The Problem: Sweaty plastic chests and warped shed doors
Full-height 6×4ft timber sheds overwhelm a modest courtyard and block daylight from ground-floor windows. Yet the popular alternative—moulded resin deck boxes—suffer from zero airflow. Put damp muddy trowels or a half-used bag of potting compost inside a sealed plastic box on a sunny day, and internal condensation turns the interior into a mildew incubator that rusts carbon steel blades overnight.
Our compact potting locker stands 920mm high—just below standard window-sill height—and doubles as a sturdy metal-clad work surface. Tongue-and-groove shiplap cladding sheds driving rain, while concealed 15mm soffit vents under the roof overhang keep air moving gently over stored tools.
Material & Ironmongery Schedule
Outdoor cabinet doors twist when builders use thin framing and heavy cladding. We build the carcase around 45×45mm kiln-dried redwood posts and brace the doors with proper rising-butt or heavy galvanized tee hinges.
| Component | Qty | Dimensions (mm) | Detail & Weathering Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corner Posts | 4 | 45 × 45 × 890 (front) / 850 (rear) | 40mm front-to-back fall throws rainwater toward the back gravel strip. |
| Cladding Boards | 26 | 16 × 120 × 850 | Treated redwood shiplap; allow 2mm expansion clearance in the tongue groove. |
| Floor Duckboard Slats | 7 | 22 × 75 × 860 | Spaced 10mm apart so wet mud from boots falls through and dries. |
| Top Work Deck | 1 | 18 × 610 × 960 | Exterior WBP marine plywood wrapped in 0.7mm natural roofing zinc sheet. |
| Hardware Pack | 1 set | 300mm Tee Hinges & Suffolk Latch | Hot-dip galvanized or black powder-coated over sherardized steel. |
Numbered Assembly Sequence
- Build the sloped side frames: Cut the rear posts 40mm shorter than the front posts, angling the top ends at 4.5 degrees. Screw top and bottom rails between the posts so the locker roof slopes gently away from the person standing at the bench.
- Fit the shiplap with expansion room: Start cladding from the bottom rail upward. Never hammer tongue-and-groove boards dead tight in summer; slip two business cards into the rebate joint before driving a single stainless lost-head nail through the thicker shoulder. If you nail through both tongue and groove, the board will split when winter humidity arrives.
- Brace the doors in compression: Assemble the twin ledger-and-brace doors. Crucial rule: the diagonal brace must run from the bottom hinge corner up to the outer latch rail so the wood acts as a compression strut. Run it the opposite way and the door nose will sag within a month.
- Fold the zinc counter sheet: Cut your 0.7mm zinc sheet 50mm oversized on all four edges. Clamp a straight timber batten along the plywood edge and tap the zinc down cleanly with a flat wooden mallet—never a steel claw hammer, which leaves dents. Fold the corner dog-ears neatly and fix underneath the drip lip with 15mm copper clout nails.
"Always check which way your diagonal door brace slopes. Low at the hinge, high at the latch—anything else is just decorative firewood waiting to drag on the patio." — Fieldnote #14: Structural Door Bracing
Tool Care Inside the Locker
Screw a 300mm strip of scrap leather or split old garden hose along the inside top rail to hold secateurs, dibbers, and hand forks vertically out of the way of compost bags. Keep an old terracotta saucer filled with builders' sharp sand mixed with a cup of linseed oil on the bottom shelf; plunging soil-cleaned spade blades into the oiled sand before closing the door prevents surface rust all winter.