Upcycled Gable Vent and Pediment Addition for The Potting Bench

Upcycle and repurpose a gable vent to add an architectural element and pediment to a Potting Bench.

Happy Monday!

Regular readers of my blog may remember that my hubby

built a Potting Bench for me this spring.

I use it as a roomy work bench for planting and projects,

as well as a place to display garden collectibles, like bird

houses and watering cans.

After looking at it for a few months, I decided

it could use a “cap” of sorts to top it off.

 { Nest Feathering on the Potting Bench }

 { Blooming Watering Cans, Bunnies and Roses on the Potting Bench }

{ Whimsical Setting Celebrating the Cusp of Fall with Woodland Friends }

I was looking for an architectural salvage piece to incorporate and

add to the top. After a few shopping trips and a little serendipity,

I spied this copper gable vent for $60 at an antique mall.

The size was almost exactly the same width as the Potting Bench!

The copper gable vent had a little patina and some wear and tear. . .

a few dents and holes to marry the chippy imperfections of the Potting Bench

and her reclaimed-materials-glory.

My hubby started by making a cardboard template of the frame

for the gable vent to give us an idea of how it would look.

We used leftover wood from building the bench to frame the gable vent,

so the bottom board of the frame was more narrow

than the top boards of the fram.

Blocks of wood were cut to use as braces to hold the surrounding frame together,

using the leftover screws from building the bench.

Here is how it looked from the back once framed.

The gable vent had a piece of screen on the back that we removed.

 1 x 4 boards, including a painted trim board from a repair for The Potting Shed,

were used to box in the frame of the gable vent.

The green color wouldn’t be visible as it would be covered with metal roof tiles we planned to add.

My hubby is not a carpenter but he’s an excellent handy man!

Blocks were cut for braces to attach the box to the frame.

The gable vent resembles a pediment once it was boxed!

I’ve been hoarding salvage tin roof tiles from when we built the Potting Shed.

I purchased them for $1 a piece when we bought the rusty metal tin for the porch roof. . .

sometimes it pays to hoard. ;)

We had some metal tiles remaining after using them on the back of the Potting Bench.

A total of six were shingled along the top and screwed into the box frame.

They’re wider than the width of the boards of the box frame

and the overhang provides the wood a bit of protection.

Here’s how the back looks framed with the metal roof tiles with the Potting Shed in the background.

The arrow is pointing to where the Potting Bench sits.

The metal tiles on the end of each side were bent to cover the ends of the box. . .

Pliers were used on the edges of the metal tiles to make more a of defined bend / crease

and then the tiles were screwed into place.

The pediment is ready to be attached to the top board of the Potting Bench!

Here’s how she looks with her “crown’ and pediment top!

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Between Naps on the Porch