I hate waste. I like to try to use everything I can, and if I can’t use it as it is I like to turn it into something I can use.
I take this principle to heart and it forms a key part of my business. For example, I try to design products that will use up any ‘regular’ offcuts, i.e. same-sized ones that are left over from items I make regularly. I always think of the energy and time that went into producing the piece, and the work it took me to earn the money to buy the material – it makes me want to use up every last scrap. Anything that can’t be used for another product is either recycled (in the case of metal) or helps to heat our home (in the case of small offcuts) or is used to bed down the animals (in the case of sawdust). But this treatment of waste extends into the other aspects of my life, too.
Garden compost
I have a large vegetable garden, with two greenhouses and a polytunnel, which helps me crawl towards my dream of self-sufficiency. It produces a lot of the food we eat, keeping us all healthy and happy. In turn it also produces a lot of extra plants (weeds) that need to be thinned out and vegetables and plants that need to be removed at the end of their productive life.
The beautiful thing about gardening is how circular it is. Nothing needs to be removed from the garden completely, but it does sometimes need to be changed. That’s where composting comes in. Having the ability to turn last year’s garden waste into this year’s compost is amazing. Not only does it save you money from not having to buy-in compost, it’s also great for the environment – think of all the plastic bags saved, the fuel that would have been used to transport it and make it.
Composting is a bit of an art form, and there are many, many ways of doing it. Some people will argue until they’re blue in the face that their way is the best way of doing it, but it does boil down to stacking your waste in a heap, getting the mix of browns (straw, stems and woodier bits of plants) and greens (lawn cuttings, leaves, etc.) roughly right, giving it time and a bit of attention to steer it in the right direction.
A really simple method of composting is the three-bay system. In this you build your first heap in the first bay, then when it’s full you move it all over to the second bay and start filling the first again. When that one is full you move them all up the line again. The idea behind this is that as you move the material from one bay to the next you turn the compost over, mixing it up and letting the air get to it (so it’s more aerobic in decomposition, benefitting the microbes). In doing this the materials break down much faster, producing your compost quicker.
The compost bin is often made with pallets, nailed together, and I have made one like this in the past. The trouble is, however, the pallets have a habit of rotting out really fast and, without wanting to sound too snobby, they always look like pallets. Also, when they’re exposed to the rain a lot of the goodness can wash out.
When looking at making my own compost bin I had a few constraints: I wanted it to look nice, produce great compost, be protected from the rain and, most importantly, not be somewhere that would encourage rats. This last one is very much a problem I’ve had to deal with but may not be a problem everywhere. It seems to be when the fields around us are harvested and they’re ploughed up, that the rats look for somewhere else to hang out, and a garden full of food is easy pickings and a warm compost bin is the icing on the cake for them.
Making it totally rat proof would be pretty difficult and impractical, but I can take measures to at least make their lives a bit more difficult. The three-bay compost bin I’ve made is obviously pretty big but I garden at a scale that is just under the size of a small market garden. You can scale it to suit the space you have or, alternatively, just build it as one or two bays.
Materials
You will need
MATERIALS:
21 x No 3.6m 100 x 50mm tanalised timber
2 x No 3.6m 50 x 50mm tanalised timber
Three strips of offcuts for the stops on the doors 760mm long
18m of 25 x 25mm galvanised mesh by 980mm high. Or whatever size mesh suits your purpose
5 x 45mm screws
5 x 100mm screws
1 x No. M12 110mm coach bolts, nuts and washers
6 x No. M8 70mm coach bolts, nuts and washers (for the catches)
Wood in contact with the ground will always rot out eventually, and slowing that process is the best we can hope to do without using too many chemicals. My plan is to have an overhanging roof that will help prevent much of the water on the wood and have it sat on slabs to prevent direct contact with the soil.
The choice of timber for something like this will also cause possible contention; ideally having untreated timber would be best as this keeps chemicals away from the compost that will grow your food (one reason I use sweet chestnut for the raised beds in my garden), but this does make it expensive and not everyone has access to that type of timber or the ability to machine it.
I opted for standard treated 100 x 50mm timber for most of it. This is widely available, strong enough section to support the sized bins I wanted and being tanalised should last a long time. The Soil Association (www.soilassociation.org) states that there is no issue with organic status if the pre-treated timber is used in making raised beds to grow vegetables, so we can assume that extends to compost bins. You could use smaller sections of timber if you like to help reduce cost and weight, 75 x 50mm would work fine.
My bins are lined with mesh. The use of the 25mm weld mesh is a little extreme and won’t keep out smaller rodents, but it will stop the bigger ones and just make their life more difficult. I used this as it’s something I had in stock anyway, but other mesh would work fine, like 12mm galvanised mesh or rabbit or chicken wire. Smaller mesh would also make the roof sections lighter, but might require more noggings.
To build the base of this bin I laid it on 600 x 600mm slabs with a 9mm gap between each one. These were second hand, and have been used for multiple projects around my garden. Using the slabs like this should, in theory, allow the worms and other bugs to get up through the gaps and let excess moisture drain away. The whole thing can be laid on bare earth or a concrete slab. Laying the slabs on the bare earth probably took longer than building the compost bin in all honesty, but it gave the whole thing a solid base, but one that would allow nature to do its thing as there would still be some contact with the ground.
Preparing the timber
1. When buying timber from the builders’ merchant, I’d recommend going to choose it yourself if possible. What tends to happen if you order it to be delivered is you will often get a lot of the stuff other people have chucked to one side as ‘not good enough’ and end up with a very bent selection of timber2. If you don’t plan on using it straight away make sure it is stored correctly. It should be flat with a number of bearers to support its weight. The timber can soon bend out of straight if stored outside. I also bought my timber in 3.6m lengths. This was easier to transport and as I was building a compost bin 3.6m long it meant that I would (hopefully) be minimising waste
Preparing the ground
3. For me the biggest part of this project was clearing and levelling the area that was to house the compost bins. I tried to get mine somewhere near level as it makes everything else easier, but it could also be installed on a slope just as easily4. Level out the earth and if you’re using slabs, as I am, make sure they’re roughly level. I used some scraps of ply to make sure they were spaced 9mm apart to allow a small bit of contact between the compost and the earth. Lay all the slabs. It doesn’t have to be perfect by any means as it’s a compost bin at the end of the day, but it’s worth spending a bit of time to make sure it’s flat. Alternatively, this bin could be built just onto the bare earth or even a concrete slab
Making the frames
5. Start making the front and back frames. Sort through your timber to find the straightest ones. The worse ones can be used for the shorter uprights6. Cross cut these to size using a mitre saw or whatever your preferred tool is. A circular saw and a speed square is a good alternative7. Lay out the long lengths and then divide the distance up between them to create three equal bays. Mark the cuts for the halving joints across both pieces of timber to prevent any measuring errors8. To cut the halving joints I use the ‘trenching’ facility on my mitre saw, this essentially limits the depth of cut on the saw, and because mine is a sliding saw it means I can cut a trench into the timber. Because of the shape of the blade and how far back the slide goes, I have to add a 50mm length of timber behind my work piece to space it from the back of the fence. This is an old trick used on site when I’d make door linings in much the same way9. Make a series of cuts into the waste of the joint, down to the depth required (halfway). I sometimes get accused by my workmates of being ‘Mr Health and Safety’ but I swear if there was ever a time timber was going to chip off and hit your face it’s when you’re making multiple cuts like this, so make sure you’re wearing goggles and ear protection. Extraction at the back of the saw helps as well10. Abraham Lincoln is often wrongly attributed as saying, ‘Give me four hours to chop down a tree, and I’ll spend the first three sharpening the axe.’ Whether he said it or not is for brighter humans than me to decide, but I like the message behind the phrase (although I still think he shouldn’t have let his axe get in that state). We have a good number of halving joints to tidy up, so it’s well worth having a sharp chisel to clean the base of them. I like mine to slice through this softwood with very little effort, so a bit of time spent honing the edge is well spent11. For those that enjoy the AMSR or ‘nice’ sounds, this part is particularly satisfying. Break off all the bits of timber in the waste section of the joint with your mallet or with your chisel12. With the bulk of the waste gone, use your chisel with the flat side against the wood to smooth up the bottom, you should be able to do most of this by just pushing the chisel with your hands. You could also use a rebate plane here if you prefer (a 778 for example). This is surprisingly quick and tidy with a sharp chisel in this softwood13. You will probably encounter a few knots. These are harder to work; I flipped the chisel over, bevel down, to give me more control in these areas and got through them with a few taps of the mallet14. The joints need to be tight, but only so they push together15. Lay the frame out flat and put all the pieces together. Before you start screwing it together check it’s square by measuring corner-to- corner and making sure the measurements are the same16. Screw the joints together using two 5 x 45mm screws. Stagger these diagonally to each other so they don’t land in the same part of the grain, making it less likely they’ll split the wood17. As with anything timber, sometimes the pieces move a bit. I had to use a sash clamp to pull a few joints together before I screwed them up tight18. Now cut all the pieces for the middle and end frames. These will just be screwed together using 5 x 100mm screws, so drill pilot holes in the top and bottom pieces to accept the screws19. Assemble the four square frames. Check them for square and then add in diagonal bracing using any of the 100 x 50mm timber you had left as offcuts. It will be necessary to cut a few more from the long lengths as well. But try to plan it so the doors and the roof pieces are accounted for first
Adding the mesh
20. Nail the weld mesh on one side of the of the back frame and on the inside of the two ends. I used 18mm fencing staples to attach the mesh to the timber 21. I cut the mesh using a grinder with a metal cutting disc. I much prefer to cut metal like this outside where the risk of a spark igniting anything is greatly reduced
Assembling the frames
22. Lift the end frame and clamp the side piece to it. Get it square and level and then drill through the two with a 12mm drill bit. I drilled two holes for each frame23. Hammer the coach bolts through the hole and into the timber so it grips. Tighten this one up and then add the other three frames24. Add the front frame on and do the same with the bolts. Instead of temporarily clamping this together you can use 100mm screws to hold it while you add the bolts and holes25. The two middle frames need the mesh added on the other side, so the timber is sandwiched between them. This will make removal of the compost easier in the future as it won’t get caught on the frame
Making the doors and roof
26. Make up three doors to cover the bays. I used halving joints again here like the back and front frame, I also added a brace to help keep it square. The brace should point down towards the hinge side27. Next, install the doors. There should be enough clearance for them to open easily, I used some 5mm packers to make sure they were spaced evenly 28. Now make up the roof sections. I used 100 x 50mm for the sides and 50 x 50mm the ends. This helped reduce the weight a bit (they’re still fairly heavy to lift up). Pilot the screws so the 5 x 100mm screws don’t split the timber. The middle roof section is slightly smaller than the outside ones due to the way they overlap29. Nail the mesh on the underside of the roof sections. This will then make a complete mesh box when closed. I added another strut across, to carry the joint of the mesh30. Fix the hinges on the back. Make sure you use heavy-duty hinges for this, the stronger the better. I added in some extra timber to carry the ends of the T hinges; just some offcuts of the 50 x 50mm screwed to the side31. I used some reclaimed roofing sheets to enclose the compost bins. Again, these made the roof fairly heavy, but luckily I’m a fairly strong, it might be worth using lighter ones if you worry about this. I cut the sheets with a cordless nibbler, but a grinder with a cutting disc in works equally well32. Make sure the roof sheets overhang the compost bin. The idea is to try to keep the rain away from the wood of the bins. They should open fully. Be careful if they are as heavy as mine, and be sure to make a good strong prop33. For the front opening doors, you could buy through-bolts to hold them closed. Instead, I made some toggles, I ripped down the 100 x 50mm into 15mm strips for this. I then bolted them to the compost bin, don’t use screws here as they can just work themselves loose34. Now all that’s needed is to fill it up and make some compost
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