Installing a Free Library
I recently had the honour of Installing a “Free Library”!
What a great idea…”leave a book, take a book”,
The one that I Installed was made by my Clients Dad, however, they are available online,
They are usually installed/positioned on the Parkway piece of land in front of the clients home,
The one I installed was about 22″×16″, so, I needed to make a stand/support for it,
The Tools and Material I used were…Plywood (small piece for the base), 4×4 (5′ gives you flexibility based on the depth of your hole, 5′ or 6′ of 2×4 and stain and polyurethane,
The Tools needed….Circular Saw, Drill and some paint brushes for your stain and poly,
I actually used the free library as the Template for my base, and cut it with a circular saw,
After the base was cut, I dug my hole for my post, it’s reccomended that the free library should stand approximately 3′ from the ground (facing the sidewalk if present), the hole should be approximately 1/3 the height of the post for stability—54″ post, 18″ hole, and 36″ above ground,
Time to cut, stain and polyurethane your post and base, I waited to cut my support to have flexibility of length when added,
After applying stain (allow to dry) and poly (allow to dry), it’s time to position the post, place it in your hole and add some Quikrete fast drying cement, (leave about 2″-3″ on top of your hole to fill with soil later) the great feature of this product is that you just pour it in the hole, and add water, after it sets a little, like 15, 20 minutes (but before it dries) grab a level and adjust your post as needed,
When installing the platform, I used my tape measure and math to determine the center of the platform as it relates to my 4×4 post, I want my platform to be centered. I place my platform on my post and secure it with 4 screws (1 on each corner)
Now that my platform is secured, I place my Library on top of my platform (the concrete has set for about 45 minutes by this point) in my case, I screwed the platform from underneath along the perimeter connecting the platform to the walls of the library,
When adding my side supports using 2×4’s, I took my tape measure to see how long I wanted my supports to be in relationship to my post and platform, mine were about a foot,
I made two 45 degree cuts on each support, using my 1st support as a template for my second post, (using my circular saw) stain and polyurethane and wait to dry,
After your supports dry, start your screws in your supports on the ground first, it helps you get the right angel,
Back fill your hole with the removed soil and put the remaining, somewhere else.
Time to load up your booka and let the fun begin!
gojoehandyman.com
