It’s Earth Week, and because eco-friendly home projects don’t always stir the most charming visuals, Property Brothers Drew and Jonathan Scott stopped by TODAY to show four DIY projects you can create with a little upcycling and creativity.
Simple sandbox
The weather is warming up, so take advantage by creating a backyard sandbox for your little ones. The best part: This project only cost $25. Here’s how to do it at home:
- Call your local tire shop and ask to browse their lot for a spare tire. (They might give you one for free!)
- Scrub the tire clean, then use exterior paint to give it a fresh look.
- Use an old sheet or cloth to cover the ground under the tire. This will keep sand off your lawn and prevent weeds from growing around the tire.
- Fill the tire with sand.
- Cut a circle from plywood as a top for the tire to keep the sand dry.
- Use a pool noodle to cover the edges of the tire and keep sand inside.
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Skateboard picnic table
Don’t toss that old skateboard! Turn it into a picnic table with this creative DIY. Here are the instructions:
- Buy or find four or five used skateboards.
- Remove wheels and save them for another project.
- After deciding what age group the table is meant, lay four two-by-fours out in an “A” pattern.
- Run two two-by-fours horizontally at the appropriate seat and table height, mark and then cut.
- Build two frames, one for each end.
- Use rounded exterior lag screws to assemble the two-by-four frame. If standard bolts or lag screws are used, buy plastic or rubber caps to cover sharp edges.
- Run one two-by-four across the top center of a frame to attach the two frames.
- Lay out the skateboards on the table frame for desired design, and then predrill with a countersink bit and attach with exterior screw.
- The skateboard picnic table is ready to use.
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Pallet garden
Creating a garden out of pallets is easy, inexpensive and beautiful. Here’s how to make it happen:
- Find a pallet by calling any shop that carries large equipment.
- Collect your supplies, including two large bags of potting soil, a staple gun, staples, 16 packs of starter plants (marigolds, poppies and morning glories work best) and a small roll of landscape fabric.
- Clean the pallet.
- Fill the pallet with soil and insert the plans in each open row.
- Water regularly.
Portable bench
Create a movable indoor/outdoor piece of furniture by simply attaching a wheel from an old wheelbarrow to a bench. Moving the bench is no longer a chore!
This article was originally published Apr. 21, 2015.
