Window Box

Window boxes lend color and interest to lackluster windows. Such touches are easy to add to your home -- ideal projects for budding carpenters. Here are a window box and a planter designed to hold potted plants for easy cultivation and maintenance.

Measure your windows from the outside edges of the window molding to determine the length for the window box. Adapt the planter design to suit your space. Use redwood, cedar, or pressure-treated lumber.

• 1 x 3 for top edging
• 1 x 2 for decorative border
• 1 x 8 for front, back, ends, and bottom
• 1 x 2 for backer strips
• 2 x 2 for brackets
• 6d galvanized box nails
• 3-inch and 2-inch galvanized deck screws or masonry screws and anchors (brick)
• Basic carpentry tools: circular saw with a combination blade, square, hammer, tape measure, drill and drill bits, block plane, and sandpaper

1. Cut the pieces. Cut the 1 x 8 bottom and sides to a length equal to the width of your window, measuring from the outside edge of the trim on both sides of the window. Drill 1/2-inch weep holes every 6 inches, centered along the bottom piece.

2. Assemble. Nail the sides to the bottom, drilling pilot holes and using 6d galvanized box nails. Nail the end pieces in place, again drilling pilot holes before nailing to avoid splits.

3. Hang. Cut and nail in place the front trim and top edging. Construct two brackets out of 2 x 2. Attach them to the house so the window box is just beneath the windowsill, using 3-inch galvanized deck screws (for wood siding) or masonry screws and anchors (for brick). Set the box on the brackets and attach it with 2-inch deckscrews.