# Garden PLot Using 4x6 Timbers



## TRN_Diesel (Feb 24, 2009)

Well today my son and I got busy getting set to dig out the garden so we can have a nice edge to help keep the dirt in and off the grass.

It was a full day and we managed to get it all done.

I will post more pictures and show you the irrigation system I designed by catching the water coming down the eave trough from the garage.


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## Eyehawker (Sep 24, 2004)

hey dan that looks really nice, also looks like you have a pretty good helper! lol


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## RStaron (Sep 25, 2009)

Looks good, Dan!!!! My little helper grew up and now lives in Portland Oregon. He has two little helpers of his own.


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## CanuckGal (Nov 26, 2008)

Great stuff Dan! I love the facial expressions... priceless!


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## Mark (Aug 4, 2004)

The end result looks great Dan, a big improvement from what it previously was. I look forward to checking out the shots of the irrigation system.


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## TRN_Diesel (Feb 24, 2009)

CanuckGal said:


> Great stuff Dan! I love the facial expressions... priceless!


Thanks you should hear what comes out of his little mouth at times lol!


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## TRN_Diesel (Feb 24, 2009)

Mark said:


> The end result looks great Dan, a big improvement from what it previously was. I look forward to checking out the shots of the irrigation system.


I made this up and it works great mark. Have been using it now for the past three years. I iwll be cutting some sticks to mount the sprinkler heads tomorrow and get the pump hooked up and the lin run.

The nice thing about the setup is is is quick to setup and take down before the winter time comes not to mention the money it saves on water. Imagine if more people saved the rain water. 

If I were to build my next house I would imcoporate "GRAY WATER". Colelct all rain water to use in the toileetes and try live off the grid per say. Anyway I better go have my granola bar!:nhl_checking:


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## BigJimAK (Mar 13, 2009)

TRN_Diesel said:


> Thanks you should hear what comes out of his little mouth at times lol!


"Never ask a child a question unless you want a totally honest answer": Truer words were never spoken!


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## Al Robins (Jul 13, 2009)

Dan, you and the little fella have done a great job, and, I dont want to sound like the prophet of doom, but is that a good idea having the garden bed against the wall......salt damp?, termites?..I dunno, your conditions are entirely different to ours....love the look of the soil, I could just about eat it....Regards......AL


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## AxlMyk (Jun 13, 2006)

Wait a minute, and hold the horsies.
Bevel gauge? Miter saw?
When I lay border timbers, I whack em off with a chain saw and toss em in the rut I dug.
Lag bolts and sealer? Geesh. Makin me feel like a Michigander.


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## TRN_Diesel (Feb 24, 2009)

Al Robins said:


> Dan, you and the little fella have done a great job, and, I dont want to sound like the prophet of doom, but is that a good idea having the garden bed against the wall......salt damp?, termites?..I dunno, your conditions are entirely different to ours....love the look of the soil, I could just about eat it....Regards......AL


The garage has stucco on it and it has been there since 1965 with no problems so I am guessing this will not be an issue.

Besides it is only damp 4 months of the year while the other 8 it is frozen! :haha:


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## TRN_Diesel (Feb 24, 2009)

AxlMyk said:


> Wait a minute, and hold the horsies.
> Bevel gauge? Miter saw?
> When I lay border timbers, I whack em off with a chain saw and toss em in the rut I dug.
> Lag bolts and sealer? Geesh. Makin me feel like a Michigander.


Mike my buddy said the same thing about the bevel gauge and mitre saw. He just uses a chain saw but when I showed him how I do it he had to admit it was pretty slick. Besides when you have invested in the tools you might as well make use of them. Especially when the wife is there and watching your every move.


Just had a all night slow drizzle rain perfect for the garden and the robins having a feast witht he worms. Every fall I gather my leaves and grass and throw it into the soil and leave it rot for the winter makes for great soil in the spring time. I aslo compost as well so its all organic and did I say its FREE!


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## CanuckGal (Nov 26, 2008)

Dan you are an ecological icon. I applaud you.


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## Mark (Aug 4, 2004)

TRN_Diesel said:


> I made this up and it works great mark. Have been using it now for the past three years. I iwll be cutting some sticks to mount the sprinkler heads tomorrow and get the pump hooked up and the lin run.
> 
> The nice thing about the setup is is is quick to setup and take down before the winter time comes not to mention the money it saves on water. Imagine if more people saved the rain water.
> 
> If I were to build my next house I would imcoporate "GRAY WATER". Colelct all rain water to use in the toileetes and try live off the grid per say. Anyway I better go have my granola bar!:nhl_checking:


Sounds like an interesting system, how much do you end up collecting over the time it's setup, I'm assuming it's a fair amount and I can see that being a fairly big saver if you can use the collected water for the toilet like you mentioned. Very cool idea lol.


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## TRN_Diesel (Feb 24, 2009)

Mark you would be amazed how much water I get off the roof of my 22x24 garage. With 8 - 45 gallon barrels I can hold 360 gallons of water. After a good rain I am full.

So imagine your roof of the house combined with a garage it is very easy to collect the necessary water for grey use (toilettes, irrigation)

You could take it a step further and put in a filtration system for potable drinking water.

So if you plan it while the house is under construction you can bury two large holding tanks and you have all the water you need. If you build into the side of a hill you can go geo thermo and have the tanks exposed for maintenance if need be but plastic is the way to go for rust would not be an issue.

It is a shame the government does not provide incentives for people to start doing this. I believe the next big issue will be available water for us to survive off of. MOre people means more water use.


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## Mark (Aug 4, 2004)

Wow that does sound very promising and I entirely agree with you, it is a shame the government isn't offering any incentives for individuals who are saving on resources. People should be rewarded or provided with incentives for being so resourceful.


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## gav (Oct 12, 2009)

TRN_Diesel said:


> Mark you would be amazed how much water I get off the roof of my 22x24 garage. With 8 - 45 gallon barrels I can hold 360 gallons of water. After a good rain I am full.
> 
> So imagine your roof of the house combined with a garage it is very easy to collect the necessary water for grey use (toilettes, irrigation)
> 
> ...



The schemes are already in place in Queensland Australia where my parents live. You either get a water tank, or decide to have a rock garden.
When I was growing up, water tanks were common, then the government made them illegal so you would have to pay them for water. Later that decision came back and bit them when water got so scarce, everyone was limited to 3 minute showers, no washing cars are watering gardens, and last year they were so close to recycling waste water for drinking. Finally they saw sense again and allowed rain water tanks. Now if they would only allow grey water storage and use.


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## allthunbs (Jun 22, 2008)

TRN_Diesel said:


> So if you plan it while the house is under construction you can bury two large holding tanks and you have all the water you need. If you build into the side of a hill you can go geo thermo and have the tanks exposed for maintenance if need be but plastic is the way to go for rust would not be an issue.
> 
> It is a shame the government does not provide incentives for people to start doing this. I believe the next big issue will be available water for us to survive off of. MOre people means more water use.


Do you have a problem with water supply? I could see some of the places in Saskatchewan but in Alberta? Here, we have the opposite problem, too much water. Where I am right now, all I have to do is pound in a stake 25' and I've got a 60' column of potable water. I don't know about your neck of the woods, we can't build an environmentally correct house, especially thermal mass stuff. We can't even build a structurally sound house, it has to be stick built and square corners.


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## TRN_Diesel (Feb 24, 2009)

We do not have a problem yet but as you know the Tar Sands Project uses a lot of water and now this operation has expanded into Sask. It is just a matter of time before we see a problem and I am the proactive rather than reactive type when it comes to solving issues.

We have seen a notiecable difference in the water table here and many lakes have dropped 3 feet in water. Lake Wabbum for one which is near Edmonton.


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## allthunbs (Jun 22, 2008)

TRN_Diesel said:


> We do not have a problem yet but as you know the Tar Sands Project uses a lot of water and now this operation has expanded into Sask. It is just a matter of time before we see a problem and I am the proactive rather than reactive type when it comes to solving issues.
> 
> We have seen a notiecable difference in the water table here and many lakes have dropped 3 feet in water. Lake Wabbum for one which is near Edmonton.


Has anyone actually thought this out? When they were building a new road near Bells Corners in Ottawa, they were afraid that the water table would drop too low so they had monitoring stations all over the project that would be permanent. They were afraid that all of the houses in the neighbourhood would start to sink.

I don't know what kind of soil you have out there but I would be GPS monitoring the location of my home and photographing basements and foundations. Especially watch for any new cracks anywhere. The trick is to watch the neighbourhood roads, they'll be the first to indicate problems. Watch for them to sink as the ground underneath shrinks.


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## Kavoom (Mar 27, 2010)

Very nice. I'm doing my front yard now with 4X4's (about 100 to 140 sq feet) and doing angles also to keep it from being so angular. Yours is about the only example out there of the angles and only one high. The angles look like they will eat some wood to do for me but should look nice (hopeahopeahopea). I have one side with a slope so that will end up being about five high with the rest just a couple maybe three with one in ground. I'm trying to figure how to stabilize the bottom due to the slope. 3/4" X 3 to 4' rebar is in my future on one side. I'm thinking about a 4X6 base on the sloped side with a four inch drain pipe/landscape fabric and gravel at the bottom. Some say weep holes will do... My 12 inch double bevel miter saw is great and so is that tool I bought essentially like a bevel gauge for crown moulding. The killer now is getting the sod up. 

I wish I had a helper like that... The dog is well intentioned but more of a pain than a help... The smiles alone on your helper would keep you motivated... The assistance, priceless. I have been looking at using "timber screws" but the lag bolts might be worth a shot and are more readily available. But they also stand out visually more. Where did you get the end stuff to paint the cut ends?


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## TRN_Diesel (Feb 24, 2009)

When I worked for a landscaping company years ago we used to build retainer walls out of 4x6 timers. The key to it not moving is to build it upon a stable base using road crush ( at least 6" deep) In my read we have clay so once I am down to the clay I then dig further until I have at least 6" - 12" of road crush. 

I would drill a 1/2' hole using a 1/2" auger wood bit and then drive rebar down into the ground 24 - 36". The key to not having the wall lean is to put cross bracing perpendicular to the wall and run it into the slop or hill. Essentially build an "I" so it is dug down into the dirt and the weight of the soil holds the wall from moving out and thus leaning. 

I hope I have explained it well enough for you to understand. Just make sure to take your time and the prep work is the key. If your by yourself you may want to rent a sod remover as this will be a big back and time saver.


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## Kavoom (Mar 27, 2010)

"Essentially build an "I" so it is dug down into the dirt and the weight of the soil holds the wall from moving out and thus leaning." 

Kind of a simplified deadman? You can T the end for an even greater hold. The key is knowing when you need it vs not. I was having to consider that. Actually, I was thinking about it but this thread has me changing my design. I'm now moving straight from the foundation and jutting in instead of jutting out from the foundation and increasing my variables with a load bearing and unsupported angled corner. This thread has helped me. I'm also going with lag bolts.


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