Under-Deck Storage Panels--best design


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Old 02-26-18, 01:32 PM
J
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Smile Under-Deck Storage Panels--best design

I have a deck that sits roughly 5' off the ground and I want to use the underside of the deck for storage. I started this process by just shoving weather-proof boxes underneath, but they look trashy. I recently took 4x8 square-lattice and cut them into 4x4 panels that I edged with 2x2's (ripped 2x4's).


At the time, I didn't have a dado blade so I cut out a rabbet to make an inlaid area for the lattice to fit. This way the lattice would be inset on the back with the edge and have a small 1/4" overlay on the front.

Now that I have a great new dado blade, I am wanting to redo the edges correctly. I plan to dado out a space to hold the lattice like I did with the rabbet previously. Now the question is how do I most-securely fasten the corners?

With the rabbets, I tried a half-lap for the corners and it just didn't hold up. They tend to fall apart rather easily.

I might try the full lap for the corner, but I was hoping someone had a better suggestion. As you can see from my first attempt, I wasn't very consistent and the corners weren't measured or cut very well. I am hoping to do a better job this next time. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Side Note: Why is it that the square lattice is 2-3 times more expensive than the diagonal lattice. They are made from the same materials and you would think that the diagonal lattice would waste a lot more wood and therefore be more expensive. $40/panel seems outrageous to me.
 
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Old 03-01-18, 08:28 AM
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Here's a suggestion that may help... I had a similar situation using lattice to hide the underside of a deck. I took a thin sheet of plywood, painted it black and mounted it behind the lattice. This did a couple of things. It provided rigidity to the panel and it also hide the stuff behind the panel. The blacked out "backer" fooled the eye to thinking there was nothing behind the panel.

I didn't really address your question, but this may something to consider.

Good luck with your project!
 
 

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