As we got more requests for elevated garden beds, we had to figure out the design and materials to use. Regarding the walls, floor and upper ledge of the garden bed, we had lots of questions … and lots of testing to do with material of varied thicknesses.

As for the legs of the garden bed, however, that part was easy. Untreated 4x4s was the obvious material to go with. We just needed to find them. This proved to be more challenging than we expected.

Where to Find Untreated 4×4 Lumber

At every home center we visited, there were plenty of 4x4s made with pressure-treated pine and cedar. But we couldn’t use either one of these products.

Pressure-treated pine was out of the question, first and foremost, due to its color. Whereas the rest of the garden bed is made with golden cedar, PT pine is greenish in color. That would make the legs stand out in sharp contrast with the rest of the product. And even if we were ok with that contrast in color, we had a secondary reason to avoid PT pine. Most clients simply don’t want their garden beds built with chemically-treated lumber.

As for cedar 4x4s, the common ones we found were simply too expensive. As of this writing, an 8-foot 4×4 is selling for $43 at Lowes. We needed two of these 8-footers for each of our long garden beds. So this option would add nearly $100 to our material cost. That extra cost would then take our selling price beyond where we wanted it to be. So we kept looking for another option.

To be perfectly honest, we didn’t even know what we were looking for. Even if we found untreated 4x4s in pine, we knew we couldn’t use that either. It would deteriorate too quickly, much faster than the rest of the bed’s materials.

Douglas Fir 4x4s

And that’s when we met our good friend, Douglas. Douglas fir, that is.

I cannot overstate how important it was for us to realize the effectiveness of using Douglas fir for garden beds. It was a total gamechanger for us and our clients. It kept our material cost down, which helped us maintain reasonable prices for well-built products.

The resilience of Doug fir doesn’t quite match that of cedar. It’s definitely a step down in terms of longevity in exterior applications. However, we had a specific solution for that issue. We applied a water seal to the very bottom of the legs. This end would be prone to absorbing water on the ground which would quickly make it deteriorate. By sealing up that end, it helped the legs to effectively repel groundwater instead of absorbing it. Problem solved.

As for its color, Doug fir is pinkish in color whereas cedar is closer to brown. After about a year, however, it doesn’t matter. Both the cedar and the Douglas will go grey and will almost appear to be the same material.

The only issue we’ve had with Doug fir 4x4s is that they’re a little hard to find. There’s only one Home Depot in our area that carries them. But as of right now, it’s totally worth it to go there. They’re only $13 to $15. Check for them in your area with this link: Douglas fir at Home Depot. The model number for this lumber is 279542.

Back to Cedar 4x4s

We carried on with Douglas fir 4x4s for quite some time. We built dozens of elevated beds with them.

But then we made another groundbreaking discovery early in 2023 which – once again- changed everything.

As you can imagine, we constantly monitor the price of lumber. I can tell you the approximate price of all the lumber at a home center without looking at any of the price tags. When I walk by a stack of cedar 4x4s, I know they’re going to run between $40 and $45.

So you can imagine my surprise when came across a stack of them at Home Depot for $25! I froze and just stared at the price tag in disbelief.

“This can’t be right. Is this the discounted lumber section? Is there something wrong with it? No!? Is this really cedar? It is!? How is this possible? Where’s the manager?”

Even now, I can’t really explain how or why Lowes and Home Depot sell some cedar 4x4s for $25 and some for $40+ … in the same store.  Sometimes, on the same rack. In appearance, they’re pretty much the same thing. They have the same weight and density. They even smell the same.

Affordable Cedar 4x4s at Home Depot and Lowes

As I continued looking into the difference between them, the only detail I could find is that the more-expensive 4×4 is labeled as Western Red Cedar whereas the $25 4×4 is not. Aside from that, every other detail is the same. They’re both considered “green lumber,” which means they haven’t been dried in a kiln. They have the same weather-resistant qualities which make them last a long time in the outdoors.

Thus, I came to the conclusion that I can use them for our elevated beds. It’s a big win for everyone involved; for us, for our clients and even for Lowes and Home Depot. The legs on our elevated garden beds are now made with wood from the same species as the rest of the product. Everything perfectly matches in color and none of the lumber is treated with chemicals (none of the cedar lumber at home centers is ever treated).

Our cedar elevated garden bed with untreated 4×4 legs

Again, the only challenge with these is that they’re not at ever store. At Home Depot, the model number is #2900808. At Lowes, the item number is 854882, currently at $35.

Of course, the good news for you is that if you don’t need your untreated 4×4 to be cedar, you’ll pay much less than $25. I linked above to Home Depot’s option. And here is the link to the Lowes option (link). When you find these at a store, it may be Douglas fir or possibly spruce. But they won’t be treated.

As for untreated 4×4 in pine, I’ve never seen them. But with one of the options presented above, you’re likely to find what you need.

I welcome and look forward to your feedback. Leave a comment. I wood love to hear your thoughts!

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Obviously, you can create a short list of tradesmen by searching on Google. But there might be some ambiguity in that type of search. Not to mention that many of the businesses you call on will give you a standard reply of “We don’t do that.”

In this post, we’ll turn your needle-in-a-haystack search into one that is pointed and clear. And if all goes well, you may end up with multiple professionals bidding for the work you need done.

Maybe You Just Need a Handyman

Let’s start with the possibility that you don’t actually need a local woodworker or carpenter at all.

Do your drawers need to be fixed or put back into alignment? Are your doors sticking to the door frame and need an adjustment? Does your fence or deck need a board replaced?

Well, the good news here is that your average handyman can do any of these simple tasks. Yes, the same guy who comes around to work on your sink and light fixtures probably has the tools and skills required to fix the broken wood around your home. It can’t hurt to ask him.

After presenting the task to a handyman … if you sense any hesitation in his willingness or confidence to do it then don’t press it any further. Move on to the next guy. The last thing you want is a guy who’s winging it, not sure what he’s doing and possibly making the problem worse.

Find a Local Carpenter

Another scenario is when you need something built in or on a specific section of your home. Everything will need to be measured and customized for that space. This includes things like a new staircase, a new built-in or closet or even custom cabinets. The key factor here is that a carpenter who’s capable of doing this work will need to show up with his tools and do most of the work right there at your home.

An actual carpenter already has the tools and skills to do these kinds of tasks. There’s a minimal amount of “figuring out” for him to do, even if the job is complex. He’s already done this type of task several times before. This is what sets him apart from a handyman.

The local home center will have most if not all of the materials a carpenter will need to complete the job. He’ll need simple building materials like pressure-treated pine, untreated pine and regular fasteners. The process of finding a local carpenter is essentially the same as finding a local woodworker, which is highlighted below. But it helps to understand the type of work these guys do and don’t do.

The Difference Between Carpenters and Woodworkers

Now that we understand the appropriate occasions for handymen and carpenters, let’s turn our attention to woodworkers. The primary difference between a carpenter and a woodworker is in where they work. Whereas carpenters have most of their tools in their vehicle in order to work onsite, most of a woodworker’s tools are back in his shop. That’s where he does most of his work.

Also, whereas the usual work of carpenters involves immovable builds like closets, stairs and built-ins, the usual offerings of woodworkers are deliverable pieces of one size or another. This would include tables, benches, chairs and smaller items like cutting boards or other handheld items.

Of course, there is considerable overlap between these two tradesmen. After all, they have many of the same tools and skills. A woodworker will often build something in his shop and then deliver and install it onsite like a carpenter. A carpenter, despite having many tools on his vehicle, most likely has a shop of his own back home where he can build more complex items like a woodworker. But it’s important to understand the work they do more than 80% of the time.

Last thing I’ll mention regarding the difference between carpenters and woodworkers is that woodworkers tend to have experience with a greater variety of woods … softwoods, hardwoods and everything in between. Not to mention finishes, stains and surface textures. Again, your average carpenter likely has the capability of using such varied materials. But in his typical day-to-day routine, he typically doesn’t.

How to Find a Local Woodworker

Now that we understand the scenarios where a woodworker is needed, let’s focus on how to find one. Keep in mind that most woodworkers work within one or a few specific niches.

In our specific case, for example, we are currently not set up to do any fine finishing. That requires a relatively dust-free environment which we just don’t have at the moment. So this rules us out for doing high-end furniture or cabinetry (for now). The work spaces for most of our products are rough and dusty. Thus, although we’re a woodworking company, we may not be able to assist with your specific project.

However, if you’re looking to hire a woodworker in Houston for high-end work, send us a message here and we’ll steer you towards someone who can do it.

If, on the other hand, you’re nowhere near Houston and you need to hire a local woodworker, here’s what you need to do. Go to Facebook and search for a local woodworking community. Here in Houston, the group I follow is Woodworker’s Club of Houston. This is a closed group that you’ll need to join. They’ll ask you one or two basic questions about your interest in the group. Once you answer those, they’ll accept you into the group and you’ll be able to see all of their posts.

Of course, you probably won’t have much interest in the posts since they’re mostly about tools, woodworking problems and other trade-related topics. But the guys in groups like these, however, are exactly the audience to whom you should pitch your project.

How to Hire a Local Woodworker

Once you’re in the group, create a post with as many photos and details as possible which highlight the style and type of work you want done … or the piece you want them to build for you. I’ll take this a step further and suggest that you mention your budget for the project. This will save everyone a lot of time and help you to understand the going rate for professional woodwork in your area.

I’d encourage you to be realistic and fair in this process. If your budget is only $500, you can’t request something like a 12-foot dinner table with matching chairs … all made with Brazilian hardwoods. You’ll need to calibrate your expectations

The great thing about this Facebook approach is that you’re pitching your project to the exact group of people who are capable of building the pieces you want. Once you’ve clearly laid out the details, some will message you or request that you send them a direct message. Ask them for photos of their work, particularly photos which demonstrate they can build the type of piece you’re asking for.

Aside from this approach, keep in mind that some woodworkers are so good and busy at what they do that they’ll never see your post. They’re too busy doing awesome woodwork!! But perhaps on some occasions in the past, they posted photos of their work. If their past work indicates that they can handle your project, contact them. Send a message. Find out the name and number of their business and make it clear you’re a serious buyer.

Iron Out the Details

Hopefully, the woodworker presents himself as a professional seller who has done this before. If it’s evident that is not the case, walk away. Other side of the same coin … you need to present yourself a serious buyer. At the beginning, all he has is a rough idea of what you want. All of that ambiguity needs to be ironed out like a wrinkled pair of pants … every single detail. Leave no room for error. For example;

“The overall height of the coffee table should be 20 inches. Overall length and width of the table should be 60 x 24 inches. The thickness of the top should be 1.5 inches.  The top should extend past the the legs only 1/2 an inch. The whole thing should be built from white maple and finished with clear shellac. The style of the legs and edges should match those of the attached photo.”

Of course, it takes a lot of communication to get to this point. You may not have any of these details, but rather, just a photo of something you want built. A professional woodworker will guide you to this point. He’ll provide sketches, drawings, photos, color and finish samples, etc. However, please keep in mind … all these chats are taking his time. He will likely include his fee for that time in his final price.

How to Pay a Local Woodworker

Man, this post is much longer than I expected. But anyhow, we’ve come this far – and you’re still reading it – so let’s be thorough and cover this topic too; how to pay a local woodworker.

Just like the details of the piece should be written out, you should also clarify and detail payment terms between you and the woodworker. Leave no room for miscommunication;

“I, the customer, agree to pay XYZ Woodworks a grand total of $1,850.00 for the pieces which are detailed in this agreement. This total includes labor, materials and delivery. I agree to pay 50% of that total ($925) to initiate the order. The balance of $925 will be due upon delivery. The estimated delivery date of the order is (a specific date on the calendar). XYX Woodworks will update me if this date is expected to change.”

That’s more or less the type of language you need to have in your agreement. It makes it clear that you have clear and firm expectations. You could even take it a step further by including additional clauses for negative scenarios. These clauses would spell out the terms that release you and the tradesman from the agreement (refund of deposit, etc). This would be more appropriate with a higher-dollar project. In that case, you might want to consider a more formal contract rather than a typed up agreement.

Anyhow, I could go on and on with these topics. But hopefully this post provides you with a general idea of how to approach these types of tradesmen. If you have any questions, please feel free to message us. Good luck with your project!

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The most glaring problem of all, however, was the misuse of available space throughout the restaurant. All the waiters dreaded working in a section that was far from the kitchen. They knew they would have to walk to and from the kitchen a hundred times to retrieve something. The longer the walk, the longer their customers had to wait for them.

Walking to the kitchen was perfectly understandable to get something which should only be stored in a kitchen. Salad dressing and sauces, for example. But it made no sense to me for us to walk across the restaurant to get silverware, lemons or a to-go container. Every time I had to do this, I was just one more waiter in the congested areas of the kitchen who was there to get something. It was chaos.

I repeatedly suggested having stations on the far side of the restaurant. The objection from the managers, however, was that they didn’t want these items to be out in the open where customers would see them. That’s perfectly understandable. White styrofoam containers are ugly and no one likes a cluttered restaurant…totally valid objections.

One Of My Early Woodworking Jobs

“Well then we need cabinets,” I told them. “We need cabinets that are stained and finished to match all the wood in this dining room. They’re going to need doors that are solidly built, capable of taking lots of abuse from hurried waiters. I told them exactly where the cabinets needed to go. And when they finally warmed up to the idea and asked who they should hire to build these cabinets, I responded; “me.”

I gotta say…I was quite surprised when they agreed to this. They paid me to build two cabinets and two sets of shelves. I was thrilled at the opportunity. It wasn’t the first time I was hired to build furniture, but it was still quite early in my woodworking experience.

I was proud that I completed the job in a reasonable period of time. I was proud of it. Unlike my previous work which would only be seen in the homes of the people who hired me, hundreds of patrons would see my work in this restaurant. The manager paid me. I was happy and he was happy. All of us waiters proceeded to use the cabinets for the exact purposes which I had envisioned. I repeatedly examined them, especially the hinges, looking for any sign of flaws or failure.

Even after I’d stopped working there, I occasionally dropped in to check on my work. New managers came and went. None of them knew me, of course. Pointing out the cabinets and shelves, I would explain to them that “I built this.”

Represented by Your Work

I saw some obvious wear and tear on the pieces, which exceedingly bothered me, of course. I wanted them to last forever but I could see that they would not. It turns out, however, that the restaurant itself didn’t last very long. I just googled the place while writing this post and I learned that it’s now permanently closed.

I can’t help but to wonder what became of the shelves and cabinets I built for this place. Are they still there in the shuttered building? Were they taken elsewhere along with the rest of the dining furniture? Or were they simply thrown away?

These are the kinds of questions that go through the mind of a woodworker during his long, quiet hours in the woodshop. Could he have built it better? How is it holding up under daily use? Is warping? Or did they replace it with something else?

I shared some of these thoughts in another post, The Confidence & Insecurity of a Woodworker. If you liked this post, you might like that one too. Click here to read it. And thank you for reading about my early woodworking adventures.

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Finishing my pieces was always a challenge in the open air of our backyard. Imagine applying a perfect layer of polyurethane…and then a mosquito or a fly lands on the surface. As it struggles to get out of the sticky goo, it thrashes around and makes a mess. Fixing those blemishes was always a complicated ordeal.

Oftentimes it would rain. And in Florida, that’s very often. I had to quickly tear everything down and get it all back into the shed. After the rain, the sun would come out and I’d take everything out again. But then it would rain again. This happened repeatedly.

No part of the process was convenient. In the shed at night, lizards and other creatures would crawl on my tools and unfinished pieces. Everything was always dirty. And while I worked, mosquitoes would feast on my blood. I was so focused on my projects that I hardly noticed.

Doubt & Discouragement

And while all of these physical obstacles were annoying, they weren’t nearly as much of a problem as the mental issues that plagued me. I don’t know where these thoughts came from, but it was clear they wanted me to give it all up and never touch my tools again.

At every point of the building process, I was plagued by discouraging thoughts. It felt like an intimidating bully was hovering over me as I worked. As I inserted little dowel pieces to cover the screws:

“Real woodworkers don’t use screws. They do fancy joinery and dovetails with interlocking corners. And if they do use screws, they leave no trace of them on the surface of the piece.”

As I applied the stain:

“You haven’t adequately prepped this piece for stain yet. The edges aren’t straight and you didn’t sand it well…not to mention the fact that this board is crooked.”

As I applied the polyurethane:

“You need to throw this thing away and start over. Or better yet, just give it up. This piece is a disaster and everyone’s gonna know it. It’s gonna fall off the wall at the client’s home, crack into pieces and reveal all your amateur screws. You should leave the wood projects to the real woodworkers.”

And as I tried to sell it online:

“No one’s gonna buy this. And if they do, they’re going to want their money back for one reason or another.”

After a long, tiring day of these crippling doubts and primitive working conditions, I would put everything away, take a shower and go to bed. As I laid there, I’d scroll through Instagram to see what everybody was up to that day. As you can imagine, I follow several woodworkers. Many of them are inspiring to me and I learn a lot from them.

Intimidating Inspirations

Some guys (and girls too) are making beautiful wooden bowls on lathes. Some are burning and even electrifying wood to create amazing impressions on its surface. Others are combining colorful resins and epoxies with wood to create wonderful effects. And many others are making simple projects but with great skill, excellent tools and brilliant results.

I gradually began to realize, however, that my admiration of these brilliant artists was the fuel for my insecurity. First of all, most of them had tools I couldn’t afford. One guy I follow cuts lumber on a table saw which likely costs more than $10,000. And then he takes it over to a 12” jointer which also likely costs five figures. Meanwhile, I’m lucky to get a straight cut from the $100 table saw that I bought at Home Depot.

If I wasn’t coveting the machinery of these woodworkers, I’d grow jealous of their skills. And I would also be jealous of the time they had to learn and develop those skills. Long gone were my bachelor days when I could spend countless hours in undistracted focus on my projects.

A Never-Ending Supply of…

I lacked the tools, time and skills that I needed. But I had an abundance of passion…a large, never-ending supply of it. It’s the one thing that brought me back to my projects when it would’ve been so easy to let it all go. It was passion that forced me to get all my tools out of the shed even though it was likely going to rain again. And it was passion that made me forget about all the inconveniences and limitations of my woodworking.

The big lesson I learned in Florida was that I have to protect that passion. My tools may be rusty and disorganized. The quality of my work may be less than what I think it should be. But I must maintain my confidence at all costs. If I allow myself to become discouraged, it could lead me to a defeated perspective that would make me stop trying.

I continued watching the videos of my woodworking heroes. But I became careful about not comparing myself to them. Instead of coveting their stuff or being jealous of what I don’t have, I would purposefully be thankful for what I do have. That gratitude was the solution that kept my insecurities at bay.

The Most Important Tool in Your Woodshop

My skills are what they are. The tools I have are the tools I have. They may not be the highest-quality tools, but they’re mine. It’s my tools and my hands that are going to finish this project. And when it’s finished, I’ll see all the flaws and the room for improvement. But I must nonetheless respect the finished work of a woodworker who did his best…even if that woodworker is me. After all, completing projects is the only real way to improve and measure your skills.

Keep your tools organized and keep your blades sharp. But keep your confidence even sharper. It’s the most important tool in your woodshop.

***Visit the products page of this site to find gifts for your loved ones and new pieces for your home (click here).

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