Compost design question

[Annaid]

I have a compost design which I want to make to hold the compost. It consists of four wooden posts with 45 degree angle cuts to allow wooden slats to fit in which make up the sides and allow air to get at the composting material on all four sides. I hope you all understand this description... I have seen metal posts (at my brother-in-laws new home) to take the place of the wooden posts which I described and then the wooden slats are used for the sides. The compost bin was there when he moved in, so he does not know where the posts came from.I cannot find the metal posts in stores anywhere. I have done a web search, but cannot find them there as well.

Has anyone seen such an item? I think the metal would be a preference over the wooden post.

Thank you for any help D~

[enigma]

"Annaid" wrote in news: [e-mail]:

have you checked a farm store for galvanized fenceposts? are the metal posts your BIL has round, square or L shaped? it's probable that someone built the bin with regular galvanized stock & cut the grooves for the boards with a metal cutting saw (a cut off saw or angle cut tool). personally i'd use cedar posts if i was making a fancy compost bin & i'd have at least two so i could fork the stuff from one to the other to turn it, but my working bins have gone from being fence post with 4' high chickenwire to just big piles i can turn with the tractor bucket... it's amazing how much compostable waste 2 acres of lawn & gardens can make, never mind the kitchen scraps. lee

[Phisherman]

Home centers sell fence posts. I've had excellent results making round (3.5-foot diameter) compost bins with rabbit fencing--no posts needed, they last >10 years, and easily moved when empty.

[Frogleg]

You are looking for posts with 45-degree 'slots' already in them, right? Why I ask is that this thread is in danger of going off into "sources of fence posts" which clearly isn't what you want.

I believe I understand what you're discribing, but perhaps the first thing to do is find out what this sort of construction is *called* -- There must be something more 'official' than "upside down house siding" or "posts with slots".

[Dan Hartung]

The word you guys are looking for is "louver". Here's a compost bin design which includes them:

I'd just go with the wood -- I'm not sure what benefit the metal would provide, and it would certainly be more costly to fabricate. This, on the other hand, is something anyone with a miter box could pull off.

[Annaid]

Thank you. This is exactly what I want. I did see one using metal posts (cut the same as the wood in the diagram) for the corners but I guess I will go with all wood.

D~