Raised Bed Build Sheet
Take this to the yard. The two numbers that matter are the board count and the ACTUAL height — order the soil against the second one.
BFCBrilliance · bfcbrilliance.com/tools/raised-bed-material-calculator
The bed
- Location
- Length
- Width
- Height wanted
- ACTUAL height
- Board size
- Board length
- Boards to buy
- Soil (cu ft)
- Soil (cu yd)
Shopping list
| Item | Size | Quantity | Price each | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Nominal vs ACTUAL board widths
- 2x6
- really 5.5 in
- 2x8
- really 7.25 in
- 2x10
- really 9.25 in
- 2x12
- really 11.25 in
- All of them
- really 1.5 in thick
- Why
- nominal = rough sawn; actual = dried and planed
The arithmetic
- Courses
- height wanted / actual board width, rounded UP
- Actual height
- courses x actual board width
- Soil
- length x width x ACTUAL height / 12 = cubic feet
- Cubic yards
- cubic feet / 27
- Corner post
- 4 x actual height
- Not included
- waste, warped boards, mid-side stakes
Before you build
- Soil ordered against the ACTUAL height, not the one you designed
- One extra board bought - something will be warped or mis-cut
- Width kept to about 4 ft so you can reach the middle from one side
- Site levelled first - a raised bed shows every slope
- Corners squared with a diagonal measurement, not by eye
- Stakes planned for any side over about 6 ft
- Cardboard or landscape fabric for the base if you are covering grass
- Bed sited for sun - most vegetables want six hours or more
The height you get is not the height you asked for
Boards come in fixed widths and you can only stack whole ones. Ask for 12 inches with 2x8s and you get 14.5. This is not a rounding nuisance - it is roughly a fifth more soil than you planned, and soil is usually the biggest line on the receipt. Check the actual height before you order anything.
Buy one more board
Nothing here models the board that turns out to be bowed, the cut that goes wrong, or the corner you decide to rebuild. One spare costs a few dollars; a second trip to the yard costs an afternoon.