if your wanting to build a brick planter with bricks underneath then putting rocks in the soil will help as it does in a pot to collect the water. if you're just going to put the planter down with brick edging then you don't need to worry about any drainage as the water will seap into the ground. One thing to be careful with though with brick planters is that it draws the water away because the bricks get hot from the sun. if you're wanting to have the ability to paint the edge of the house that you want to put the brick planter against you could awlas get rocks and put it there so that you have a minny walking path to paint the edge of the house. This way though you won't have the full measurements that you wanted to cover for a brick planter.
Blaine ----- Original Message ----- From: Bill Gallik To: Blind Handyman Sent: Thursday, February 18, 2010 7:20 AM Subject: [BlindHandyMan] Questions About Brick Planters OK Guys (and Gals), I'm planning to build a brick planter in front of my home this spring and have a few questions. First, let me explain that my home has a 10 square foot addition in front that comprises the dining room. This addition sits on a concrete foundation that comes up about 1 foot and the addition itself extends out in front of the rest of the house 11 feet or so and is likewise about 11 feet wide. The sidewalk parallels the southern-most outside wall about 5 feet away; this is where I'd like to put the brick planter. In short, I have about an 11' by 5' area between the house and sidewalk that I would like to "cover" with a brick planter. Here are my questions: 1) The foundation rises about 1 foot above ground and I'd like to build a planter at least 2 feet high; what should I be aware of/concerned about where the back wall of the planter would be against or near this foundation and siding? 2) If I build the planter right next to the house, what do I need to think about so far as maintaining the integrity of the wood siding on that wall? I guess what I want to know is how would I be able to paint that lower tier of siding from time to time? 3) Would I need to line the inside of the planter with some type of water proof material? 4) What about drainage from the planter? 5) What type of foundation do I need to think about for the planter? 6) Is it practical or even aesthetically attractive to build a planter right out to the sidewalk? I should say that I'd like this planter to serve as a "guide" for snowblowing that part of the sidewalk during the winter so having the planter foundation right against the sidewalk is one of my design intentions. I like to place 4" × 4" treated lumber along my sidewalk edges (at least one side) to serve as a "boundary" for the snowblower; it makes for a much neater, straighter resulting path through the snow as well as eliminating "drift" onto the lawn. Any thoughts, suggestions and warnings will be much appreciated.\ Thanks! ---- Holland's Person, Bill - "Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint." - US Humorist, Mark Twain (1835 - 1910) [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
