How to Build a Panel for My Deck

Building The Wheel Chassis

• 1

  Cut two 2-by-4-inch, 3-foot-long pieces of red cedar. Install casters on the bottom of the boards, 2 inches from both ends of each board, according to the manufacturer's directions.

• 2

  Place a 6-foot-long piece of 2-by-4-inch red cedar upright in the middle and against the side of one of the caster boards. These boards will form the upright supports for the panel. Make a pencil mark along each side of the board.

• 3

  Spread wood glue liberally between the pencil marks and use wood clamps to hold the upright support tight against the caster board while it bonds.

• 4

  Drill a ¼-inch hole at each corner of the upright board where it connects with the caster board; drill straight through the caster board. Place washers on four ¼-by-6-inch stainless steel bolts, push them through the holes, apply washers on each bolt and tighten the nuts onto the bolts. Repeat the process with four more bolts on the other caster board.

Build The Lattice Frame

• 5

  Sit the two caster boards on the casters with the upright supports pointing straight up in the air. Position the side of an 8-foot-long 2-by-4-inch piece of red cedar between the two caster boards, with the sides of the long boards placed against the upright boards.

• 6

  Make a pencil mark along the side of the long piece of cedar onto one of the upright boards. Spread wood glue between the pencil mark and the caster board. Repeat the process on the other side.

• 7

  Spread the two caster boards 8 feet apart. Rest the long board on top of the two caster boards with the ends of the long boards flush against the sides of one of the upright boards. Use wood clamps to hold the glued boards against the upright board. Repeat the process on the other ends of the long boards and the caster board.

• 8

  Drill two ¼-inch holes into the ends of the long boards through the upright board and the long board on the other side.

• 9

  Place washers on two ¼-by-6-inch stainless steel bolts, push them through the holes, add washers to each bolt and tighten the nuts. Repeat the same process with two more bolts on the other end.

• 10

  Make a pencil mark on the inside of each of the upright supports, 1 foot down from the top.

• 11

  Place a 4-foot long piece of 2-by-2-inch board so the top is flush with the pencil mark and the outside of the upright support. Attach the 2-by-2-inch board to the upright support with stainless steel wood screws.

• 12

  Attach another length of 2-by-2-inch board next to the first board. There is approximately a 1-inch gap between the two boards for the lattice board to fit into. Repeat the same process on the other upright support.

• 13

  Place the 4-by-8-foot sheet of lattice board into the slots on both upright supports. Hold it in place while your helper drills four ¼-inch holes an equal distance apart through the sides of the 2-by-2-inch board through the lattice panel and the 2-by-2-inch board on the other side. Drill holes in the same manner on the other end of the panel.

• 14

  Attach one end of the lattice panel to the 2-by-2-inch boards with four ¼-by-6-inch stainless steel bolts with washers and nuts. Secure the other end of the panel to the upright support with four more bolts, washers and nuts.