More woodworking advice needed from handy DU'ers

[XemaSab]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=105&topic_id=4717222&mesg_id=4717222

So today I went to the lumber yard to figure out wood for the planter boxes. There needs to be a total of 22 feet of box, and I'm figuring three or four seperate boxes side by side should do it. They're going to be three feet high and three feet wide.

So the total dimensions for the whole structure will be 22x3x3.

Now I'd like to use redwood 2x6 boards, but at 1.65 a foot, it would cost around 195 dollars per box, or $600 total.

I'm Scottish, and the idea of spending that much (especially while I'm unemployed) just really bothers me.

I had this other idea that I could use cedar 1x12 fence planks, and if I make four 5.5 foot boxes, it'll measure about the same. This would also cost around 195 dollars for the whole entire project at around 50 bucks per box.

Thoughts? Ideas? Suggestions? :shrug:

[Maddy McCall]

1. Cedar's very durable.

I'd go with the cedar. It's very aromatic, too.

[XemaSab]

2. You think the 1 inches is thick enough?

:shrug:

[Maddy McCall]

3. What I'd do is build a skeletal structure out of 2x4s

with braces every foot or so. Then I'd anchor the cedar to the 2x4s, so that the cedar wouldn't bow outward. Does that make sense?

Oh, and I'd use wood screws when attaching the cedar to the 2x4s.

[Omphaloskepsis]

4. Did you actually measure the boards?

I built a fence over the summer and I remember the listed dimensions being slightly different from what we got. I'm just saying since I think the average cedar fence board is around 8" in width. And the ones we bought came moist. They were snug when we built the fence but after a few days they had developed sizable gaps between the boards(1/8" or so).

[Maddy McCall]

5. Need to let the wood season before you use it.

If it was damp, it wasn't seasoned.

I'd leave it in the sun for a week or two, just to let it season a little before building with it.

Most wood that's not pressure treated will shrink some.

[Omphaloskepsis]

6. We wanted gaps between the boards.

We went out of our way to keep them damp. But, on something like a planter gaps would be bad. Unless you line it with some screen.

[Maddy McCall]

9. He said on an earlier post that he's lining the planters with visqueen.

Yeah, on a fence, that's fine, but on a planter, even with the visqueen, he's probably going to want to season the boards to inhibit shrinkage, and to use wood screws, just in case, even after seasoning, there is a little shrinkage.

[XemaSab]

10. I'm a she, not a he

:D

[radwriter0555]

7. I had thought that the length you're talking about was far too large to

handle the weight of so much soil. You're talking about a ton of soil, literally. I hope you've taken that cost and labor into consideration as well, in addition to proper irrigation.

You could use a fence rail type design using the fencing planks, that would look nice.

You'll need to make sure you have properly amended soil, and you should consider earthworms in it as well, unless it's xeriscape project.

You're basically making frames for dirt, right? Since there won't be bottoms?

You may want to consider lining the inside with plastic to protect the wood from rot.

[necso]

8. These are rather large containers.

The weight of dirt will be considerable. (A lot depends on particulars, but, say, 50 - 100 lbs/ft**3, and this would be times 3 * 3 * 5.5 = 2500 - 5000 lbs, roughly, each.)

Do you really need something of this size?

Do you really need dirt this deep?

What surface will they be setting on? Consider that they may bleed dirt onto it, and humidity, etc, is a given on the bottom.

And critters may come up from below if they are on dirt. So hard-cloth will be necessary.

If they are planters for annuals or small perennials, then I would consider using 10-18 inches of dirt. That way you can use one material for the areas in contact with the dirt (the plastic will rip and fail, eventually anyway) and another (stained perhaps) for the other areas.

What is the intended use?

[BrotherBuzz]

11. Think outside the box...

One idea to reduce the price might be to incorporate different materials. One idea might be to build a wood frame and install corrugated iron (cut to height and laid vertically). If designed right, it could be a very attractive look. Just an idea. :shrug:

Also, check out the used material market in your area.