What kind of wood to use for outdoor compost bin

[JEHenslee]

What kind of wood would you recommend to use for an outdoor compost bin if I don't want to use pressure treated lumber (cuz of the chemicals) and where would I get it. It will look like this.



Thanks

 

[smallboat]

I used pressure treated on mine about 10 yrs ago and its holding up fine- I understand you don't want to go that way but others might.

I'm just thinking your wire screen will go before most any wood you might choose.
It'll be a pain to replace when your bins are full of working compost.

Theres another approach that may work without treated lumber.
I built a series of bins "lincoln log " style out of 1 x 6 with notches near the ends.
No wire mesh, the notches are set so that there is about 1" of space between slats for airflow.

When its time to turn the compost I just down stack the slats setting them up next to the working bin.
working from the top and pitch the compost into the "new" bin as I go. ( hope that description makes sense)

One reason it may work without PT lumber is that if you keep the bins in rotation, nothing stays in ground contact for long.

Hope that helps

 

[Hmerkle]

Jay, I think osage orange would work best, but getting dimensional lumber is going to be a pain and probably pretty expensive!!

I wonder if Cypress would work? (somebody smarter than me would have to answer...) again this is going to be pricey...

Last, I am not sure if you guys in NC are plagued with fire ants, but I bought a norseman compost bin Like this;
http://georgiagalgardens.com/?p=291
and the fire ants took over!

I would liek to make an alternate design sugestion:
http://www.acompostbin.com/types-of-compost-bins.html

The "sides" are kind of "louvered" so you can pull the bottom two or three out, and literally turn your compost!
I have also heard of people "Cheating" and pulling the completed compost from the bottom and allowing the upper to continue to decompose...

Last, what about using "Trax" or one of the composite style "Boards" from the big box stores?
It might go against your idea for a "natural" product, but it definatly would not disintegrate!

 

[ScottM]

It you are not going with PT I think white oak, cedar and cypress are locally available woods suited for this application. Of course they will probably not last as long as PT.

 

[JEHenslee]

Thanks for the info. I am not set on that design. I just scoured the internet and liked this one for our needs and it had very detailed step-by-step instructions with it. Which at this point for me is probably necessary.

Do your bins have the same number of boards on all sides but the front ones are notched so they are removable one at a time? Then you remove the front boards when you are turning and moving the compost and then adding back whatever boards you need? So determine size bin I want with 1 inch space between boards, make the front ones removable, and if I want 3 bins make 3 of them?

Thank you,

Jay

 

[KenOfCary]

Agree with Scott on the three choices of non-PT wood. White Oak, Cedar and Cypress, with the addition of Locust if you can find it.

The plastic wood-like fence boards will hold up forever in that application though. Could always paint it brown if you don't like white.

 

[Hmerkle]

Do your bins have the same number of boards on all sides but the front ones are notched so they are removable one at a time? Then you remove the front boards when you are turning and moving the compost and then adding back whatever boards you need? So determine size bin I want with 1 inch space between boards, make the front ones removable, and if I want 3 bins make 3 of them?

Thank you,

Jay

Yes, the balance of the bin would be built like yours (unless you wanted access from more than one side!) so you could put the slats (louverd looking boards) in on more than one side...

again, research the fire ant problem... you DO NOT want to introduce these creatures to your garden!!!!

 

[Mike Davis]

I just replace mine every five to seven years, yeah they rot, but no big deal.

 

[JEHenslee]

I really am new to the area so where can I find cedar around Asheboro, NC or where are places I can find good reasonably priced wood. I can get Whitewood at the big box stores. That is where I have gotten my wood so far but mainly because I don't know where else to go.

Thanks.

 

[Hmerkle]

Hey, everyone,
I just had a thought - why are there log cabins standing from the 1800's and we can put a board on the ground for a week without it starting to rot?
Did they "treat" their wood with something or was it just because it was "old growth" that it lasted?

 

[KenOfCary]

Most have a rock (rubble) foundation under the lowest log.

 

[KenOfCary]

I really am new to the area so where can I find cedar around Asheboro, NC or where are places I can find good reasonably priced wood. I can get Whitewood at the big box stores. That is where I have gotten my wood so far but mainly because I don't know where else to go.

Thanks.

There are lists of local Sawyers in the Articles section here on the website. Scott Smith is not too far from you and an excellent source for white oak. If you want it milled to specific dimensions he can do that also for a tad extra. Others will likely chime in with other sources.

 

[Mike Davis]

Hey, everyone,
I just had a thought - why are there log cabins standing from the 1800's and we can put a board on the ground for a week without it starting to rot?
Did they "treat" their wood with something or was it just because it was "old growth" that it lasted?

They knew not to let the wood touch the ground. Every log cabin I have seen was built on a stacked rock pillar foundation and had a wide roof overhang. When they are abandoned the roof caves in, the logs begin to rot and sink to the ground then they go quickly.

But, also some of them were made of heart pine or heart old growth poplar. I saw one cabin in Alabama that had 24 inch tall poplar logs. Looking at the end I could see the center ring in one corner, which means that tree was at least four feet across. Probably bigger because they always cut away the sapwood. Poplar sapwood rots much faster than the heart.

 

[red]

Cypress is a good choice. It's very easy to work with and affordable to buy locally. It also machines well.

Red

 

[Joe Scharle]

This may help:

Highly Resistant	Resistant	Moderately Resistant	Slightly to Non-Resistant
Black locust	Cedars	White pine	Alders
Osage-orange	Redwood	Honeylocust	Ash
Red mulberry	White oak	Longleaf pine	Basswood
Yews	SassafrasJunipers	Baldcypress (young growth)	BeechBirch
	Catalpa		Buckeye
	Baldcypress		Hemlock
	(old growth)		HickoryMaples
			Red Oaks
			Pines
			Yellow-poplar
			Sweetgum

 

[zapdafish]

what about pvc or the recycled plastic they use for decking?

 

[smallboat]

I'd vote for cypress over cedar. I've used both and cypress is much less prone to splitting and holds fasteners much better (if your design requires them)
Locally, I've gotten cypress at Hardwood Store in Gibsonville. see the ad at right of this page
Not too far from you and well worth the trip.
It will be an eye opener if you're used to the box stores, and super nice, helpful people.

I'll see if I can dig up plans for the bins I described, or worst case post some photos.
Super simple to build- all the parts are the same

 

[red]

I'll see if I can dig up plans for the bins I described, or worst case post some photos.
Super simple to build- all the parts are the same

I'd be interested in seeing those plans/photo's. A compost bin is one of my next outdoor projects.

Red

 

[smallboat]

I couldn't find the link to the design I saw online, but I did have a sketchup model!
forgot all about it.

I think you can figure it out from here,
Very simple if you have a table saw, even simpler if you have a dado set for it.

two set ups will get you what you need
cut your 1x6's to length
set up a stop to space the slot from the end and go to town.

I can get some photos when I get home if anyone is interested

 

[smallboat]

from the date on the file, it looks like I built these 7 years ago, so I overstated in my original post.
Still, they've been very functional for a good while and if I ever need to replace or expand its no big deal.