Protecting boards from rot

MisterNick

Good afternoon,

I am in the process of moving two raised beds. Generally they seem in good condition other than one side bottom board on the inside and possibly the end.

I was thinking of painting it with bitumen rather than replacing the board as it all matches on the outside.

is this a good idea, or is there a better way.

Many thanks





 

CliveOfIndia

I may be wrong, but I would think plants probably wouldn't be very happy if the bitumen leeches into the soil.

You could maybe try applying some wood hardener, but that may cost more than a new piece of timber, and I think that piece in the photo may be beyond salvage anyway.

What you might want to consider is building some new ones from old pallets.  Depends where you live, but certainly near me there are several businesses that let you pick up their old pallets for free.  Just make sure they haven't been treated with anything that would be toxic to plants.

It takes a bit of time to dismantle them, but it's not at all difficult.  And aside from the time element and possibly a bit of fuel if you need to drive to collect them, it's completely free.  When they rot away after a few years, just knock up some new ones

Just an idea.

MisterNick

CliveOfIndia said:

I may be wrong, but I would think plants probably wouldn't be very happy if the bitumen leeches into the soil.

You could maybe try applying some wood hardener, but that may cost more than a new piece of timber, and I think that piece in the photo may be beyond salvage anyway.

What you might want to consider is building some new ones from old pallets.  Depends where you live, but certainly near me there are several businesses that let you pick up their old pallets for free.  Just make sure they haven't been treated with anything that would be toxic to plants.

It takes a bit of time to dismantle them, but it's not at all difficult.  And aside from the time element and possibly a bit of fuel if you need to drive to collect them, it's completely free.  When they rot away after a few years, just knock up some new ones

Just an idea.

Thanks Clive, the pictures are of the inside of the bed, so I am not fussed what it looks like. The outside is fine.

It's a good point about the bitumen leaching. There is a heavy duty liner in there which may give some protection and it will be in a gravel ditch.
I have had a look at the wood hardener again, and painting on something like Ronseal wet rot wood hardener looks a reasonable solution to arrest the damage 

Eldi_Dos

If the front appearance is ok just turn it upside down when you replace it, the sounder wood will then be on th bottom and hopefully give many years of service.

MisterNick

Eldi_Dos said:

If the front appearance is ok just turn it upside down when you replace it, the sounder wood will then be on th bottom and hopefully give many years of service.

Thanks, will look at that idea

FreeBear

CliveOfIndia said: What you might want to consider is building some new ones from old pallets.  Depends where you live, but certainly near me there are several businesses that let you pick up their old pallets for free.  Just make sure they haven't been treated with anything that would be toxic to plants.

Pallet wood is generally of very low quality - I use old pallets to stack logs on to season. Those that are in contact with soil will rot away in a year or two. Treated, they might last a bit longer.

moneysaver1978

Agree with FreeBear - we recently picked up several free pallets and with little rain there is, we noticed that some are starting to warp. It's fine for our small project (bin storage) but I would be wary of putting these in the soil unless you treat it very well!

You could paint this board with bitumen and if you have any spare wood, put that against it (so the board is not in direct contact with the soil and the new one should give you several years).

Just wondering, how much is it a faff to replace the sleepers once it buckles or fully rotten? If too much, then I would just get a new board and paint to match.

gray1h

I tend to line the inside of my raised beds with DPM or old pond liner even thick gauge polythene stapled or tacked to the timber and terminating just above the soil level. it prolongs the life of the timber as wet soil is no longer hard against the wood. So if you can stabalise the existing timber and line the sides you should be ok for a few more years.

MisterNick

Thanks for the responses.

The bed does have a heavy duty liner which is still in good condition. I put gravel in the bottom and I'm wondering whether this contributed. It was also set on slabs.

I think I will paint it with the wet rot wood hardener which should slow down any further deterioration. If it does rot through in the future, I think I may be able to take that bottom plank off and replace.