Utility Box Cover in Yard (DIY)

With the current weather being a balmy16^o in Minnesota, it seems appropriate to talk about yard projects...of the past! For years I, Hoe #2 Darcy, have been bothered by two utility/phone boxes in our yard. They sit right out side my kitchen window so whenever I do dishes I see them!  Here they are

OK you can see I started to work on putting some plants around them as a disguise! My thought was I would then buy one of those fake rocks and put it over the top. Problem was I just couldnt find one long or tall enough. Plus to be honest, I am cheap!  $60-80 per rock...I dont think so.  So back to the drawing board I went. Crusing through my favorite home improvement stores I notice all kinds of gates to put around air conditioners but nothing for utility boxes so I decided would have to create something. Of course I have always loved  this cover which is from Better Homes and Gardens 

The problem with this project is that this Hoe doesn’t like to ask her hubby for help unless she absolutely needs too!  And being that I had two boxes to cover, I decided there were too many scary power tools that would need to be used to get this done. Looking through blogs the only one I found of real interest was from Object of May*affections. She was cleaver and place items in front to cover of the utility boxes. My problem, you can see from all directions! I was also told not to plant shurbs or large roots plants by these as the might interfere with the wires?  That meant I needed something that could easily be taken off by the Utility Company when they needed access.

Then  the light went on!  (Love it when that happens!)  I bought this A-frame Garden Trellis (42-in W x 48-in H) from Lowe’s for under $20!  The next night my husband was out of town and the kids were busy so I assembled my cover!

Sorry I don’t have pictures of all the steps but here are the basics

1.       Measure the dimensions that your cover needs to be.

2.       Mark A-frame trellis as to the area you need…I did use a circular saw for this! Note on the photo I have added purple lines. Although not 100% accurate, this is about where I cut.

3.       Assemble and secure- to do this I used the hinge from the A-frame for one corner and merely nailed the other corners together.

4.        For the top-I used the left over wood

5.       I added wood from an old fence a friend gave me to cover some of the area as the boxes could still be seen.

6.       Spray Paint (love it) the utility boxes and the cover the same color, I used brown.

By spray painting the boxes I didn’t need to completely enclose the boxes. This is what it looks like now!  You can see I added some birdhouses that I got for free! I will add another picture when the snow is gone to show you how much the plants have grown. The plants are goose neck, shasta daisy, lilies, butterfly plant etc. 



Before



After



 The utility company has been to our house and was able to remove and replace the cover with no problem or complaints! What do you think, is this something you could do? What could I have done differently?  If your not into the rustic look you can still creatively cover your utility boxes at a low cost! Can’t wait to hear your comments!