Gwennifer's Table Tops

Lowe's is a 20-dollar drive for me, so I want to avoid that if possible.

Did you find that the ones from Lowe's were good quality?

A couple years ago I made a TT with 3 tubs. At the time, the Lowe's brand of tub were definitely better made than the HD brand.

boffer wrote:A couple years ago I made a TT with 3 tubs. At the time, the Lowe's brand of tub were definitely better made than the HD brand.

Good to know, thanks boffer. I've read one should look on the bottom for a notation that the tub is HDPE or HDE .... high density polypropylene, maybe? Apparently from the reviews I read, the ones at Home Depot are not, and the ones at Ace were not.

Marc Iverson wrote:Lowe's is a 20-dollar drive for me, so I want to avoid that if possible.  

Did you find that the ones from Lowe's were good quality?

I'm opposite, Home Depot is 45 mile away.      This is starting the 3rd year of use.  Have garlic planted since Nov. in them.
Kay

Hi everyone.  Here's what I came up with yesterday.  Let me know if I'm on the right track:
I actually also created a diagram on how to find your length measurement for piece A, in case you don't trust your tubs to be the same size of mine.  Can post that if you think it's needed.

Also Marc, to answer an earlier question: the entirety of construction was completed with 2x4's. However, on the very first table, the turquoise one, my husband miscalculated the length for the side pieces and the tub didn't fit in. He was able to solve it by replacing one piece A with a narrower cut of cedar we had some scrap of, rather than rebuild the entire thing, which may be what you noticed in the pictures.

Marc, instead of trying to drive a nail through the plastic to make a drain hole you could heat the nail and melt a hole through.  Not knowing how thick this plastic is it make take heating the nail a couple of times to get all the way through.  Hole the nail with pliers as it will get way too hot to hold by hand  

Gwennifer, Thank you. What length are the long sides?

sanderson, I wasn't done. I was asking if this type of drawing is helpful to those who are wanting directions.

But please, everyone, disregard the image I posted on the previous page. I would delete it if I could. I shouldn't have put the 2x4 dimensions as 2" x 4", in case anyone will be using different lumber. 2x4's are actually 1 1/2" x 3 1/2" and using something actually 2" thick will change the length of the opening. I'll post my corrected drawing, along with the drawing for the side piece after I get the kids to bed.

DorothyG wrote:Marc, instead of trying to drive a nail through the plastic to make a drain hole you could heat the nail and melt a hole through.  Not knowing how thick this plastic is it make take heating the nail a couple of times to get all the way through.  Hole the nail with pliers as it will get way too hot to hold by hand  

That's a good idea. Can you recommend the sort of thing I should buy to heat up the nail? I suppose there are many alternatives, but if you have a good choice in mind, I'd appreciate hearing your recommendation.

gwennifer wrote:sanderson, I wasn't done. I was asking if this type of drawing is helpful to those who are wanting directions.

But please, everyone, disregard the image I posted on the previous page. I would delete it if I could. I shouldn't have put the 2x4 dimensions as 2" x 4", in case anyone will be using different lumber. 2x4's are actually 1 1/2" x 3 1/2" and using something actually 2" thick will change the length of the opening. I'll post my corrected drawing, along with the drawing for the side piece after I get the kids to bed.

2x4's are actually not 2x4? LOL! Boy, well that's not intuitive at all. My table would have come out mysteriously confusing!

Thanks for redoing and posting pics and specs.

Gwennifer, Don't worry. The name 2 by 4 is an old term. The finished size of a 2 x 4 is 1 1/2" by 3 1/2". Contractors know that when they build. Two layers of 2 x 4's for a SFG box equals 7" high. Just enough to add some summer mulch. All that I need are the lengths of side pieces and I will be good to go. Thank you for all your effort.

I'm trying to be as thorough as possible for those without construction experience.  Here's the completed drawings for Step 1 and Step 2:

sanderson can probably figure out the bottom bracing for the tub from there.  For everyone else, I'll work on drawing out the dimensions for that piece tomorrow.

I saw some of you saying that you own tubs that are different lengths. Mine are the tubs from Lowes and I didn't notice any size discrepancy. I could stack any of them inside or outside of any other. Be sure not to use my measurements on blind faith. Make sure they'll work for your tub.

Wonderful, thank you.

Thank you!!!

I was unaware that the cement tubs came in 2 sizes.  The two I bought at Home Depot today are 27 1/2" x 19 3/4" x 6".  They also carry a larger size, which must be what Gwennifer has, judging by the dimensions on the drawings.  I know wet MM weighs a ton so I bought the smaller size for the strawberries.  Marc, I think you were right that Gwennifer's were 2 x 3!  Three braces will work for mine.

I looked in a few places and either found a large size or a large and a small size. The large size was roughly 2x3 and either 7 or 8 inches deep, but width and/or length often differed an inch or two. You can get a general equivalent, but sizes apparently are not at all standardized. Maybe I shouldn't have assumed there would be some sort of uniformity going on.

The lips of Gwennifer's tubs fit so neatly into their frames, and that's the look I would want if I were to go to the trouble and expense of constructing a purpose-built raised bed for them.

How tough are the ones you got at Home Depot? The reviews I saw at Home Depot were pretty negative about their durability, many people saying they broke under light duty and/or during first use.

The large ones were heavier, thicker material. I think the size I have will be fine for what I want, 2 trays of strawberries off the ground. The tray will never see heavy duty abuse [cement mixing] so the quality is not that important. I'll keep you posted.

Sorry for the confusion sanderson. The original thread on using these cement tubs had a lot of discussion on the two tub sizes available. The smaller one slopes in on the two narrow sides, limiting the depth on those ends. Plus it wasn't as close to being full square sizes as the large tub. That's why I went large. It's easier to tell the size with my more visible bamboo grids, just count the squares:

marc, I'm not sure where the discussion started about how to get drainage holes in the bottom, but I simply drilled holes in mine with a 1/4" drill bit.

Also, three supports on the bottom is sufficiently strong enough to handle the load of the full sized tub full of saturated Mel's mix. The tub itself is what begins to bend under the load.

Yeah, that's what I figured. Preserving the tubs is important to me too, as our Lowes costs me 20 bucks a trip to visit in case I have to replace one. I also keep envisioning deer resting their front hooves on one and coming in for a nibble. So extra strength can't hurt.

Also, on the other thread on using these tubs, there was quite a lot of discussion on the types of plastics used. According to the websites the Home Depot tubs are PVC, whereas the Lowe's tubs are HDPE. HDPE is deemed safe for edibles, PVC is not. So aside from durability, there is that to consider. However, to add confusion to the mix, people say they went to Lowe's and found no evidence their tubs were indeed HDPE, and even claimed they are now made by the same manufacturer as the Home Depot tubs so therefore must be PVC. So good luck trying to figure any of that out. Unfortunately, the large ones are no longer available on-line at Lowes. The small ones are, and still state HDPE construction. You can get free shipping from Lowe's with orders over $49.

The small ones will be great for strawberry beds sanderson!

Oh, marc, one more thing: the tubs are flexible. Taking measurements of them individually may indeed result in different numbers. If you can stack them together, any of them inside or outside of any other, than you will be able to fit them into the same size hole with no problems. My extra tub I decided to put below my turquoise table has no side supports, so it has spread out under the weight of the saturated Mel's mix.

Thanks for the further info, gwennifer, it's very helpful.

Small table top that DH built yesterday.  A little different orientation of legs and rims, but I wouldn't have known how to start if it wasn't for Gwennifer's TTs.  I have the smaller cement pans.  I think today is dedicated to building the compost pile so I won't get to painting it until tomorrow. Some of the wood is a little ratty as they were free pieces from a construction site.

Thank you all for all your posts!  My son is moving into a house soon and says he will want to do a garden and will be asking me to teach him.  I suggested these cement tubs and this was just perfect timing to read this thread.

That looks like a very sturdy basin to hold that tub in. I'll be curious to see your set-up when it's all painted and done!