Allotments 4 All

Hi everyone, as a new member to the site I will be looking for as much help as possible as this is all new to me!!
I am trying to make raised beds on my plot but have run out of wood ??

Any ideas of where or how I can beg scrap wood in the Cambridgeshire area would be a great help.

Look forward to asking many questions and gaining your knowledge.

Janmac ???

One place to check out could be double glazing firms that replace the wood on roofs with plastic stuff.

I have just had mine done and there is a good quantity of wood which I am giving to one of my lottie neighbours.  There are nails in there which will have to come out but there is a fair bit of good serviceable wood also.  They generally just take it to the recycling centre or have to pay to dispose of it - so you could be seen to be helping them out!

Good luck anyway!

Ann ;D

I look for early signs of people having loft extensions, new scaffolding or the arrival of a skip. Then I chat to the owner or builder. It costs them money to put it in a skip when I can remove it for free.

By being proactive and polite one builder even cut it into lengths so that I could get it into my car.

Good hunting.

OC

I could not find any free wood for my raised beds so your options are travis Perkins  

6" wide. 4.8m lenth £14.40 or £16.92 Inc vat 2" thick

or the wood mill at bourn sorry can't find there number off hand.

Hey Janmac, Welcome  ;)

Skips are great for freebie wood always keep my eye out when driving around locally, but if you need to buy see if you have any Tool Hire stores in the area...

We can purchase used scaffold boards for £5/£7 each with delivery as low as £2 from one and Free from another direct to the allotment site.

I treated myself to some gravel boards from Wicks to start with.   
19x 150x 183 or roughly 3/4"x6"x 6ft to me.  £14.49 for 5.  I bought 10.  They also have 6'8" ones.

Go round an industrila estate adn you will find piles of pallets. If you ask around people will gladly let you take them as they usually have to pay to dispose of them. look for the ones that have nice thick wood and full length seperators between the top and bottom.... I'll be building a bed in my garden out of them this summer.... don't expect it to last more than a couple of years but I can replace it frmo the same sources..... it's free adn it's recycling and if you get the raw wood ones it's also organic ....

chrisc

Scaffold boards don't last more than a few years. I'm in the process of replacing mine with decking boards.

Quote from: asbean on June 18, 2010, 17:45:32
Scaffold boards don't last more than a few years. I'm in the process of replacing mine with decking boards.

:o What sort of state were your boards in when you purchased them?

Had mine a year and they look no different to when they were built...  ???

Surely boards will last longer than that if you treat them before use.

Some were new, some used. I treated them before putting them on the plot.  I have 10 beds approx 5 metres long, and about half the boards have rotted.  They've been in since 2003, and since I didn't pay for them (got them from Speedy Hire) I guess they were good value really.

But the beds I made at the same time from gravel board (also treated) are still in excellent condition.

And welcome to A4A, janmac  :) :) :)

We get regular free deliveries of pallets from our nearby builder's yard - they can't get rid of them fast enough. And we've had a couple of loads of scaffold boards recently - the boards are free, but they charge for delivery. (We needed some for the site, but made a profit on the deal by selling the surplus to members!)

Get together with a few others at your site - or get the Committee to get its finger out - and shop around.

Welcome janmac.
We are really spoilt on our lottie a local wood recycler drops off any wood they can't use. :)
My OH made our three raised beds from pallets,the time consuming bit was taking them apart and de-nailing them.
The expense came trying to fill them (they're 2'high)we were lucky(again)as a lottie neighbour had access to some beautiful ,clean soil which he helped us collect.
You could try joining your local freecycle and ask on there,'tho I think you have to offer something before you ask for something.
Good luck  :)

hi janmac  i to am a newbie .as i live in south wales i cannot help with scrap wood in your area .as a carpenter by trade i use decking boards aprox 6x1  x2.4m =apox94in to make one you need 3 boards one cut into3 at 31in long nail one to each end and one in the centre with other two boards .to double the depth repeat as above and sit it on top .in each internal corners use 2x2 posts hammer in and nail together i hope this helps. ps as i have been growing veg for number of years if i can help with any problem

Hi everyone, wow what a great response to my first thread!!  thanks for all your comments x

look forward to my next problem and i'm sure there will be many .

janmac