Weekend Warrior, Part III
When last we left our intrepid hero, he was extolling the virtues of recycled building materials...
As you might imagine, this was a coup in price and product. Where a custom frame and a piece of plexi-glass would run in time and materials upwards of eighty dollars each, these "lids" were found for less than one-hundred fifty dollars for eight of them. All that was needed was to settle on a design and cost of materials for the frames. One might say, the Lion's Share of the project.
When trying to make anything out of wood that will be in contact with the ground, it is important to consider how fast the wood will rot. It is not a question of whether it will rot, but rather how long that process will take. Some woods, like Cedar, are naturally resistant to rot due to the density of the wood fibers and/or special oils found in the wood. These rot-resistant woods are obviously the best choice to use if you do not want to use any kind of sealant on the wood. Incidentally, Cedar is not the most resistant available. Some of my favorites are Black Locust and Osage Orange. Both of which would be rated around four-times more resistant than Red Cedar and a little more than three-times than White Cedar.
I did my research, called a few places and got some price quotes. There was some back and forth between the board of trustees and the farmer as to what they could afford. It turns out that six cold frames sunk a foot into the ground and sitting two feet above ends up being around one thousand dollars worth of Black Locust. The upside is that this wood is very heavy and extremely resistant. The expected life of that cold frame would be at least 15(!) years. That is still one thousand dollars, which is far too expensive for this concept.
Back to the drawing board.
After a bit more research, I found a much more compact design. This one is a foot tall, relying on a good base to be dug and sloping on all sides. Using Pine and a water-based deck sealant, we were able to bring the cost down to around forty dollars per total frame after everything is said and done. Just under four hundred dollars for eight cold frames is much nicer on the finances than one thousand.
Drawings made, lumber bought and delivered, sealant purchased... all that is left is the doing.
What's that? Oh, you mean I have to build these myself?
Joy.
Next time: Doing it in a drafty barn...
No, it's not a skin flick.
As you might imagine, this was a coup in price and product. Where a custom frame and a piece of plexi-glass would run in time and materials upwards of eighty dollars each, these "lids" were found for less than one-hundred fifty dollars for eight of them. All that was needed was to settle on a design and cost of materials for the frames. One might say, the Lion's Share of the project.
When trying to make anything out of wood that will be in contact with the ground, it is important to consider how fast the wood will rot. It is not a question of whether it will rot, but rather how long that process will take. Some woods, like Cedar, are naturally resistant to rot due to the density of the wood fibers and/or special oils found in the wood. These rot-resistant woods are obviously the best choice to use if you do not want to use any kind of sealant on the wood. Incidentally, Cedar is not the most resistant available. Some of my favorites are Black Locust and Osage Orange. Both of which would be rated around four-times more resistant than Red Cedar and a little more than three-times than White Cedar.
I did my research, called a few places and got some price quotes. There was some back and forth between the board of trustees and the farmer as to what they could afford. It turns out that six cold frames sunk a foot into the ground and sitting two feet above ends up being around one thousand dollars worth of Black Locust. The upside is that this wood is very heavy and extremely resistant. The expected life of that cold frame would be at least 15(!) years. That is still one thousand dollars, which is far too expensive for this concept.
Back to the drawing board.
After a bit more research, I found a much more compact design. This one is a foot tall, relying on a good base to be dug and sloping on all sides. Using Pine and a water-based deck sealant, we were able to bring the cost down to around forty dollars per total frame after everything is said and done. Just under four hundred dollars for eight cold frames is much nicer on the finances than one thousand.
Drawings made, lumber bought and delivered, sealant purchased... all that is left is the doing.
What's that? Oh, you mean I have to build these myself?
Joy.
Next time: Doing it in a drafty barn...
No, it's not a skin flick.