Building a composter
Posted: Tue Apr 09, 2013 3:47 pm
As the old composter that we inherited was getting a bit worse for wear I decided to build a new one. This job was a rush job as I decided to do it on the Friday night, one day before starting it on Saturday. It was about half past nine at night when I realised that I was off work on Saturday and it was going to be fine. I rang my mate and asked if he could give me a lift and he could so we were set.
This is the old composter-
I checked B&Q and roughly estimated what I needed to build this composter-
12- 4*4 inch pointed posts, 2.4m long
10- lengths of 4*2 tanalised timber (4.2m long)
50 – 5 inch wide boards (probably feather boards)
Then I remembered about a local guy that I had bought tantalised timber from before that lived locally on a farm, I checked his ebay shop and he had all the gear I needed for the project so I emailed him to see if I could collect on the Saturday morning between half nine and ten. He explained that he only had 6 4*4 posts in stock, but I could make do with some of the 4*2 and so I went on ebay and ordered and paid for the stuff.
Saturday morning, I called in at the local hardware shop and bought a large post rammer for £48. I was running early due to unforeseen circumstances so I arrived at the farm at about 9:10. There was nobody about so I called his mobile, he was 50 minutes away! This was the start of the day going badly wrong.
I went to McDonalds and had a coffee, then picked up a few small bits from B&Q. I then got to the farm just after 10am and about 5 minutes later the guy arrived to give me the items I had bought. When he lifted the sheet on the 4*4 posts I noticed that the posts were not pointed, so I asked him why they were not pointed when they were in the picture. He said that although the picture showed a pointed post they no longer make them and that if I had read the description it said as much (it was half ten at night when I bought them). Anyway no big deal as I would cut a point on them using a chain saw that the previous house owners left behind.
Already I am behind schedule, but proceed with clearing the ground and erecting the composter. Time to cut the first point on the post with the chain saw, not a bloomin chance, the chain saw was so blunt it would struggle cutting through butter. Normally I can cut timber this size using my reciprocating saw but a guy at work was cutting down some small trees on the same day, so I lent it to him (thinking I could use the chain saw if stuck). I have no other saw that can cut a point on 4*4 timber so I swap to plan B and cut a point on a single piece of 4*2, I then knock this in the ground but it is just too flexible, now switch to plan C. I call the local hardware store to see if they have any post fix type concrete’s in stock where you dig an hole, place the post in and then tip in the post-fix and wet it, this then forms concrete after about 15 minutes. Luckily they had 6 bags in stock so I set off to the shop. When I get there I can’t find it, but the guy in the shop points me in the right direction- where I found bags of concrete that required mixing !!!!!!!! Left the shop with nothing and headed for Howarth Timber, but it’s Saturday so they closed at 12:00, it is now 13:15
There are no stockists of post fix type materials in my town that are open on a Saturday, so I have to drive to the next town to B&Q again, I get stuck in road works that adds 20 mins to my journey . I get the bags quickly and I am in and out in a matter of minutes, now I have to carry the 10 bags about 200 yards to the job, luckily my mate was there to carry me ;-)
After the initial bad start we got all the posts installed and about 25 of the feathered edge boards nailed in position, thanks mainly to the cordless Dewalt nail gun. We finished at about 7pm, then the next day I continued on my own and made two doors and finished nailing the feathered boards in position.
Later that night I checked ebay and noticed that the listing for the fence posts with the point in the picture said NOTHING in the title or description about them not being pointed
Although this guy is a lot cheaper than the sheds I’ll never use him again. I have lots of outside work planned for the fine weather and I would have been spending a few hundred quid more with him, plus I would have recommended him to others, but showing a picture of a pointed post, then saying that in the description that it was not pointed was a total lie and I don’t spend my money with liars. The fact that the posts were not pointed put about 5 hours onto the job and a lot of hassle and more expense!
This is the old composter-
- composter-old (Small).jpg (96.23 KiB) Viewed 2790 times
I checked B&Q and roughly estimated what I needed to build this composter-
12- 4*4 inch pointed posts, 2.4m long
10- lengths of 4*2 tanalised timber (4.2m long)
50 – 5 inch wide boards (probably feather boards)
Then I remembered about a local guy that I had bought tantalised timber from before that lived locally on a farm, I checked his ebay shop and he had all the gear I needed for the project so I emailed him to see if I could collect on the Saturday morning between half nine and ten. He explained that he only had 6 4*4 posts in stock, but I could make do with some of the 4*2 and so I went on ebay and ordered and paid for the stuff.
Saturday morning, I called in at the local hardware shop and bought a large post rammer for £48. I was running early due to unforeseen circumstances so I arrived at the farm at about 9:10. There was nobody about so I called his mobile, he was 50 minutes away! This was the start of the day going badly wrong.
I went to McDonalds and had a coffee, then picked up a few small bits from B&Q. I then got to the farm just after 10am and about 5 minutes later the guy arrived to give me the items I had bought. When he lifted the sheet on the 4*4 posts I noticed that the posts were not pointed, so I asked him why they were not pointed when they were in the picture. He said that although the picture showed a pointed post they no longer make them and that if I had read the description it said as much (it was half ten at night when I bought them). Anyway no big deal as I would cut a point on them using a chain saw that the previous house owners left behind.
Already I am behind schedule, but proceed with clearing the ground and erecting the composter. Time to cut the first point on the post with the chain saw, not a bloomin chance, the chain saw was so blunt it would struggle cutting through butter. Normally I can cut timber this size using my reciprocating saw but a guy at work was cutting down some small trees on the same day, so I lent it to him (thinking I could use the chain saw if stuck). I have no other saw that can cut a point on 4*4 timber so I swap to plan B and cut a point on a single piece of 4*2, I then knock this in the ground but it is just too flexible, now switch to plan C. I call the local hardware store to see if they have any post fix type concrete’s in stock where you dig an hole, place the post in and then tip in the post-fix and wet it, this then forms concrete after about 15 minutes. Luckily they had 6 bags in stock so I set off to the shop. When I get there I can’t find it, but the guy in the shop points me in the right direction- where I found bags of concrete that required mixing !!!!!!!! Left the shop with nothing and headed for Howarth Timber, but it’s Saturday so they closed at 12:00, it is now 13:15
There are no stockists of post fix type materials in my town that are open on a Saturday, so I have to drive to the next town to B&Q again, I get stuck in road works that adds 20 mins to my journey . I get the bags quickly and I am in and out in a matter of minutes, now I have to carry the 10 bags about 200 yards to the job, luckily my mate was there to carry me ;-)
After the initial bad start we got all the posts installed and about 25 of the feathered edge boards nailed in position, thanks mainly to the cordless Dewalt nail gun. We finished at about 7pm, then the next day I continued on my own and made two doors and finished nailing the feathered boards in position.
Later that night I checked ebay and noticed that the listing for the fence posts with the point in the picture said NOTHING in the title or description about them not being pointed
Although this guy is a lot cheaper than the sheds I’ll never use him again. I have lots of outside work planned for the fine weather and I would have been spending a few hundred quid more with him, plus I would have recommended him to others, but showing a picture of a pointed post, then saying that in the description that it was not pointed was a total lie and I don’t spend my money with liars. The fact that the posts were not pointed put about 5 hours onto the job and a lot of hassle and more expense!
- new-composter (Small).jpg (83.06 KiB) Viewed 2790 times
