How to Make a Wine Rack Trellis
"Pop this rack onto your outdoor wire trellis to create a place for your backyard bottles, or hang it inside to bring a garden feel to your indoor space."
Materials
For the sixth year, we’re heading to the Northwest Flower and Garden Festival (NWFGF). We're excited to bring you more fun projects at the Dunn DIY booth to help you move forward in your DIY journey, so stop by booth 707 and say hello! The show runs Feb. 26 through Mar. 1. And make sure to check out our other NWFGF projects: How to Make a DIY Planter Box on Wheels, How to Build a DIY Garden Storage Shed, and How to Build a Stainless Steel Garden Trellis.
Last week, we built a stainless steel wire trellis using Feeney’s 3-in-1 kit. Since we shrunk the dimensions of the trellis by half, we had some extra rods and connectors left over, and we wondered how we might put them to use rather than discarding them. We brainstormed a bit and became inspired by the diamond pattern of the trellis. It reminded us of a wine rack, so we decided to create this trellis addition. Pop it onto your outdoor wire trellis to create a place for your backyard bottles, or hang it inside to bring a garden feel to your indoor space.
If you missed last week’s post, it's an easy to assemble trellis kit. Check it out now!
Step 1: Cut frame to size
Using a miter box and a hand saw, cut four 18 1/2” long pieces of 1 1/16” square moulding with mitered corners. It’s important to cut the miters of each piece so they’re opposite—not parallel. In Step 3, we’ll assemble the pieces like a picture frame. The outside dimensions of the frame should be 18 1/2”, so make sure you measure to the long end of the mitered end.
Step 2: Mark centerline of frame legs
Lay the legs of the frame flat with the shorter face up, and lightly mark the centerline of each piece with a pencil. You’ll erase this line eventually, but we’ll use it for reference when drilling.
Step 3: Assemble frame
Make a square (like a picture frame) with the four pieces of moulding. Holding them in place, use a 1/8” drill bit to pre-drill a hole at each corner. Fasten the sides together with 1 1/4” screws—but we’ll deconstruct this frame in Step 6 to drill holes for the rods, so don't glue the joints.
Step 4: Assemble wire grid
Create a grid of four wire rods with four cross-connectors by threading the lengthwise rods through the bottom holes in the connectors and the widthwise rods through the top holes. You’ll end up with a “#” shape. Lay the grid on top of the wood frame. Then, lay out four other rods to complete the diamond pattern. To do this, you’ll place one rod near the perimeter of each side of the square grid.
Step 5: Mark location and direction of rods
Using a pencil, trace the outline of each rod where it crosses the wood frame. When you mark the lines, also mark whether the rod is on the upper or lower plane of the grid (as determined by whether the rod passes through the lower hole or upper hole of the cross-connector). Noting this will help you know where to drill holes in the next step.
Step 6: Drill holes for rods
Now that you’ve marked the locations of the rods, disassemble the wood frame (but mark the sides first, so you remember which piece goes where when you reassemble the frame). Using a 1/8” drill bit, drill a hole through the frame for each rod you marked in Step 5. For the rods in the upper section of the cross-connectors, drill the holes just above the centerline mark you created in Step 2. For the lower rods, drill the holes just below the centerline. Make sure to drill your holes as straight and precisely as possible since you’ll be threading metal rods through them. Once you’ve drilled your holes, erase any pencil markings on the wood.
Step 7: Assemble and trim metal grid
Assembling the grid within the frame is the hardest part of this project, but it’s also the most satisfying. Disassemble the grid so you can thread it into the frame, then grab a pair of gloves so you can grip the metal rods well.
Reassemble the wood frame, and insert the rods from the outside of the frame inward and through the holes on the opposite side. For the four middle rods, make sure to feed through the cross-connectors before threading the rods through the opposite side of the wood frame.
If the holes in the frame aren’t aligned perfectly, don’t worry—there’s a little bit of give in the rods and, using gloves, you’ll likely be able to force the rods where they need to go.
Once the rods are in place, use pliers or wire cutters to cut off the extra length where they stick out past the outside of the frame. You can use a nail set to drive a rod farther inside the frame if it sticks out.
Tighten the set screws of the cross-connectors with the Allen wrench that came with the Feeney kit to secure the grid.
Step 8: Attach legs to frame
To connect the square frame to the trellis, cut four 7” lengths of square moulding. These pieces will create a bridge between the trellis and the frame. Fasten the upper legs to the frame using a small corner brace on the underside of each leg. Then, attach the lower legs to the frame by installing a flat brace on the underside of each leg. It’s a good idea to pre-drill the holes for the brace's screws to avoid splitting the wood.
Step 9: Attach legs to trellis
Holding the frame against the trellis, mark the spot for the legs to attach. If you line up the grids, the wine bottle will slope downward naturally due to its shape.
If you have access to the back of the trellis like we did, you can run a screw from the backside into the legs of the wine rack. If you don’t have access to the back of the trellis, corner braces are a good way to mount the wine rack.
Now that you have a place to store your wine, grab a glass and this bath tray for your next soak. To make your backyard even more of a gathering space, try our outdoor bar cart and DIY six-pack holder.
