split by two slots into three "tabs" and is the part you see. The black sealant strip across the middle glues the row above down once the sun warms it.

    Starter strip: cut the tabs off a row of shingles with a utility knife (cut from the back against a straight edge; the shingle snaps along the cut). Nail the strip along the eave, sealant strip at the bottom edge, hanging 3/8″ past the drip edge. It gives the first real row something to stick to and fills in behind its slots.

    First row: lay full shingles right on top of the starter strip, bottom edges flush, starting at one rake edge and hanging 3/8″ past it. Four 7/8″ roofing nails per shingle, in a line just below the sealant strip: one 1″ in from each end and one above each slot. Drive them flush. A nail that is crooked or sunk into the surface leaks; pull it and nail beside it.

    Every row after that shows 5″ (the "exposure"). Snap a chalk line 5″ above the bottom of the previous row so the rows stay straight. Shift each row sideways by half a tab: start row 2 with 6″ cut off the first shingle, row 3 with 12″ off, and so on, then start over. That way the slots never line up and water that runs through a slot lands on solid shingle below.

    Ridge cap: cut shingles into three 12″ squares at the slots and trim the top corners at a slight angle. Warm each one in the sun so it bends without cracking, fold it over the peak, and nail 2 nails, 1″ in from each side, just below the sealant strip. Start at the end away from the prevailing wind and lap each piece over the last, 5″ showing, along the 19 1/2″ ridge. Seal the nails on the last piece with a dab of roofing cement.

    Trim anything that hangs past the rake edges to 3/8″ past the drip edge, cutting from the top with the hooked blade.

    • Tip Shingle on a mild day (50–80°F). Cold shingles crack when bent; very hot ones scuff under your knees.
    • Tip 1 bundle covers the roof with waste for the cuts. A bundle is 33 sq ft and weighs about 65 lb: carry it on your shoulder, never by the wrapper.
    • Tip The short 7/8″ nails grip the 3/4″ roof deck without poking through where you would see the tips from below.

    ✓ The rows run parallel to the eave, every slot sits over the middle of a solid tab in the row below, and no nail heads show except under the last cap.

17. 17Make the door

    The door (K) is one piece of plywood with a 12 3/8″ × 18 3/8″ window cut out of the middle, 2 1/2″ from every edge. Draw the opening on the back face.

    Drill a 1/2″ hole just inside each corner of the opening. Put the jigsaw blade in one hole and cut along the line to the next hole; do all four sides and the middle falls out. Sand the cut edges smooth and round the inside corners slightly.

    Prime and paint the door before the window goes in.

    The window is clear acrylic, not glass. Buy a 14 3/8″ × 20 3/8″ piece and have the store cut it to size; it laps 1″ past the opening on every side.

    Lay the door face down. Run a thin bead of clear silicone around the opening on the back, 1/2″ out from the edge. Peel the backing film from the acrylic face that will touch the silicone and press the acrylic down, centred.

    Drill holes through the acrylic every 4″ around the edge, 1/2″ in from its edge, with a bit 1/16″ bigger than the screws: acrylic grows and shrinks with heat and cracks around a tight hole. Drill slowly with scrap wood underneath. Then drive the pan-head screws just snug.

    • Tip Leave the outer protective film on the acrylic until the door is hung, to keep it from scratching.

    ✓ Looking through the front, the acrylic covers the opening with an even lap all round and the silicone has sealed every edge.

    STOP. Never put glass in this door: it breaks into sharp pieces when a door slams or a ball hits it.

18. 18Hang the door

    Set the door on the front of the box, flush at the edges. Slip a business card between door and box at the hinge side to leave a hair of clearance.

    Screw two butt hinges along the left edge, 2″ from the top and bottom. Predrill with a small bit so the screws go in straight.

    Fix the knob on the right edge at the middle, and the magnetic catch inside on the right side so the door clicks shut and doesn't blow open.

    ✓ The door swings open and shut without rubbing, closes flush, and stays shut when you blow on it hard.

19. 19Set the library on the post

    With a helper, lift the box onto the cross-arm, centred side to side and front to back over the post.

    Open the door and drive four 3″ screws down through the bottom into the arm, two each side of the post, predrilled.

    Seal the screw holes and the joint around the bottom edge with a dab of silicone.

    • Tip Put a few books in, and a little sign: "Take a book, share a book."

    ✓ Push the roof gently in every direction: nothing moves. The door still opens freely.

    STOP. It is heavier and more top-heavy than it looks. Two people lift it, one on each side.

20. 20Finish

    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.