We built a Pooja Mandir couple of years ago and a few friends asked to provide steps to build one themselves. In this blog post, you can find the items, tools, and steps needed to build one yourself. You can always find one you can purchase online but building it yourself is more fun and gives a sense of accomplishment.
Items List:
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Long table legs (4)
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Short table legs (4)
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Ply wood
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Base wood piece – 30X20 (3)
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Back wood piece – 30X39 (1)
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Side wood piece – 20X9 (2)
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Box wood piece (3 different sizes)
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26X16 (1)
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22X12 (1)
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18X8 (1)
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Door wood piece – 15X9 (2)
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2-1/4-in x 8-ft White Hard Unfinished Chair Rail Moulding (3)
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Small screws (0.5 inch)
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Long screws (1.00 inch)
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Wire Nails (0.75 inch)
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Hooks (3-4 packs)
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Bells (2-3 packs)
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Wood glue or Liquid nails
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Decorative globes (can’t find the item number in Lowes)
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Hinges (2 bags)
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Stain Sealer (1)
Steps 1:
Place the metal table leg straight plates on four corners of the base plywood piece and use the small screws to attach them to the plywood. Make sure all 4 metal plates are placed at equal distances from the edges. Take the long table legs and attach them to each of the metal plates.
Steps 2:
Place the second plywood piece on top of the four legs and drill the long screws into the table legs below the plywood. Before you start drilling, make small holes into the table legs so that the screws can go in easily. Also, make sure both the plywoods are aligned before drilling the screws.
Steps 3:
Attach the angled strut brackets, two on each side (2 short sides) and then put the third plywood piece on top of it and attach the remaining angled strut brackets to make a box with an opening. Nail the back piece to the structure. When you turn it upside down, it should be similar to the picture shown below.
Step 4:
Attach short table legs to the base of the structure. Make sure they are placed at an equal distance from the edges.
Steps 5:
Prepare the boxes that go on top of the structure using the boxwood pieces and 2-1/4 inch decorative wood pieces cut to size and nail or glue them on top of each other. Nail the 3/4 inch plywood decorative pieces to all sides cut to size to give a finished look. After this step, the structure looks as shown below.
Step 6:
Cut the railing to size and attach it with glue around the base of the structure. Place the molding block at the front to give an entrance kind of look. Place the decorative globes at the top of the box and at four corners of the top plywood piece. You can prepare two small doors and attach them at the bottom using hinges if you prefer to keep it closed and can be used to keep pooja items. You can glue the decorative flowers to the doors. Attach the bells using the hooks to the top of the structure.
Step 7:
Stain (2 times) the wood according to the color of your liking. Apply a coating of sealer to give a glossy finish and it will help protect the wood.
There you go. Your beautiful Pooja Mandir is ready. Contact me if you have any questions while building it.
You can replace the decorative wooden pieces to your liking. Lowes/HomeDepot/Michaels/HobbyLobby have different styles in their millwork section.
The sizes are pretty close to the one we built and might need some adjusting while working on the project. All measurements are in inches. Lowes/HomeDepot can cut them to size if you take the measurements with you.
Always yours.
