Material Suggestions For Outdoor 6"x 6" Beds....

  • Thread starter tec dan
  • Start date
  • Tagged users None
tec dan

tec dan

36
18
Hello all, I am building a few 6"x 6" beds, I am using 2'x6' for the walls (three boards high) with 4'x4' posts in each corner, pretty simple. I am limited to materials that I can order from Home Depot, so with that in mind, my question is this, is there a specific brand/kind of lumber I should be buying? pressure treated? None pressure treated? Any help is much appreciated :-)
 
fishwhistle

fishwhistle

4,686
263
Redwood is ideal but pressure treated will work,just line the inside.Here is a couple pics of some very nice ones a buddy just did out of pressure treated and corrugated metal in his greenhouse,i dont think he will mind me posting a couple shots,he did a really nice job and i think they came out bitchin!Hes on this board but ill let him out himself if he wants,lol.
dsc_2184-2200x1461-jpg.555702

dsc_2222-jpg.568125
 
Blaze

Blaze

2,006
263
The chemicals used to treat the wood will leach into your soil and can end up in plant tissue (and there are scientific studies to confirm this). PT lumber used to be treated with arsenic, but this was phased out in 2003. Now it is usually treated with chromated copper arsenate (CCA) which the EPA classifies as a restricted use pesticide. Whether or not the PT lumber will leach enough toxins into the soil to affect plant and human health depends on many factors so it can be hard to give an exact answer to how safe it is to use in a garden.

Personally, I think it has no place in a garden, especially and organic garden. Do you really want to be smoking chromated copper arsenate? Again, the amounts of CCA needed to have a negative effect on human health depends on many factors, but do you really want to take the risk? If you use it, CCA *will* be in your soil and it *will* be in any plant whose roots come within a few inches of the wood.

Redwood coated with tree seal on the inside is what I use for my raised beds, it will last for a good 10 years. Redwood does tend to be expensive though, especially through Home Depot.
 
Bulldog11

Bulldog11

2,709
263
YOu can use Doug Fir, but it will rot in about 5-10 years.

Redwood will last 20+ years, but cost a fair amount extra. Maybe 5x the cost of doug fir.

Teak is not a great option, IMO

The winner?
Cedar. Cedar will last as long as redwood, just not as pretty. At only about 3x the cost of Doug Fir.

Pressure treated you can't even burn, let alone grow in. Scratch that off the list brother.
 
Bulldog11

Bulldog11

2,709
263
Marine Grade epoxy sealer is a great option. I used to grow aeroponics and I built my own chamber for the foggers. Build it out of wood, then applied a marine epoxy for sealing. Worked great. Lots of headaches compared to soil, but was fun.

However, that epoxy if I recall was quite expensive. However if you already have PT on hand, then this might be a great answer.

I would also advise against using Plywood of any kind. Plywood has glues to bind the material together, and doesn't mix well with organics. However, again a marine grade epoxy could seal plywood as well.
 
Seamaiden

Seamaiden

Living dead girl
23,596
638
I don't recall the epoxy being much more expensive than a 5gal bucket of Kilz. Which, we still have one. Unopened.

I can see plywood just coming apart, a lot like how OSB, if continually getting wet & dry, just comes apart. Don't ask how I know that.
 
fishwhistle

fishwhistle

4,686
263
Bulldog11

Bulldog11

2,709
263
Another good option @fishwhistle.

Plywood won't hold up again the moisture, would not recommend it. OSB is even worse.

Reclaimed redwood can be a nice option if you can find it. New 'farmed' readwood doesn't hold up nearly as well as the old school stuff.

When I was working in San Fransico, I learned that most of the housing was built with old heart wood redwood, and is used for structural use. Now days, code mandates you must not use redwood for the exact reasons you stated.




I remembered another, possibly cheaper option. Fence boards are ceder or redwood, and cheap. If you line the inside of your beds with that with extra support, it might work out being cheaper than 2 by material.
 
Underthesun

Underthesun

607
143
I have been going on Craigslis and finding free old lumber. I've found some real nice wood and some not so nice stuff. But either way its free. I actually made 90% of my greenhouse frame with this lumber, all my raised beds for my entire vegetable/cannabis/fruit garden, and a compost bin. I'm going to make more raised beds and compost bins in the next few weeks.

1x fence wood works fine for me with small beds, and its the easiest free wood to come by.
 
Seamaiden

Seamaiden

Living dead girl
23,596
638
I have a sister who built an entire deck, at least 20'x20', JUST with the free lumber she sourced on CL. I've been told that fir flooring used to hold up very well because the trees used were older, tougher trees, but the new fir flooring is very soft due to the age and lack of weathering of the trees used.

Or something like that.
 
Blaze

Blaze

2,006
263
Also are you *sure* Home Depot is your only lumber source? Did you look online to see if any mills are near you? It is almost always cheaper to buy straight from the source. I built an 80' redwood fence last year, one of the employees at Home Depot of all places actually turned me onto a small local mill that will sell to the public if you call ahead of time. I was able to get the exact same redwood 1x6's that Home Depot was selling for a third the price, it saved us a ton of money.
 
tec dan

tec dan

36
18
Also are you *sure* Home Depot is your only lumber source? Did you look online to see if any mills are near you? It is almost always cheaper to buy straight from the source. I built an 80' redwood fence last year, one of the employees at Home Depot of all places actually turned me onto a small local mill that will sell to the public if you call ahead of time. I was able to get the exact same redwood 1x6's that Home Depot was selling for a third the price, it saved us a ton of money.

Yes! This MAY be an option, I am looking into it, thanks!
 
tec dan

tec dan

36
18

Latest posts

Top Bottom