Anyone ever use Ultra Timber for boxes???

This is what it looks like I am converting our HUGE Minnesota gardens over to SFG and want to make sure they last. I would rather invest the money and building time once and want something that is pleasing to the eye. I went to the store today to price out cedar and composite material at Menard's. They had a display with Ultra Timber by UltraDeck. Anyone familiar with it? Pros or Cons???? I really want taller beds for ease of gardening and ideally want at least 12 -18 inch tall beds. With this product I could start with the two rows and add a third if needed down the road. Also I like that it is wide enough and sturdy enough to sit on. Right now I want to install three 16 x 4 beds to get started and double it next year (we freeze and can).


Any thoughts would be appreciated. I really want to get them built this weekend. Oh---the price was only $19 for a 19 foot length!!! Even going three tiers tall costs less than the cedar ($76 per 16 foot ). The cost would equate to $38 per 4 x 4 bed. The 16 foot long bed would be $148 without the soil mix.

I've never even heard of it, but I see no reason why it wouldn't work well. If you have any reservations at all, line the sides with plastic as folks do who use treated lumber or RR ties.

Not yet, but I plan on making my sister in laws out of composite.

The ultra timbers, is that the composite landscape timbers?

8 of my 4x4 beds are made of the grey plastic wood decking that Lowe's sells. I call it Trex but that is anoter brand. Sounds like you have a like product at a good price. I paid $24 for 16 foot 5.5" wide boards. So one will make a 4x4 box. They have been working for me.

Sounds like a great product. I see no reason not to use it. And I agree, it's hard to argue with the price - especially compared to cedar. And your using recycled product since the stuff is made from reclaimed/recycled wood and plastic.

The link is the "This is what it looks like" posted above. It is recyled but the boards are more the dimensions of a timber, so that it has width to it. The only downside I see is that I will have to go wider than 4 feet since I am going to loose a lot of space due to the depth of the product. Bonus is you can sit along edge of box. Does that make sense???

Rebecca

Just make sure you can still reach the center of the box easily. Otherwise, you might want to go with 3' interior size.

Well after all that, I went to Sam's Club today and bought seven of their raised boxes that are roughly 4'x8'x8" instead---for $39 each. The work is done and the pieces slid right together. Can't beat it. And the customer service was great when I had questions about stapling into the composite.


Rebecca

I just found these at Sam's too.
http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/navigate.do?dest=5&item=434312&pCatg=9666

Maybe next year when I can save up for them a bit.

My beds are also made of that "copycat" Trex composite lumber that is sold at Lowes. I went with an 11" fascia board that was a little more flimsy than their 2x6 boards, but it's working fine (I screwed it to composite stakes at 2 1/12 ft intervals).

I like the look and I'm sure it will hold up a lot longer than untreated wood of any variety. Composite lumber is a mixture of recycled plastic and compressed sawdust -- 95% recycled materials, so any guilt I had about using a non-biodegradable material got offset by the warm fuzzy feelings from buying recycled.

milaneyjane wrote:This is what it looks like I am converting our HUGE Minnesota gardens over to SFG and want to make sure they last. I would rather invest the money and building time once and want something that is pleasing to the eye. I went to the store today to price out cedar and composite material at Menard's. They had a display with Ultra Timber by UltraDeck. Anyone familiar with it? Pros or Cons???? I really want taller beds for ease of gardening and ideally want at least 12 -18 inch tall beds. With this product I could start with the two rows and add a third if needed down the road. Also I like that it is wide enough and sturdy enough to sit on. Right now I want to install three 16 x 4 beds to get started and double it next year (we freeze and can).


Any thoughts would be appreciated. I really want to get them built this weekend. Oh---the price was only $19 for a 19 foot length!!! Even going three tiers tall costs less than the cedar ($76 per 16 foot ). The cost would equate to $38 per 4 x 4 bed. The 16 foot long bed would be $148 without the soil mix.

I checked our local menards and our prices are SO different! The ultra timber was $19 for 8ft and the cedar is $17 for a 16ft piece of cedar decking!

I think i am going to go with the composite from Menards, I can get one box for $30. Not bad!

Chocolate Pop----is that for the landscape Ultra Timber or is that the composite decking material? They are two different UltraDeck products. The one that I was looking at was the fat timber looking pieces that are like 7 inches square. The link I posted shows it in the sandbox.

Post pics when you are done---- I would love to see what you do!

Rebeccca

milaneyjane wrote:Chocolate Pop----is that for the landscape Ultra Timber or is that the composite decking material? They are two different UltraDeck products. The one that I was looking at was the fat timber looking pieces that are like 7 inches square. The link I posted shows it in the sandbox.

Post pics when you are done---- I would love to see what you do!

Rebeccca

Nope, it was ultra timber. I also was like :o on the price. I'll check another Menards but I was also surprised.

Now its 2013 a 16' timber costs $42.95 they dont stack straight up and down each layer sets back about 1 inch, mine were delivered and they were bowed in the center  about an inch, one was broke and needed to be returned(to menards)

You could use extra long stainless steel screws / coach bolts to clamp the logs together along the length and also to bring the corners together so long as you do them in the specified size pilot holes and counter sunk for the head of the screw /bolt .

After reading the burb it seems we have a similar sort of resin impregnated sawdust material inn the UK that has air entrained in it during manufacture to make it light .
It is like putting a screw into a cinder toffee bar ( A Crunchie bar ???? ), you can't just use any old screw to clamp them either.
The ones we played with were supplied by the manufacturer and they had a very coarse spaced out deep thread so that they would follow the precision pilot hole and cut their own thread with out putting pressure on the material and causing it to break /split apart at the site if the screw insertion .


We also have 19 mm x 150 mm wide ( 3/4 inch x 6 inch ) planks of it and 3x3 or 4x4 inch corner posts which is sold under the name of ECO WOOD .
You have to follow the makers instructions to the letter wrt the cutting , drilling and fixing of it as it splits and bends unless you do. You also have to follow their instructions about how far between the ends you must put braces in & what type of brace to stop the boards bulging out due to wet soil or frost freezing the soil and expanding it.