Trough making

[John85]

In his bulbblog n° 38 / 2008 Ian showed us how to make a trough with a fish box.Four years later I wonder how they are.Was the"making holes in the polystyrene" method as good as the"wrapping with wire mesh" method in withstanding hard frost?
Do you wrap only the outside of the box with the mesh or also the inside?
Where there any problems or things that could be improved?

[mark smyth]

John I never wrap my polystyrene boxes in mesh. I have 42 and all are perfect except one. Half the front fell off after the thaw in December 2010. It would be the one that most people can see

[Ian Y]

John - they are doing very well indeed standing up to some of the worst winters we have had without any harm at all.

I have shown updates in various bulb logs through the years showing how the cement has aged and looks more like real stone as time passes.

http://www.srgc.org.uk/logs/logdir/2009Nov181258556803BULB_LOG__46_comp.pdf

I would never use the wire mesh way of wrapping polystyrene boxes - keying the cement through holes in the box as I demonstrated and have trialed is a much better method.

[Ian Y]

A picture is worth a 1000 words so I have just taken a few pictures showing a range of troughs made using that method some from 2008 and some made last year.

[mark smyth]

Ian at what stage do you make the stone effect?

[Ian Y]

Mark
Check out this thread along with the original bulb log link and if that does not answer your question come back to me.


http://www.srgc.org.uk/forum/index.php?topic=2463.0

[mark smyth]

Ian, what mix do you use?

[Ian Y]

All the info is in the links I've given---


http://www.srgc.org.uk/bulblog/log2008/170908/log.html BULB LOG 38 --- 17th September 08 gives all the construction details

http://www.srgc.org.uk/bulblog/log2008/081008/log.html ---- more pix

[mark smyth]

och aye - ready mixed

[John85]

Special thanks for the pictures Ian
The main reason that I was not so keen on making holes through the polystyrene is that it makes thermal bridges reducing the isolation.

[Anthony Darby]

I don't think the polystyrene is used for its insulating(?) properties. Just for a convenient cheap, light weight trough.

[Rick R.]

Perhaps not in less extreme climates, but we in Minnesota (zones 3+4) find that plants do tend to survive better in styrofoam troughs better than hypertufa.  Although the difference, for me at least, would not make me change over from hypertufa completely.  (I use both.)  If the hardiness or finickiness of selected plants is in question, then choosing between them would be a factor.

Take into consideration too, that the insulative quality could be advantageous in excessive heat as well.  Also, the softening of quick temperature changes in our increasingly fluctuating climate can only be a good thing.

[Jupiter]

Here are my efforts from today. A block of limestone from a local supplier and a few hours plus a couple of bruised knuckles.

[Michael J Campbell]

WOW!   

[Maggi Young]

VERY nice, Jamus!