A stylish outdoor storage space: a new shelving unit made from an old panelled door

To start with, cut the panels out of the old wooden door. Remember to put on safety goggles and ear defenders and secure the door using screw clamps before you start cutting it. To ensure the panels don't come loose after you've finished cutting them out or fall on your feet, you can secure them before you start. Then simply place the longer pieces of wood waste under the door so that they support the panels from below. Secure the wooden plank beforehand using screw clamps and ensure that it's not in the way when you're cutting it. Keep the panels after cutting them out. You'll need these to make the shelves for your outdoor shelving unit.

Now sand down the pieces of your outdoor shelving unit using a multi-sander. Make sure you only sand down the sawn-off edges of the panels and the door to maintain the used look of the old door. Firmly secure all the individual pieces of wood using screw clamps and put on safety goggles, a face mask and ear defenders before you start sanding.

To measure out the pieces of square timber accurately, lay them down on the ground or on your workbench first. Stand the door up on its side on a piece of square timber. Turn the lower side of the door a little bit away from the piece of square timber to create an acute angle between the door and the piece of square timber. Hold the lowest panel against the door frame where it was cut out earlier. The width of the lowest panel will determine the exact distance between the piece of square timber and the door. Both the door and the piece of square timber will need to be positioned precisely, because the panels which will form the shelves will be placed on horizontal pieces of wood secured against the piece of square timber. As soon as you've found the right angle, mark the exact height of each panel on the piece of square timber. Mark all of these dimensions on the second piece of square timber. The wooden cross bars should be the same length as the panels that have been cut out.

Thanks to shelf legs made of multiple pieces of square timber, your DIY shelving unit will be free-standing. But the top end of your outdoor shelving unit needs to fit neatly against the two vertical pieces of square timber. You can ensure they fit together nicely by cutting the two pieces of square timber at an angle using a NanoBlade saw. Afterwards, you can cut the cross bars. They should be the same length as the panels that will be used as shelves for the shelving unit. The cross bars will provide support for the shelves to keep them stable. So you need one cross bar per shelf. Use screw clamps here to ensure that the pieces of wood don't slip while you're cutting them.

In this step, join the stabilising shelf legs and the door together. First, both long pieces of square timber are secured against the top outer section of the back of the door. Place the slats on the door so that they're at the same height as the panels which have been cut out. Where the door meets the piece of square timber, mark three points on the back of the pieces of square timber freehand, ensuring they are approx. 3 cm apart from one other. Drill three holes using a combi drill or an impact drill. Now secure the pieces of square timber against the door by using three screws of different lengths to drill into them from behind. The shortest screw (4 x 70 mm) goes into the top borehole, the second-longest screw (4 x 80 mm) goes in the middle, and finally the longest screw (5 x 90 mm) goes at the bottom.

Now mark the points on the long wooden slats where the cross bars will be secured. Secure the cross bars using screws by drilling through the side of the square timber into the cross bars. Now the four cross bars should be connected to both pieces of square timber like rungs on a ladder. They will help to keep your shelving unit stable.