# Window planter box



## razwick (Mar 26, 2007)

I would like to create a window planter box for a large bay window on the front of my house, I recognize that as it is a south facing side there will be a need for regular watering, and will possibly include an irrigation hose in the design. I have aluminum siding, and would entertain the box being 8 foot long. This is obviously going to create a very heavy situation especially after watering. What options do I have for attaching it to the house? How do I locate studs or something to bear some of the weight? Can I just puncture through the aluminum or will that create a new set of problems with leaking? What other information might you need in order to help me?


----------



## handy man88 (Jan 23, 2007)

Sounds to me like you will need to remove the aluminum siding in the area where the window planter will be. From there, that will expose the wood sheathing, and the nails on the sheathing will probably let you know where the framing/studs are. 

From there, you would probably want to put some sort of waterproof backing on that exposed area, install the window planter with lag screws, seal all seams, and then trim and flash around the box. 

If you just build a box and drive in lag screws right through, you'd be compressing the siding and any seals that you might have caulked would become useless.

To limit the amount of disturbance to that area, you can do something else. I would locally cut like 3 or 4 (depending on volume of window box) rectangular areas of the siding where the studs are located (found via a studfinder). From there, I would still install some waterproof backing. The, I would screw in 3 or 4 pressure treated offset blocks and then flash and seal around these blocks and then paint. Then, I would install the planter box on these 3 or 4 offset blocks (one on each end, one at 2 ft. and 2 at 6 ft of the window box), which will prevent the siding from being crushed. These 3 blocks would serve to cantilever the window box slightly outward to provide a clearance between the window box itself and the aluminum siding. If you're still concerned about the weight of a window box after watering, you can add decorative brackets on the bottom. Make sure you use pressure treated wood.


----------



## razwick (Mar 26, 2007)

Thanks for the prompt response, when you say remove the aluminum siding what would that entale? Cut holes in it? Or what? Never messed with the siding on a house before.


----------



## handy man88 (Jan 23, 2007)

Usually metal is cut using tin snips. I'm not sure if you can get a straight cut using tin snips. What I would try to do is mark the area to be removed with a pencil, and then score the siding along the outline of the aluminum you want to remove. That could be done using a sharp utility knife and a small straight edge. Then, I would probably drill a few holes on the inside of the aluminum that you want to remove, and then use the snips to cut a decent bit on the inside. Then, I would probably try to flex back and forth where the score marks are, to try to yield the material and then it will come off piece by piece. You should probably wear gloves as the edges can be sharp.

The other method would be to remove entire aluminum panels and then remove the sections then, which would be more labor intensive and more measuring required. In any regard, it may not matter with completely "straight cuts" since you'll probably cover the edges with trim or flash it.


----------



## Allspirited (Apr 29, 2011)

Hi. I want to do the same. I have a bay window constructed of wood and I would like tonput stable boxes on the outside. I would like it to fit like one constructed piece (look like it).. Vs three separate boxes! I have no idea where to start?!!
I know they will be load bearing due to the wet soil so I need to
Put them into studs~ any pictures or ideas ESP pics~ pls send direct to me at [email protected]. I sort of feel desperate as I can't seem to find much on linebif even YouTube!


----------



## handy man88 (Jan 23, 2007)

Allspirited said:


> Hi. I want to do the same. I have a bay window constructed of wood and I would like tonput stable boxes on the outside. I would like it to fit like one constructed piece (look like it).. Vs three separate boxes! I have no idea where to start?!!
> I know they will be load bearing due to the wet soil so I need to
> Put them into studs~ any pictures or ideas ESP pics~ pls send direct to me at [email protected]. I sort of feel desperate as I can't seem to find much on linebif even YouTube!


To make it one piece, the easiest way is to use cardboard to create a template. Use pieces of cardboard to construct your template in order to determine the correct fit for each section of the bay window. That would be a good start.


----------

