Another Genius Hack
You remember how I repurposed a $12 slinky toy and hung it up stretched out to make a structure for a vine to climb? Like a garden trellis, only narrow and expandable. And cheap.
Well, genius struck again and I now have repurposed $20 plastic aerobic step benches to make outdoor steps.
My potting bench and tool closet and all the mulch bags and garden stuff are on a level below the yard that is bounded by railroad ties. The step down off the railroad ties to the gravel or mulch below is 12 inches. It's only one foot high, but difficult to maneuver gracefully, and my garden days involve endlessly stepping up and down going back and forth, hauling heavy bags sometimes, to get what I need from the level below.
And I am not what anyone would call a Spry Young Gardener any more.
A six inch high step at the foot of the ties was all I needed. But how to build that? Options all involved too much engineering -- cinder blocks set level, or stacked pavers maybe, or someone to lift and cut another railroad tie and set it in the ground at the right level. Constructed wooden steps from pressure treated boards perhaps?
Too much. This is a utility alley, only employees are allowed below the railroad ties. No one sees this area. I just wanted something six inches tall, steady and sturdy, that could be plopped down, no installation required.
The plastic step bench, rated to hold 350 pounds, six inches tall, delivered in one piece fully assembled, is perfect, and I did no more than simply put them where they are.
From the gardens and yard above they can't be seen at all. Really, it's like they are not there:
And even standing right over the edge of the ties, they are barely seen.
Looked at from the lower level they are obviously, um . . . plastic things.
Genius, yes?
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