construct brick compost bin

[diykat]

i have a big black plastic compost bin in the corner of my rather small yard. i'm thinking about maybe building a brick compost bin with a rain water store tank above (was feeling guilty about watering plants with litres of tap water).

the black compost bin doesnt fit well in the corner as its round and it looks bad... brick enlosure would blend with the walls behind and hopefully be strong enough to support a water tank above.

has anyone got any ideas about if this idea would work and perhaps any design tips? also tips on design to avoid damp penetrating through breeze block shed and brick wall of house it would be adjacent to.

thanks

 

[breezer]

dont build it too close to the house, no damp problems then.

this water tank, how are you going to fill it?

 

[diykat]

hi, thanks for reply

the yard is very enclosed, house, brick shed and at the bottom there is another building... so if i'm going to build one it would have to be in a corner so its out of way and its going to be against at least one building wall. i thought if i had air gap or something it would be ok.

water tank would be filled by re-directing water spout into it, so id get the rain water off the roof, store it and be able to use it to water plants - if it on top of compost bin it would save space, be in convenient place to collect water, and also the height would mean that water could flow out of tap and bottom an through a hose pipe to water plants - easy/lazy plant waterin

does this make sense or is it really stupid/crazy idea?

 

[breezer]

sonds good to me, but i am not a builder.

may i also suggest (to be really lazy) a soaker hose

when i did have a lawn i burried a very long one under it, put a timer on it but i still had to cut the grass

soaker hose

water timer

other supplies of soaker hoses and water timers are available.
(but that IS the same timer i had, still got it somewhere)

oh, and for the water get a water butt, less hassle

 

[diykat]

thanks

soaker hose probably wouldnt work for me... ive got pots at the moment.

i have limited space which is why i was considering custom built-to-fit things, but might buy a water butt if i could get one that would fit ok - still got the problem of building a suitable compost bin that can hold weight of water tank on top.

thanks

 

[Thermo]

if you are going to do the compost bin in brick then a honeycomb bond every three courses will allow ventilation of the compost. keep an open bottom to the bin of bare earth to allow woms etc up into the compost bin. a door on the front at the bottom is always useful. aim for a minimum of 1m x 1m x 1m to generate enough heat for the bin. also if you have room two bins work well so you can leave one rotting while you fill the other one.