Making a double bay compost bin

After sprucing up our small garden and putting in a new greenhouse we decided that a better method of composting was called for. We had always used one of those large green bins with a snap on lid and I found it to be a bit of a pain as usually I ended up having to turn it upside down to get at the composted waste. Also it proved almost impossible to turn the compost over for aeration.

What is needed I decided is a nice double bay bin with removable slats down the front making for easy access and the ability to turn the compost over into the second bay at the appropriate time…

So here goes, first wood shopping (rough sawn treated 100mm x 18mm x 2.4 m lengths. I found these in packs of 5 and it took 4 packs to build it plus some 25mm x 19mm for rails and some 40mm x 60mm corner posts etc.), lots of screws and a scribble on a notepad… The following pics show the build sequence. Nothing too difficult and in my view, a very pleasing end result.

The maths…. The whole thing is approx. 800mm wide with 2 400mm wide bays which are also 400mm deep. It is also approx 800mm high having 8 100mm planks. These dimensions make the most of the standard 2.4m timber lengths and leave very little waste off-cuts.

The front slats fit into slots and can be removed one by one. A small round hole drilled in each slat makes lifting them out easy. The lid is split into two so each half can be opened as required. The lids are also covered with green shed felt to waterproof the whole thing.