Cedar is a soft wood. Work on a soft surface (grass, cardboard, moving blanket) to
reduce risk of damage to the wood.
Some basic safety measures to follow include:
Always wear safety glasses when working with tools.
When lifting, bend at the knees, not at the hips.
Work with a partner. Assembled beds can be quite heavy and unsafe to life by oneself.
If your garden bed installation requires digging more than just a few inches
–
that is, deeper than
a thin layer for basic sod removal
–
you are advised to do a utility survey/locate. This is especially
true for front yard installations.
You can get a free utility locate in Ontario by calling Ontario One Call, 1 (800) 400-2255. Quebec
residents call Info Excavation, 1 (800) 663-9228.
The word Tier as used in these instructions refers to a single course of four square posts in their
rectangular (4’ x 8’ beds) or square (4’ x 4’ beds) shape. Tiers are assembled piece by piece, with
successive tiers being built post by post on top of the tier below it. DO NOT ASSEMBLE TIERS SEPARATLY
FROM ONE ANOTHER. Successive tiers must be attached piece by piece to the tier below.
All pieces of the same length are interchangeable. There is no difference between a Lower Tier piece and
an upper, or top tier piece. It is recommended that you choose the pieces that are the most beautiful for
what will be the most visible wall(s) of your bed, and assemble them accordingly. Also, for the top tier,
choose pieces that are the smoothest and most aesthetically pleasing. This is the most visible tier, and the
one that will be sat upon. Square Post bed pieces all come with pre-drilled Pilot Holes that define where
spikes will be placed. When putting the wood into place for assembly, ensure that the pilot holes are
visible on the top of the piece of wood.
A bed with outside dimensions of 4’ x 8’ will be made up of wood pieces measuring 7’ 8” for the
length, and 3’ 8” for the width. When assembled, the 8’ length will be made up of the 7’ 8” piece, plus
four inches of the adjoining wall that sits at 90
˚
–
the width-
wall. The same applies to the 4’ width, made
up of a 3’ 8” piece of wood plus four inches from the end of the adjoining piece.
Similar math applies to a bed measuring 4’ x 4’. Each wall will be made up of a piece of wood measuring
3’ 8”, plus the f
our inches from the adjoining wall to equal a total length of four feet. Please refer to the
diagrams on the next page.