How to build your own DIY wheelie bin store

When it comes to revamping the garden, most people turn their attention to the lawn, the decking, and the stone paving. While keeping all of these in pristine condition is certainly a great way to keep your garden looking picture-perfect throughout the summer, there are a few things that fly under the radar that make all the difference—like your wheelie bins.

Everyone has a wheelie bin—most of us have more than one. For those of us who don’t have a convenient alleyway to store them away from prying eyes, we tend to push them to one corner of the garden and do our best to forget about them. But what if we told you we have an amazing DIY hack for concealing your bins? That’s right—today, we’re talking about building wheelie bin storage. With our tool hire range, you can get your hands on everything you need to take care of this DIY in no time!

Tools and materials you’ll need

When planning for any DIY build, there are a few staple tools and materials you’re going to need, especially when you’re building out of wood. But, when it comes down to the actual construction of your build, you can make it as simple or complex as you like. If you’re relatively new to the world of DIY, this can be a great introductory project, as you’re essentially building a structure/box big enough to fit your bin (or bins). You don’t even have to go to the extra effort of building and attaching a door. So let’s take a look at what you’re going to need.

Materials you’ll need:

• Framing timber
• Wood slats (for the sides and top)
• Wood sheets for flooring and roof
• Galvanised wood screws
• Galvanised brackets
• Wood paint or stain

Tools you’ll need:

• Workbench (optional – it’s handy but not necessary)
• Cordless drill
• Circular saw or hand saw
• Measuring tape
• Spirit level
• Paint brush or roller
• Pencil and rubber
• Paper

Step one: make your plans  

Before you start anything, it’s important to have a well-thought-out plan. This will help you visualise the end result and avoid wasting any of your materials. Go out into the garden and take into account how much space you have where you plan to place your wheelie bin store. If you’re working with limited space, it’s worth measuring what’s available to ensure accurate plans (measure your bin’s height and width, too, to be safe). When it comes to the size of your bin, there is no one size fits all. It just depends on where you live and the council, how many people live in your house, and other factors. Generally speaking, though, your bins should be either 140Ltr, 180Ltr, 240Ltr, or 360Ltr.

Figuring out how large your bin is before you start prevents you from building a structure that’s too big or, even worse, too small. By the end, you’ll want to know how tall and wide you need your bin store to be.

Step two: sizing up your timber

Now you have a relatively good idea of how tall and wide your bin store needs to be, you can start measuring out and cutting your wood down to size with your circular saw, and if you don’t have one, you can hire one from us! You’ll need your pieces for the sides, back and roof. You’ll also need to measure a cut to size the sheet of wood for both the bottom and top of your bin store.  Start by cutting and setting aside the pieces you need to build your frame

If you’re confident in your joinery abilities you can even build a door if you want your bins to be totally out of sight from all angles.

 

Step three: construct the frame

Start by clearing your workspace so everything is flat and free from tools or other tripping hazards. Lay out the timber pieces you have measured and cut for the bottom, sides, and back. Start by constructing the bottom frame, which should resemble an incomplete rectangle without one length side. Certainly! Here’s a simplified version of the text you provided:

After building the bottom frame, repeat the steps, but add another piece of wood adjacent to the longest piece to close the rectangle. This will create the top frame that you will use later. A helpful tip is to use galvanised brackets in the corners of your frames for added sturdiness!

Once you have your base structure and your wooden flooring sheet ready, you can attach the sheet to create the flooring using screws and your cordless drill. Once you have a sturdy base, go ahead and attach the side frames on each corner.

You’ll want to keep your tape measure and level on hand to ensure everything is aligned correctly. After this step, you should have a good base structure from which to work. Be sure to double-check the alignment for stability. Before you move on, this would be a good time to check that it’s the correct height and width for your wheelie bins. If everything is as it should be, you’re ready to move on.

 

Step four: add stability with wood slats

Now that you have your base, most of the hard work is already done! Next, you’ll need to prepare your wood slats and your drill. The number of slats you’ll need will depend on how big you’d like the gaps between them to be. If you want a sparse look, use fewer slats. If you’d like the gaps to be smaller, use more slats. The more slats you use, the sturdier your structure will be. You need to decide on the number of slats you’ll use for each side and the back before you begin so that you can cut them down before you start screwing them in place.

Once you’ve decided on the perfect number of slats to achieve your desired look, you’ll need to cut them with your circular saw from one corner post to the other so they fit neatly on top without any overhang. The back slats will be longer than the side slats. Once you have all of your slats cut, it’s just a matter of securing them in place with the cordless drill. We suggest measuring the spacing between your slats and marking it on your wood with a pencil to ensure consistent gaps on both sides and the back for a more professional finish.

 

Step five: add the top frame and the roof

Now it’s time to bring back the top frame you made earlier and secure that to the top of your structure, it should fit right on top and be flush. Secure it down with the cordless drill and screws. Once that’s all fixed in place, you can go ahead and finish off the build with the top sheet for the roof.

Step six: give it a lick of paint or stain

Apply paint or sealant to protect your new bin store from the elements. This creates a barrier against moisture, UV damage, and decay, ensuring a longer lifespan and easier maintenance. It also makes it look much more professional. You can choose to keep things natural with a wood stain, or you could go for a pop of colour!

Now, you have a stylish and convenient space to store your wheelie bins, which adds visual interest to your space and makes it look purposeful. You can take things one step further by turning the top of your bin store into an herb garden or flower bed to enhance the aesthetics. Additionally, it provides more gardening space without taking up room on the floor!

 

Whatever you choose to do, you can always count on us at Smiths Hire to get you all the tools you need to get the job done. We’ve been proudly offering our tool hire services across the North West and Yorkshire for over 50 years! If you’d like to come and check out our tools in person, our 17 tool hire depots are strategically located in major cities such as Manchester, Liverpool, and Leeds! If you have any questions, our friendly team will be more than happy to assist you. Just give us a call on 0333 323 2100!