How to Install a Little Free Library

Once their Little Free Library is finished and dry, host Kevin O’Connor and general contractor Tom Silva head back to Brookside Elementary to install the school’s new library. With the help of several of the school children, Tom and Kevin dig a hole for the post, fill it with gravel, and then attach the new school bus library in place.

To see Tom and Kevin build the little free library, click here.

Steps for Installing a Little Free Library

1. Start by cutting the post to the right length on the miter saw. This should be approximately 5 to 6 feet long.
2. Cut two pieces of MDO plywood to size so they may fit underneath the library. Center these pieces of MDO over the post and attach them with the screw gun and wood screws.
3. Cut two braces at 45-degree angles, attaching one end of each to the post and the other to the underside of the MDO sheets. Use the screw gun and wood screws to attach them.
4. Choose the right location. The Little Free Library should be easy to see and access, but far enough away from a road to keep perusers safe from vehicles.
5. With the location set, use the post hole digger to excavate a hole for the post. The post should sit deep enough that it won’t sag or lean, but also be low enough that children can reach the library. Generally speaking, this means digging a hole that is approximately 24 inches deep.
6. Place the post in the hole and lay a bubble level on top of the plywood sheets. Adjust the post until it is level side-to-side and front-to-back.
7. Dump two bags of gravel into the hole around the post. Tamp the stone into place with the end of the shovel.
8. Use the shovel to backfill the rest of the hole with dirt.
9. Place the library onto the post and attach it using wood screws driven from inside the library and into the post and braces below.

Materials

• 4×4 post
• Exterior grade 2-inch wood screws
• MDO plywood
• Gravel

Tools

Resources

Kevin and Tom return to Brookside Elementary School to install the little free library.