BUFCO SQUARE POST Series User manual

Assembly Instructions, Parts Diagram, Installation Guide, Soil Volume Chart, Contact Information
(16) 3’ 8” cedar post, 4” x 4” square
(48) 6” galvanized spikes
(8) 7’ 8”’ cedar post, 4” x 4” square
(8) 3’ 8” cedar post, 4” x 4” square
(56) 6” galvanized spikes
(20) 3’ 8” cedar post, 4” x 4” square
(60) 6” galvanized spikes
(10) 7’ 8”’ cedar post, 4” x 4” square
(10) 3’ 8” cedar post, 4” x 4” square
(64) 5” galvanized spikes
Hammer
Carpenter’s Triangle or other device for measuring 90˚ angle
Staple gun with about fifty 3/8” or 1/2” staples.
Scissors or utility knife
Wood Clamps (optional)
Shims or scrap wood (optional)
4’ Level or smaller level with straight, 4’ piece of wood (not required for assembly - for use when installing
the bed in your yard)
Shovel, bow rake (a heavy duty rake generally used for smoothing and levelling materials; not a leaf rake)
(not required for assembly - for use when installing the bed in your yard)
Landscape cloth
Soil (see chart on right)
Yard waste bags (for installation only)
These volumes will fill your bed to the top. If you plan on adding compost, manure, worm castings or some
other soil amendment, you may wish to use a little less soil to allow space for the amendments.
Please note that some soil settling is likely and is normal.
We recommend a triple mix blend with good structure. Soil blends with large volumes of tree bark and other
organic matter that is not broken down is not recommended as it can lack structure. Some is fine.
14 cubic ft
29 cubic ft
17 cubic ft
37 cubic ft
22 cubic ft
44 cubic ft
27 cubic foot = 1 cubic yard

Cedar is a soft wood. Work on a soft surface (grass, cardboard, moving blanket) to
reduce risk of damage to the wood.
Some basic safety measures to follow include:
Always wear safety glasses when working with tools.
When lifting, bend at the knees, not at the hips.
Work with a partner. Assembled beds can be quite heavy and unsafe to life by oneself.
If your garden bed installation requires digging more than just a few inches –that is, deeper than
a thin layer for basic sod removal –you are advised to do a utility survey/locate. This is especially
true for front yard installations.
You can get a free utility locate in Ontario by calling Ontario One Call, 1 [phone]. Quebec
residents call Info Excavation, 1 [phone].
The word Tier as used in these instructions refers to a single course of four square posts in their
rectangular (4’ x 8’ beds) or square (4’ x 4’ beds) shape. Tiers are assembled piece by piece, with
successive tiers being built post by post on top of the tier below it. DO NOT ASSEMBLE TIERS SEPARATLY
FROM ONE ANOTHER. Successive tiers must be attached piece by piece to the tier below.
All pieces of the same length are interchangeable. There is no difference between a Lower Tier piece and
an upper, or top tier piece. It is recommended that you choose the pieces that are the most beautiful for
what will be the most visible wall(s) of your bed, and assemble them accordingly. Also, for the top tier,
choose pieces that are the smoothest and most aesthetically pleasing. This is the most visible tier, and the
one that will be sat upon. Square Post bed pieces all come with pre-drilled Pilot Holes that define where
spikes will be placed. When putting the wood into place for assembly, ensure that the pilot holes are
visible on the top of the piece of wood.
A bed with outside dimensions of 4’ x 8’ will be made up of wood pieces measuring 7’ 8” for the
length, and 3’ 8” for the width. When assembled, the 8’ length will be made up of the 7’ 8” piece, plus
four inches of the adjoining wall that sits at 90˚–the width-wall. The same applies to the 4’ width, made
up of a 3’ 8” piece of wood plus four inches from the end of the adjoining piece.
Similar math applies to a bed measuring 4’ x 4’. Each wall will be made up of a piece of wood measuring
3’ 8”, plus the four inches from the adjoining wall to equal a total length of four feet. Please refer to the
diagrams on the next page.

As you will see from the , the wood for odd-numbered tiers (the first, or bottom,
and the third) does NOT line up exactly with the even numbered tiers (second and fourth). Instead,
the wood is staggered from one tier to the next. This is done in order to increase stability of the bed.
On the first/bottom tier:
you should see the “end wood” of the adjoining wall on the left side of the bed;
On the second and fourth tiers:
you should see the “end wood” of the adjoining wall on the right side of the bed.
As long as you are following this pattern, you can theoretically build your bed to as many tiers tall as
you would like.
For simplicity sake, wood lengths are referred to as either 8’ or 4’, even though the true
length of the pieces is 7’ 8” and 3’ 8” respectively.
These instructions are for a 4’ x 8’ bed. If you are assembling a 4’ x 4’ bed, replace the 8’
piece with a 4’ piece wherever mentioned.
1. Check for all parts to make sure nothing is missing. See Parts List. If anything is missing, please
contact us at [phone].
2. On a solid, flat surface, roughly assemble the bottom tier by mimicking
, “First Tier”. Do not connect these pieces.
3. Carefully place the second tier on top of the first tier by mimicking ,
“Second Tier” of these instructions.
4. Locate the front/left corner. The 8’ piece should be sitting over top the 4’ piece of the first tier.
Use body weight to keep the pieces in place. Insert a spike into the Pilot Hole #1 as shown on
, “Second and Fourth Tiers” above and hammer it through. Check
to make sure that the two tiers are exactly aligned before driving the spike into the lower tier. Use
body weight to hold the wood in place and to prevent it from shifting under the force of the
hammer as it strikes the spike head.
5. Insert a spike and hammer through into Pilot Hole #2 as shown on ,
“Second and Fourth Tiers” above. Again, before driving the spike into the lower tier, ensure the
two tiers are aligned with one another. Again, use body weight to hold the pieces in place as you
hammer.

6. Place a carpenter’s triangle in the corner you are working on. Ensure that both the length and the
width pieces are at 90˚to one another. The two walls should be touching the full length of the
carpenter’s triangle. Alternatively, you can inspect the corner visually to ensure the corner is
square. There should be little to no gaps where one piece of wood meets the adjoining piece.
7. Continue inserting spikes #3 to #8 as you did the first two spikes, ensuring that the two tiers are
aligned before driving the spike through to the lower tier, using body weight to hold tiers in place.
8. Once spikes 1 through 8 have been hammered in, continue inserting the rest of the spikes into the
pre-drilled Pilot Holes on the tier. The order does not matter at this point.
9. The bottom two tiers are now complete. Before continuing with the assembly of the third tier, it
is now time to prepare and level the installation site. In order to level the bed correctly, it will need
to be moved on and off the installation site, possibly a number of times. At only two tiers tall, your
bed is relatively light and easily moved by two people. If you finish assembling the entire bed,
moving it to and from the installation site will be more difficult and unsafe. You could risk injury.
10. Prepare the installation site (see enclosed).
11. Now that the bottom two tiers of your bed are in place and level on the installation site, you can
leave it there and continue adding the third tier.
12. Roughly assemble the third tier on top of the second tier. It should have the same pattern as the
first (bottom) tier, with the end wood of the adjoining wall visible at the left-hand corner. Apply
spikes in the order as laid out in , “First (bottom) and Third Tiers”.
Again: use body weight to hold wood in place as it is being hammered in, and check for proper
alignment before driving the spike into the tier below.
13. Once the eight corner-spikes are inserted, hammer in the rest of the spikes for this tier. Order
does not matter.
14. Check level again before applying the fourth tier. If, under the pressure of hammering the spikes,
the bed has become un-level, you will need to move the bed and adjust the level of the ground.
As the bed is very heavy now, and as adjustments will likely be very minor, you and your work
partner can tilt the bed on to its side instead of moving it entirely out of the way. Once resting on
its side, have your partner hold the bed in place while you adjust level in the soil. Then, both
workers can lower the bed back into place.
15. To apply the fourth tier, repeat steps 3, 4, and 5 above. Check level again upon completing this
tier and adjust accordingly as per step 14.

16. For those who have purchased beds with more than four tiers, continue applying tiers in the same
manner as these first four have been assembled.
17. Now it’s time to line the inside of the bed with landscape cloth (not included), which allows excess
water to drain out while keeping the soil in.
a. Landscape cloth will usually be packaged on a roll. You may wish to cut the roll in half as
you will not require the full width to do the job. You will need a width of material that is
sufficient to cover any seams between planks of wood, with a few inches of excess at the
bottom of the bed once attached.
b. Begin attaching the cloth to the inside walls of the bed by aligning the factory-cut edge
about two inches below the top of the bed and attach with a staple. Align the staples
horizontally for a better hold. You can start anywhere on the inside of the bed.
c. Moving horizontally, continue attaching the edge of the cloth with staples, one staple
about every six inches. Try to get the cloth tight into every corner - use a staple on each
surface that creates a corner to help minimize gaps.
d. Once you’ve gone all the way around the bed, overlap the end of the cloth by a few inches
over top where you started, staple in place, and cut off any excess length.
e. There will likely be some excess cloth at the bottom. Tuck this excess up against the
bottom of the bed walls, helping to close any gaps between the bed walls and the soil on
which they sit. Leave as much of the bottom interior of the bed exposed and open to the
soil below.
f. You should now have a “skirt” of landscape cloth around the entire interior of the raised
bed, with the bottom of the bed open and exposed to the soil below.
18. Now that your bed is fully assembled and in place, return to steps 12 and 13 of the
, where you will fill your bed with your growing medium.
19. Stand back and enjoy your handiwork!
BUFCO DIY Raised Bed Kits are warrantied against manufacturer defect of faulty wood for one year,
assuming normal wear and tear. Please note that the wood may crack and/or shrink, creating gaps in
the corners. This is normal and is not covered by our warranty.
QUESTIONS? CALL 1 [phone]

These directions are for basic installation in a yard and assumes only minimal or no
grading/leveling is required
Cedar is a soft wood. Work on a soft surface (grass, cardboard, moving blanket) to
reduce risk of damage to the wood.
Some basic safety measures to follow include:
Always wear safety glasses when working with tools.
When lifting, bend at the knees, not at the hips.
Work with a partner. Assembled beds can be quite heavy and unsafe to life by oneself.
If your garden bed installation requires digging more than just a few inches –that is, deeper than a
top layer for basic sod removal –you are advised to do a utility survey/locate. This is especially true
for front yard installations.
You can get a free utility locate in Ontario by calling Ontario One Call, 1 [phone]. Quebec
residents call Info Excavation, 1 [phone].
1. Define the area where you want your raised bed to be installed. Remember to factor in the
amount of sun, access to water, proximity to the kitchen/house, and drainage (avoid installing
in low lying areas where drainage may be poor, leading to excessively wet conditions). See also
the guide attached to ensure each part of your raised bed is accessible.
NOTE: If you have a sub-irrigation system in your yard, be very careful about bed placement
and sod removal (starting with step 4 below) so as to avoid damaging underground water lines
or in-ground sprinkler heads. Do not place your bed overtop a sprinkler head. Your irrigation
company can relocate a sprinkler head at your request.
2. Remove/relocate any plants, rocks and other obstructions from the installation area.
3. After you have assembled your first two tiers, place it where you want to install it.
4. Using an edger or a flat edged shovel, score (cut) the sod around the outside of the bed. You
do not need to sink the shovel in too deep –a couple of inches should enough.

5. After the sod is scored, move the bed off to the side so you can remove the sod.
6. Slice up the patch of sod to be removed into smaller pieces using your edger or flat shovel. This
can make removing the sod easier.
7. Using a flat shovel or a sod-lifter (a very useful tool!) remove as thin a layer of sod/soil as
possible. Shake off any excess soil back into the installation area. Dispose of the removed sod
in your compost bin or bag it for removal by your municipality. Do not pile it up on the grass as
it will leave a lot of loose soil on the yard.
8. After the sod is removed, located the lowest part of the installation area. Using your flat
shovel, trim off the topsoil all the way around the perimeter of the installation area so that all
edges are at the same level as this lowest point. You only need to level the perimeter of the
installation area, where the walls of the bed will sit. Use a 4’ level to check level as you work. If
you don’t have a 4’ level, tape a smaller level on a straight, 4’ piece of 2” x 4” wood. Work in
four-foot sections checking level frequently. Remove the topsoil in thin layers instead of thick
chunks. In some cases, you may find that a portion of your bed will end up being buried below
the top of the lawn (“below grade”) due to the grade, or slope of your yard. This is perfectly
normal and will not affect the performance of your raised bed.
9. Tamp down the outer edges of the installation area by stomping on it with your feet, or
tamping it with a brick or soil tamper. This will help to minimize settling of the bed in the
future. Check level again. Make any final adjustments, and tamp again.
10. Once the perimeter of the installation area is level, place the bed back on the installation area
and double check level by placing the level on the top of each of the four walls.
11. Make minor adjustments by lifting/tilting one side of the bed only, or moving the bed off to the
side again. Back fill (add soil and tamp down) to areas that are too low, and shave off more
topsoil from areas that are still too high. You will quickly get the hang of this process. Gaps
between the bottom of the bed and the topsoil are fine if the gap is below grade.
Return to Step 11 in the .
12. Once the bed is level and in place, use a shovel or pitchfork to loosen the topsoil throughout
the interior the bed, trying not to walk on the loosened soil.
13. You are now ready to fill your bed with your growing medium. We recommend a triple mix
blend with good structure. Soil blends with large volumes of tree bark and other organic
matter that is not broken down is not recommended as it can lack structure. Although not
necessary, it is a good idea to wait a couple of days before planting to let the new soil settle.
Please note, some settling of the bed itself is common and acceptable. To minimize this, make sure
the topsoil immediately under the walls of the bed is packed down.

44 Columbus Ave., Toronto, Ontario, Canada M6R 1S2
THE BACKYARD URBAN FARM CO.
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