DIY wood project in Berlin - upcycling old wood from a roof structure
- Denny König
- Feb 25, 2024
- 4 min read
Alex and Jule from Pankow have been living in their house in Berlin Pankow for 2 years. A small oasis of well-being that they have been designing piece by piece according to their own ideas since purchasing it. A year ago it was a bit of a shock for the young family. During construction work, it became apparent that the roof structure of the house was not properly erected during construction. The seal to the masonry was inadequate, so the entire roof structure had to be completely replaced in order to avoid further damage to the structure of the house. Something the two of them couldn't have imagined when they bought the property. The renovation of the roof began in 2023 as part of further renovation work. What was also very annoying was that the wood itself was still in very good condition, but understandably had to be replaced for insurance reasons. So what to do with the scrap wood? The well-sized rafters made of solid structural wood were simply too good for the fire bowl. The use in load-bearing structures was questionable.
The family's DIY project in Waldbart's hands-on workshop
The family had long wanted a raised bed in the garden, and the firewood that had previously been stored in the corner should finally be stored neatly and attractively. So Alex got to work and sketched the rough construction according to his ideas in Sketchup. The wooden elements should integrate into the garden, but also be assembled and set up in a professional manner. And of course the construct should also fulfill a certain design aspect. The plan was up to this point. However, there was a lack of equipment and time for the rest. So the young family turned to Waldbart with their DIY wood upcycling project. The draft was slightly revised together with Denny. Denny also took over the planning for the ground anchoring and structural wood protection. The project could start. The additional materials required were provided by Waldbart. The wood manufacturer took over the cutting of the huge roof rafters, from which all the components would later be made. The family really wanted to help with the preparations and construction on site.
Waldbart takes care of cutting and manufacturing the old wood
A few days later there was a decent stack of KVH at the gates of the wood factory. The cutting could begin. Thanks to the family's great preparatory work, Denny already had all the cutting dimensions available. After a day, all the required items were cut to size and ready for return. Denny had to make a test setup in his workshop for the firewood stand, which was to be reinforced with a long cross brace. It turned out that almost 10cm was missing from the original plan. The idea was to connect from corner to corner with the strut. Unfortunately, this was not possible due to the lack of material length. Therefore, the angles were adjusted again so that the strut could be attached to the head and bottom sections.
The preparations for the DIY wood upcycling project on site
As Denny intended, the wooden elements to be erected should be safe and stable, but also structurally protected from the effects of the weather. It was therefore decided to fasten it using post supports in concrete foundations, onto which the individual elements were to be screwed and at the same time protected from moisture with sufficient distance from the ground. This meant that the first step before assembly was to put the concrete foundations for the post bases in place. Alex and his son Juri took over the excavation work in advance. Cords were then stretched to align the post supports to ensure that the wooden elements later fit precisely in height and spacing. Despite the quickly hardening Ga-La concrete, it was late that day and the final work was already completed in the dark :) .
Setting up the DIY firewood stands
The next day the concrete had hardened sufficiently to begin assembling and erecting the wooden elements. We started with the 2x2m firewood stands. These were first assembled and then placed on the post bases and screwed together.
In addition to being fastened to the post supports, both elements were coupled together and also screwed to the solid frame of the privacy fence behind them. Even with additional weight from stored firewood, both elements are sufficiently secured and stable.
The construction of the DIY raised bed
Now it was time for the planned raised bed. Alex had prepared a very good draft of the later look in advance. Now all we had to do during assembly was make sure that all the parts were assembled accordingly. The entire bed border was slightly offset towards the front row by row, which resulted in a very nice look. The protruding row was created with 20mm additional wood. Of course, this had to be taken into account in advance when cutting. And we actually had to look at the draft a few times ourselves so as not to get confused. But it was definitely worth the effort. Instead of a boring panel with a smooth front, the entire raised bed looks much more sculptural and attractive thanks to the offset rows. To ensure that the raised bed did not protrude too far into the garden and was as close as possible to the rear property fence, the back wall was covered with smooth-edged boards. A bubble wrap, actually used to dry masonry in the floor area, was now used to protect the wood from soil inside the bed. As already mentioned, the entire raised bed was built at a distance of almost 50mm from the ground. In order to provide a certain degree of protection against rodents, an additional layer of rabbit wire with an overhang was laid in the bed on the ground.
A final coat of wood protection glaze marked the ceremonial conclusion of the project. All that was left was to fill up the potting soil and start growing vegetables.
Both the new raised bed and the attractive firewood stands fit perfectly into the family's existing garden. With stacked firewood and the right vegetable plants, both elements not only offer great benefits, but also immediately catch the eye. We are definitely excited about the new use for the previously thought dead old wood from the roof structure of the house after this great upcycling campaign and always wish you a bountiful harvest and cozy evenings around the campfire.
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