I want to make growing benches out of concrete and cinder blocks.
(Stop me here if this is the wrong approach.)

Depends on the statement you want to make, and how good you are at
making concrete look like weathered sandstone or something. I use
stackable plastic-coated wire shelving units for my benches- they are
light, easy to rearrange, attractive in a modern way, and clean
easily. If the plastic is broken, the wire will rust, but I've had
mine for 10 years now without trouble.

This is roughly what I'm talking about:

http://www.stacksandstacks.com/html/9898.htm
--
Nina Shishkoff

Frederick, MD

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Bungalow Bill wrote:

I want to make growing benches out of concrete and cinder blocks.


Bill - You might want to look into what's called "hypertufa", a mix of
perlite, concrete, and peat moss. It can be textured and molded into
whatever shape you like. to use for shelves, you'll likely need some
reinforcing material (fiberglass mesh or wire screen). you can find
recipes and instructions all over the Web. here's a favorite site of mine:

http://www.taunton.com/finegardening/pages/g00117.asp

Or, make life easy on yourself as Nina suggested, and use
vinyl-covered wire shelving. Double them up (offsetting by a little)
if your tres are large, or put the support shelves closer together.

Wondering, wouldn't outdoor-treated lumber, especially if coated with
a semi-transparent stain/sealer, last well enough even in your moist
climate??

Regards,
Anita
Northern Harford County, Maryland, USDA zone 6
"I like winter trees against the sky, I said.
What does that say about you, she said, that you like
undressed trees. A voyeur."
-from a poem by Kay Cheever

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At 02:45 PM 5/6/03 -0500, Bungalow Bill wrote:
I want to make growing benches out of concrete and cinder blocks.
(Stop me here if this is the wrong approach.) Everything made of wood
will rot here in New Orleans. I want to make bench tops about
18inches deep and 30inches wide and 1.5 inches thick. I'll use cinder
blocks to support the bench tops.

Problem is that I don't think that Quickcrete is the right mix for the
job. The gravel is too large and the result is too heavy.

So I want to mix my own. I figure the Gravel is the only component I
can change to make the concrete lighter. Any suggestions on what I
should do here?

Bill.

Bill

Perlite is the most common replacement for rock for lightweight concrete
(tufa?). However, and it is a big however, it greatly decreases the
structural integrity. So, you will want to incorporate some sort of fabric
or wire reinforcement and use a lot more support members.

I built lightweight concrete tops for my propagation tables about ten years
ago. They were fine until the wooden supports began to sag and rot, then
the tops collapsed.


Brent in Northern California
Evergreen Gardenworks USDA Zone 8 Sunset Zone 14

http://www.EvergreenGardenworks.com

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At 14:17 -0400 6/5/2003, Brent Walston wrote:
Perlite is the most common replacement for rock for lightweight concrete
(tufa?). However, and it is a big however, it greatly decreases the
structural integrity. So, you will want to incorporate some sort of fabric
or wire reinforcement and use a lot more support members.

I built lightweight concrete tops for my propagation tables about ten years
ago. They were fine until the wooden supports began to sag and rot, then
the tops collapsed.

I remember in the 70s there was a big fad on concrete hi fi speakers
enclosures (I kid you not!). The construction was based on small
gauge chicken wire as reinforcement and styro-foam beads as aggregate
(we all had bean bags, so they were freely available ;-) I'm not sure
how it would go as a material for flat sheets that laid horizontally
- they wouldn't take a lot of weight, I would guess. But as material
for hollow uprights? Hmm ...

Cheers

Rob

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At 09:39 AM 5/7/03 +1000, Robert Moore wrote:

I remember in the 70s there was a big fad on concrete hi fi speakers
enclosures (I kid you not!). The construction was based on small
gauge chicken wire as reinforcement and styro-foam beads as aggregate
(we all had bean bags, so they were freely available ;-) I'm not sure
how it would go as a material for flat sheets that laid horizontally
- they wouldn't take a lot of weight, I would guess. But as material
for hollow uprights? Hmm ...

Rob

I actually built one of those, but with REGULAR concrete. It weighed about
400 pounds.


Brent in Northern California
Evergreen Gardenworks USDA Zone 8 Sunset Zone 14

http://www.EvergreenGardenworks.com

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They are also selling a composite "wood alternative" at most lumber yards
now. It will probably eventually rot, but it is supposed to last WAY longer
than wood. If you stain it with a water repellant, that should increase the
life as well.

Jeff Isom
Cleveland, OH / Sunset Zone 39

-----Original Message-----
From: Anita Hawkins ]
Sent: Tuesday, May 06, 2003 5:00 PM
To:
Subject: [IBC] Cement Recipe? Building Lightweight Growing Benches


Bungalow Bill wrote:

I want to make growing benches out of concrete and cinder blocks.


Bill - You might want to look into what's called "hypertufa", a mix of
perlite, concrete, and peat moss. It can be textured and molded into
whatever shape you like. to use for shelves, you'll likely need some
reinforcing material (fiberglass mesh or wire screen). you can find
recipes and instructions all over the Web. here's a favorite site of mine:

http://www.taunton.com/finegardening/pages/g00117.asp

Or, make life easy on yourself as Nina suggested, and use
vinyl-covered wire shelving. Double them up (offsetting by a little)
if your tres are large, or put the support shelves closer together.

Wondering, wouldn't outdoor-treated lumber, especially if coated with
a semi-transparent stain/sealer, last well enough even in your moist
climate??

Regards,
Anita
Northern Harford County, Maryland, USDA zone 6
"I like winter trees against the sky, I said.
What does that say about you, she said, that you like
undressed trees. A voyeur."
-from a poem by Kay Cheever

************************************************** **************************
****
++++Sponsored, in part, by Evergreen Gardenworks++++
************************************************** **************************
****
-- The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ --
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++

************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Evergreen Gardenworks++++
************************************************** ******************************
-- The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ --
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++