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Raised Vegetable bed frames - help.

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  • 17-10-2018 7:15pm
    #1
    Maidhci
    Registered Users Posts: 865 ✭✭✭


    I am making raised vegetable bed frames for next spring at the moment. Is there a safe wood preservative available for treating these?

    I am hoping to do this now in the hope that whatever preservative I use will be well absorbed by March. Any help or suggestions welcome.


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    #2
    Lumen
    Registered Users Posts: 31,072 ✭✭✭✭Lumen


    Maybe consider a polyurethane varnish on the inside and bottom and then leave the outside untreated. That way the wood can dry out. It won't last forever but timber is cheap.

    Disposal of chemically treated wood is problematic. As far as I know it ends up in landfill.


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    #3
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 0 ✭ [Deleted User]


    I used old scaffolding boards when building mine. I scraped and power hosed them down to clean them off.
    I built them two boards high (18 inches together). I used Damp Proof Coarse 22 inch (I think it was) and tacked it to the top and over the part of the boards that would be exposed to the soil. I read numerous arguments for and against this but I figured that it was better than using chemicals to preserve it.
    Ill be happy if I get 5-6 years from them as they are cheap enough to replace.


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    #4
    fiacha
    Registered Users Posts: 788 ✭✭✭fiacha


    TheTorment wrote: »
    I used old scaffolding boards when building mine. I scraped and power hosed them down to clean them off.
    I built them two boards high (18 inches together). I used Damp Proof Coarse 22 inch (I think it was) and tacked it to the top and over the part of the boards that would be exposed to the soil. I read numerous arguments for and against this but I figured that it was better than using chemicals to preserve it.
    Ill be happy if I get 5-6 years from them as they are cheap enough to replace.

    I did mine the same way. I painted the outside with water based fence paint just for looks.

    I can't remember when I built them, but it's at least 5 years. This summer they started to show signs of dry rot and insect damage. Will get another few seasons out of them before I need to replace any of the boards.


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    #5
    Hocus Focus
    Registered Users Posts: 754 ✭✭✭Hocus Focus


    1. Use rough-sawn treated timber. (19mm x 175mm, I think). Strengthen the corners with 50mm x44mm. Use stainless(304 grade) screws. Get these materials from a builders provider such as Buckley's, Goodwins, T.J. O'Mahoney etc
    2. Line them on the inside with Damp Proof Membrane (DPM), as Torment in Post#3 suggests.
    3. Line the bottom with cardboard, to suppress the weeds.
    4. Put in a heap of nettles, if you can get them, to start off. If building high beds, get some straw from a friendly farmer, and inter-layer it with the nettles or other green vegetation to bulk out the structure before adding topsoil or compost..
    No need for any kind of paint or varnish


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