Build a garbage bin yourself - step by step

If you do not like to see your garbage bin, you usually consider buying a garbage bin box. But the purchased finished variants are not very flexible and basically all look the same. However, a garbage can house is a simple and rewarding exercise for the home improvement. In the construction manual, we show you how you can build your garbage boxes yourself.

lamellar elements

Instead of the complete self-construction made of wood, you can individually assemble the trash can boxes with finished elements. For slat elements from the hardware store or fence elements are suitable. However, this makes it difficult to produce flexible size solutions and the garbage can house might be much larger than desired.

Build a trash can box yourself step by step

  • Screws stainless steel
  • battens
  • bar
  • Hinges stainless steel
  • eyelets
  • thin chains / rope
  • boards
  • threaded rods
  • footings
  • Gravel / terrace slabs
  • Cordless Screwdriver
  • screwdriver
  • Wasserpumpenzange
  • saw

1. Make the drawing and parts list

Measure the tons and plan for some space in between. There should also be some room in the height. Record the number and position of the hinges in your drawing. So you can use this plan to make a parts list for your purchase. Do not forget the eyelets for the lid, which should later lift the tonneau lid.

2. Saw wood

Cut the boards for the back wall so that they finish later with the upright stands. The side boards are then left correspondingly longer, so that the side is a clean conclusion and no one can see the edges.

You should already coat slats and beams with wood varnish, because in most places after assembly, they are difficult to reach. If you want to be on the safe side, you can also prime the other parts before assembling them.

3. Set point foundations

Place four point foundations, into which the threaded rods can later be inserted and screwed from the upright beams. The two building materials should therefore be purchased together. In the upright beams are drilled holes from below for the threaded rods. These then turn with a water pump pliers into the bars.

4. Build the back wall

Two of the beams are bolted to the cut-to-length boards. Place one sawn piece of the boards with the narrow side between the boards. So you always keep the same distance and the air can circulate well later. If you are building a larger dustbin box, you should also insert an upright bar at the back and possibly use angled crossbeams.

5. Attach sides

In the same way, the sides are now closed with boards. Do not forget to pre-drill the boards so that the wood does not crack. Remember to let the boards at both ends of the sides survive the thickness of the boards so that the faces of the boards are hidden.

6. Insert front doors

The doors are screwed together from a small slatted frame with an oblique bracing. Then the same boards come at the same distance, as with the sides and back parts. Also drill the holes for the hinges, then the wood will not splice.

7. Finish the lid

You should raise the lid slightly at the front with a double battens. This will give you a slight slope to the rear and the water can drain well. The lid is otherwise also formed by a slatted frame, which you provide with the same boards. If you have an old exterior blind, you can use it as a lid covering.

Alternatively, you can use waterproof plywood with a small rim made of aluminum rails. Then you need only a few granules and some plants Hauswurz to produce a beautiful green roof.

It would also be ideal if you put a small drain in the plate, so that excess water can drain. For this you can use very simple flexible sewage hoses, for example from an old sink. Make sure to place a fabric over the drain so that the granules do not clog the thin tube immediately.

8. Paint and set up

Put the box together with a second person on the point foundations. Of course, you can do that without the doors and the lid, so it's a bit easier. Use boat paint or other weather-resistant wood paint to protect the new dustbin box from the weather.

Tips & Tricks

There are many completely individual solutions for the doors or the top of the trash can boxes, which do not necessarily have to cost money. As doors, you can also use the discarded doors of a shower cubicle, even with the same sliding system.
For the doors is also a PVC floor covering as a kind of weatherproof covering over a wooden frame. The PVC is also particularly well suited to make the lid a place to repot flowers. Much is possible, you only have to explore the attic with your eyes open.

Video Board: Building a Garbage Can Enclosure - Part 1