My new orchid stand is finished!

[syndywindy]

My future son in law Leif was working on a project for me. I had an idea to create a type of stand similar to a japanese folding screen to include shelves which can be adjustable in height. He did some tweaking of my idea and his father wanted to help and he put his ideas into it and here is the finished product. He is still going to tweak the shelving a bit more, but you can see how well he constructed this. So far 3 panels which are hinged so they can move in any position I'd like. I can hang mounted plants on either side of the panels. The base has wheels that lock and can be removable very easily. It was made so it can go indoors as well for wintering my orchids. Additonal panels can be added on at any time. The lattice is a bit wide on the shelves so he will add some heavy duty screening so pots are more steady. This really exceeded my expectaions and as I said, he really did a wonderful job in mitering, routing , etc. stained and sealed. What do you all think, he should market this right. lol This one is about 5' tall, each panel is 18" wide. Last picture is Leif and my daughter Kris.

[bearded orchid]

Wow! I really really like this design. Especially for the feature of hanging mounts and doubling as a piece of furniture, haha.

My only question would be how stable it would be with multiple shelves and pots on it;or would the zig-zag design counteract this?

[Daethen]

Looks absoluetely wonderful. Excellent for the hanging ones. He obviously has an eye for detail. I may have to steal this idea and make one myself.

[BGGraham1]

OK...how much with shipping? No, I'm serious! I especially like the basket shelves, since I live in earthquake country.

So, how much with shipping?

[syndywindy]

Originally Posted by bearded orchid

Wow! I really really like this design. Especially for the feature of hanging mounts and doubling as a piece of furniture, haha.

My only question would be how stable it would be with multiple shelves and pots on it;or would the zig-zag design counteract this?

I was a bit concerned with that as well. I was intending it to be used for smaller pots and not heavy ones. I also thought the shelves could stabilize it more if they were lower on the panels. I still have some playing around to do to see how I want things. It appears to be very sturdy and stable, we'll see how it does during a storm with higher winds. But being on wheels, I can easily move it closer to the house, close it up a bit, etc. if winds become an issue for it. But it's not flimsy in any way so we'll see.

Originally Posted by Daethen

Looks absoluetely wonderful. Excellent for the hanging ones. He obviously has an eye for detail. I may have to steal this idea and make one myself.

He is a union carpenter and his father runs a very successful construction company here in the Chicago area that he of course works for, He does have a degree in construction mgt as well and is just about finished working on the classes needed to be a building inspector. We are already lining up household projects for him. lol
SThe nice thing about this design is you can build it to meet whatever needs you have. I wanted a 5' tall one, but this could easily be 3',4', or even 6' tall and the panels surely could be wider. He is just going to tweak the shelving and how they adjust on the panels.

[syndywindy]

Originally Posted by BGGraham1

OK...how much with shipping? No, I'm serious! I especially like the basket shelves, since I live in earthquake country.

So, how much with shipping?

I'll have to ask. He built this for about $110 and he said with all his tools in his workshop, only took him a couple hours to do. This would have taken me a year to complete. He said the longest was staining and sealing it. I guess when you know what you are doing it's easy. We are going to put some heavy duty screening on the shleves as the lattice openings are too wide for some of the smaller pots, they would go right through them. Another possibility is some screening on part of the panels to be able to hang more mounts. Indoors this would be very easy to roll into the kitchen or utility room for watering.

[plantloverlisa]

Love it! And it's on wheels! What a great job he did. I would buy one.

[BGGraham1]

Originally Posted by syndywindy

I'll have to ask. He built this for about $110 and he said with all his tools in his workshop, only took him a couple hours to do. This would have taken me a year to complete. He said the longest was staining and sealing it. I guess when you know what you are doing it's easy. We are going to put some heavy duty screening on the shleves as the lattice openings are too wide for some of the smaller pots, they would go right through them. Another possibility is some screening on part of the panels to be able to hang more mounts. Indoors this would be very easy to roll into the kitchen or utility room for watering.

Its just perfect! Just in case though, where can I find basket shelves like that? We haven't had a good earthquake in a while, so I live in fear that it will happen soon and everyone will end up on the floor. I'm thinking if I could incorporate that kind of basket on top of some humidity trays it would be perfect for me. My hubby is in the process of putting up some hooks for my mounted ones that will be more stable than what I have now, so I won't have to worry about them, but the potted ones right now are sitting ducks.

[Dendian]

It's beautiful Synda. I love the idea - and so many uses. I like the wide lattice where you put the pot down in the holes.. no more flying pots!

The only question I have is how thick is that lattice? Is there any other fastening at the back besides those angle hooks? Most of my lattice would not stand up very long having something hang at that angle off of it, its only "nailed" in the center with staples. Is that what he is still working on tweaking? If it were me - I probably would put some kind of lag bolt through the wood frame to wood frame from the back side - not as pretty, and not as "adjustable" but I would feel safer.

All in all - a very beautiful job!

[otis 226]

Okay, send the guys and their tools down to FL. It looks so good. Good that its on wheels, but I'll bet you could add weight at the base to make it even more stable, if need be. Really functional and attractive.
Tony

[syndywindy]

Originally Posted by BGGraham1

Its just perfect! Just in case though, where can I find basket shelves like that? We haven't had a good earthquake in a while, so I live in fear that it will happen soon and everyone will end up on the floor. I'm thinking if I could incorporate that kind of basket on top of some humidity trays it would be perfect for me. My hubby is in the process of putting up some hooks for my mounted ones that will be more stable than what I have now, so I won't have to worry about them, but the potted ones right now are sitting ducks.

Those wire baskets you are talking about are actually silverware baskets that you would put in a kitchen drawer. I found them at Target and the way they are divided are perfect for differnet sized small pots. The basket is actually sitting on the shelf. I'm glad you like it. I was like a giddy school girl when he was bringing into the yard!

Originally Posted by Dendian

It's beautiful Synda. I love the idea - and so many uses. I like the wide lattice where you put the pot down in the holes.. no more flying pots!

The only question I have is how thick is that lattice? Is there any other fastening at the back besides those angle hooks? Most of my lattice would not stand up very long having something hang at that angle off of it, its only "nailed" in the center with staples. Is that what he is still working on tweaking? If it were me - I probably would put some kind of lag bolt through the wood frame to wood frame from the back side - not as pretty, and not as "adjustable" but I would feel safer.

All in all - a very beautiful job!

The lattice is cedar lattice. He routed out the cedar framing all the way around and it is actually slipped inside the framework. He is going to be tweaking how the shelving is done, he decided he wasn't happy with those. So he is going to put a hinge under the shelf with an arm that can swing out and down and he will drill 1/2'' holes through the frame and insert pegs to support that swinging arm. Is that what you were asking about? But I will mention your thought to him as he knows more about this stuff than I do.

[syndywindy]

Originally Posted by otis 226

Okay, send the guys and their tools down to FL. It looks so good. Good that its on wheels, but I'll bet you could add weight at the base to make it even more stable, if need be. Really functional and attractive.
Tony

We have some sandbags we could use to hold it down if need be, but that would so detract to how pretty it looks. Oh gosh, maybe pretty isn't the right word for something he made. lol Maybe cool is a better word.

[berniep]

G'Day Synda

Certainly is a nice piece of construction, but also a very handsome couple in the last pic!

Cheers
Bernie

[ArtGeekMark]

It looks wonderful & functional, & I even like the color finish used. Crafty use of a mesh utensil drawer divider as well!

[Anton]

HE'S A KEEPER !!!!!!!

What a clever idea.

During winter when it is inside it will make a good feature piece.

Water coming out of the pots is the only drawback I can envisage.

[Brooke]

A future son-in-law with power tools - priceless!

Your daughter, her future husband and the new orchid hotel are all gorgeous. It is a great idea and will certainly help make tending some of your 'chids easier.

Brooke

[koshki]

Synda, I love it...it's very attractive even before you put the orchids on it!

My only question...and it's because we just picked up my containerized tomato plants that have blown over for the fourth time...is this secured from blowing over in some way? It would be a tragedy if your plants got spilled all over the place.

[syndywindy]

Originally Posted by koshki

Synda, I love it...it's very attractive even before you put the orchids on it!

My only question...and it's because we just picked up my containerized tomato plants that have blown over for the fourth time...is this secured from blowing over in some way? It would be a tragedy if your plants got spilled all over the place.

Other than the wheels locking, no it's not secure but it isn't exactly wobbly . I was thinking of how I could accomplish this in case of a high wind. It is bottom heavy, I could put a couple sandbags on the top, or I can just wheel it closer to the house when I know a very windy day is coming. My other thought was to somehow tether it down on either side, so no matter which way the wind happened to be blowing, the tethers would keep it from tipping. The more angled the panels are to each other, the more secure it becomes. Open it out straight and then we'd be talking about it maybe tipping in a high wind. Some playing around yet to do, location and how open or closed the panels should be in relation to how much sun they will get. All fun stuff and something to occupy this feeble mind! lol

[katrina]

It's beautiful!! Ohhhhhh huuuuuuubbbbbbbyyyyyyy! I'm printing the pics and putting it on a "honey do list" ....LOVE it! And....check - Target shopping tomorrow. Another idea snagged from my Geek friends.

He could market these...they would sell for sure.

I just showed it to my husband...is there any way you could post a pic of how the shelves attach? He thinks he knows but I think a pic might be in order. If possible.

[NancyG]

Very nice. It will look very handsome in your yard. Great job!

[syndywindy]

Originally Posted by katrina

It's beautiful!! Ohhhhhh huuuuuuubbbbbbbyyyyyyy! I'm printing the pics and putting it on a "honey do list" ....LOVE it! And....check - Target shopping tomorrow. Another idea snagged from my Geek friends.

He could market these...they would sell for sure.

I just showed it to my husband...is there any way you could post a pic of how the shelves attach? He thinks he knows but I think a pic might be in order. If possible.

I will go out if not tonight(I just came in and the mosquitos are swarming big time as it's almost dusk here) then tomorrow when I get home from work. Hard to describe what he did, pictures will show it so much better. For lack of better terminology, he used z shaped brackets or shelf hooks. One side screwed to the shelf, the other hangs over the lattice. If I wanted the shelving to be in a permanent position, he could screw this end into the lattice. But since I don't want that at this point, he is tweaking the design abit as I mentioned to put a hinged arm that will swing out from the bottom front of the shelf to the frame and be supported by pegs drilled into the framework. For now he has a bracket holder under the shelf with a long dowel that fits into the frame at the side, but if I wanted to put a heavier pot on the shelf, not sure how much extra support this will provide. I did put a large landscaping brick on the shelf and it didn't give at all, so it would work, but I think the swingdown arm will look better. I will get a picture of that as well.

[syndywindy]

Ran out to take a few pictures, it's getting dark so hopefully you can get the idea of how the shelves attached. Right now he only screwed the shelves in temporarily until he finishes the tweaking, then they will be removable and height adjustable.

[lmartiny]

Very clever and it looks great.

[Puddy1]

WOW it is beautiful! I am sooo jealous. You are fortunate to have such a handy man available, and what a sweetie for building it for you. He did an amazing job!

[syndywindy]

Originally Posted by Puddy1

WOW it is beautiful! I am sooo jealous. You are fortunate to have such a handy man available, and what a sweetie for building it for you. He did an amazing job!

He is a very nice guy, and we are already thinking about what he can do around the house for us!

[katrina]

I think the pics are perfect. Thanks Synda!