How to turn a ladder into an outdoor display

Turn a ladder into a striking display unit for your favourite potted plants.

• 7-step wooden ladder (2 100 mm)
• Wood filler
• Pink wood primer
• Acrylic PVA
• Panel pins
• 12 x 30 mm full thread screws
• Tape measure
• pencil
• crack-filler blade
• electric screw driver and 6 mm bit
• hammer drill and 4 mm wood drill bit
• small hammer
• level
• no. 11 spanner
• handsaw

Cutting List

• 12 mm shutterboard cut to the following measurements:
• 250 x 285 mm for the top shelf
• 250 x 320 mm for the 2nd shelf
• 250 x 360 mm for the 3rd shelf
• 250 x 395 mm for the 4th shelf
• 250 x 435 mm for the 5th shelf
• 250 x 475 mm for the bottom shelf
• 5 mm pine cover-strips cut to the following measurements:
• 12 x 250 mm for the shelf sides
• 2 x 295 mm for the top shelf
• 2 x 330 mm for the 2nd shelf
• 2 x 370 mm for the 3rd shelf
• 2 x 405 mm for the 4th shelf
• 2 x 445 mm for the 5th shelf
• 2 x 485 mm for the bottom shelf

Step 1

Measure the width of each step of the ladder for the shelving. If you have a 2 100 mm 7-step wooden ladder like ours, use the measurements in the shopping list above. The depth of all 6 shelves is 250 mm.

Step 2

Using a handsaw cut the shutterboard and cover-strips for the shelves to fit each step. Holding the cover-strips in place on the short sides of each shelf, check that they fit snuggly on each step.

Step 3

Using the hammer and panel pins, attach the cover-strips to each shelf. The fourteen 250 mm lengths will fit flush with the short sides of each shelf and the longer lengths will overlap by 5 mm on each end. All the panel strips fit flush against the bottom of the shelf creating a tray with raised edges on the top (fig a).

Step 4

Paint each shelf with pink wood primer and leave to dry before applying two coats of your top colour. We used a soft green, Elysian Fields (colour 30GY62/159) from Dulux.

Step 5

Dismantle the back legs from the front steps of your ladder using the spanner and flat screwdriver. Remove and discard the very top ‘7th step’.

Step 6

Apply wood filler, using crack-filler blades, to the holes left in the ladder.

Step 7

Pre-drill 2 holes per step, being careful to avoid the under step support.

Step 8

Place each shelf in position on the steps and attach using the electric screwdriver and full thread screws from underneath each step through the predrilled holes.

Step 9

Place your ladder in position where you would like to display your potted plants. Check the position of the ladder when it’s resting against the wall by placing a level on the middle shelf. If it is level then the rest of the shelves should also be level, as the steps are parallel to each other.