# New Garbage Bin



## Steven Owen (Aug 14, 2017)

The old Garbage Bin I built 12-years ago when I rebuilt my deck was showing it’s age pretty badly. It didn’t help that my neighbor had hit the bin with the back on of his trailer backing out of his driveway.

Not every project can be a glamour project. I wanted to build a covered bin. I lost the battle with the other members of the household to approve that design.

I set out to build a nicer version of the existing garbage bin. I decided to use fence boards instead of lattice this time. The lattice was nice but it didn’t take the abuse over time.

This was a last minute project. I didn’t have the time to let the brown dyed treated pine dry out and shrink. All of the boards are butted up against one another to allow for shrinkage in the treated wood over time. 

Putting gaps in wet freshly treated wood leaves large gaps later on. The treated wood shrinks by 15% as it dries out. 

I used the KregHD for the joints. It’s a garbage after all. Dowels and tenons would’ve been overkill. 

Squaring up pieces can be difficult when using two different dimensions of lumber with KregHD screws. Treated lumber is always slightly warped no matter what compounding the issues. I clamped my combination square to the 4 by 4’s to keep the measurements consistent for each rail. This prevented the legs from moving out of alignment when screwing down the KregHD screws.

I changed the design from the original bin so no screws would be visible from the outside to give the bin a cleaner look. 

Overall it’s a massive cosmetic improvement over the original bin. I learned from many of the mistakes I made with the bin I built 12 years ago with nails and left over framing hardware. 

The new bin is cleaner in appearance, perfectly level regardless of the angle in the driveway and much stronger. 

There’s some pics below of the new bin and some pics of the older bin in the next post.


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## Steven Owen (Aug 14, 2017)

*Beat-up Old Bin*

Here’s some pics of the old bin. You can see why I was in such a rush to replace the old bin. A combination of rot and damage to rails and lattice was making the bin a hazard to the local garbage men.

I used deck screws and a hammer and good old fashioned nails to assemble the old bin out of left over materials from a deck project.

Demolishing the bin was a nightmare and a hazard even with special metal cutting demolition blade in my reciprocating saw. I was on my tippy toes while trying to breach down the rails and the sheet plywood. 

I was able to pick the old bin apart and avoid any mistakes that were made while assembling the old bin.


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

You have garbage men who pull the cans out of the enclosure? We have larger containers and have to separate trash from recyclables and much larger containers on wheels. The collectors won't pick up a conventional trash can, they have to be dumped into the larger containers. Because we have so much yard waste, we pay extra to have four containers, two in the garage so we don't have to go out in the heat or cold, two beside the house. Been thinking of adding a feince to conceal them and thought about a cover, but any enclosed structure will soon have a black widow spider or two living in it, so it will be open. I'll probably have an 8 ft section across the front corner of the garage, and another section going back with about 4 ft of space between garage and fence. I'll have to anchor it well because we have some fierce winds around here. I won't put a floor under it as you have, With rain, that wood is going to go bad fast.


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## tomp913 (Mar 7, 2014)

@steve Owen

I'd recommend putting a vinyl "pad" under the feet to prevent the moisture wicking up into the wood - it will last a lot longer that way. I bought a length of vinyl 1X at HD and cut of pieces as required.

And I agree with Tom, I would have built the box with spaced slats so that no water collects.


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## Steven Owen (Aug 14, 2017)

DesertRatTom said:


> You have garbage men who pull the cans out of the enclosure? We have larger containers and have to separate trash from recyclables and much larger containers on wheels. The collectors won't pick up a conventional trash can, they have to be dumped into the larger containers. Because we have so much yard waste, we pay extra to have four containers, two in the garage so we don't have to go out in the heat or cold, two beside the house. Been thinking of adding a feince to conceal them and thought about a cover, but any enclosed structure will soon have a black widow spider or two living in it, so it will be open. I'll probably have an 8 ft section across the front corner of the garage, and another section going back with about 4 ft of space between garage and fence. I'll have to anchor it well because we have some fierce winds around here. I won't put a floor under it as you have, With rain, that wood is going to go bad fast.


Our city council went nuts and passed regulations against large bins. 

That’s the largest can size you’re allowed to buy for your disposal area.

I plan to put an epoxy and stain in it next year. It’s fresh treated wood, so I had no choice to let it sit for a year while it dries out.


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## Steven Owen (Aug 14, 2017)

tomp913 said:


> @steve Owen
> 
> I'd recommend putting a vinyl "pad" under the feet to prevent the moisture wicking up into the wood - it will last a lot longer that way. I bought a length of vinyl 1X at HD and cut of pieces as required.
> 
> And I agree with Tom, I would have built the box with spaced slats so that no water collects.


I’m planning to put vinyl under the feet after I stain it the spring.


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## tomp913 (Mar 7, 2014)

Steven Owen said:


> I’m planning to put vinyl under the feet after I stain it the spring.


So, it's going to soak up water over the winter? Put the pads on now, not going to affect the stain in the spring.


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## chessnut2 (Sep 15, 2011)

Good idea


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## thomas1389 (Jan 4, 2012)

tomp913 said:


> @steve Owen
> 
> I'd recommend putting a vinyl "pad" under the feet to prevent the moisture wicking up into the wood - it will last a lot longer that way. I bought a length of vinyl 1X at HD and cut of pieces as required.
> 
> And I agree with Tom, I would have built the box with spaced slats so that no water collects.


Curious?? What are the bins on the stand, composters ?


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## MT Stringer (Aug 15, 2012)

Good looking project.


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## Steven Owen (Aug 14, 2017)

The wood I used to make the bin was brown dyed AQS treated wood that was still very wet. The wood will shrink when it dries out next year. The 1/4 gap in the floor will become a 3/8 gap when the wood dries out. 

The fence boards I butted up against one another will form 1/4 gaps after the wood shrinks. Shrinkage is one of the biggest drawbacks of using treated wood. They don’t kiln dry AQS anymore. You’re forced to factor in wood shrinkage in your designs.


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## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

That looks really sharp , nice work . Not sure if the garbage guys are worthy of lifting containers out of it though


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## ScottyDBQ (Jul 5, 2008)

Nice looking project, Steven. It will last much longer than the old one did.


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