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The fence of the beds is performed not only in order to decorate your site. The boards prevent the spreading of soil and the penetration of weed roots. They make fences from many improvised materials, and give them the shape of any geometric figure. Most often, the boards are made of boards, but the wood quickly rots in the ground. A factory-made WPC (wood-polymer composite) bed has a long service life and the best aesthetic appearance.
Pros and cons of using WPC for garden beds
To figure out why a WPC fence is better than a regular box for a garden bed made of wooden boards, let’s look at its main advantage:
- A factory-made WPC fence is quickly assembled, like a designer. Each side is fixed with a special fastener.
- The beds made of composite will last for many years due to the resistance of the material to the development of fungus and mold. You can not be afraid for the appearance of rot or damage by harmful insects.
- At the factory, a WPC board goes through several stages of processing, which gives it an aesthetic appearance. The surface of the board has a pattern identical to natural wood. If desired, the composite can be painted in any color you like.
- With self-production of the WPC box, you can buy it like a regular board. The wood-polymer composite goes on sale in standard lengths – 2,3 and 6 m. The thickness of the composite is 25 mm, and the width of the board is 150 mm.
- From the WPC for the beds, a cheap and environmentally friendly fence is obtained. The smooth surface does not require sanding, as is the case with ordinary wood.
- Compared to wood, the composite is more resistant to the aggressive effects of the natural environment. These fences are very easy to maintain.
Minuses, of course, the KDP also has. Be that as it may, wood is used as the basis for the manufacture of the composite. If the soil is constantly oversaturated with moisture, then over time it will accumulate inside the material. From this, mold will appear on the boards. The polymer that is part of WPC is capable of being destroyed by long-term exposure to UV rays.
Why is board fencing less effective than WPC?
No one wondered why more often than this the fences of the beds are made of boards? Yes, because they are the most accessible material. Boards do not have to be bought, spending your savings on them. The remains of such building material are often lying around in the country. Perhaps the boards got free from a landfill or simply from a dismantled barn. Most often, the economic summer resident will not put a new board on the fence of the garden, but will choose something from the trash. As a result, after a couple of years, the sides rot, and through the holes, along with water, fertile soil flows out of the garden.
Even if the owner became generous and fenced the garden bed with a new board, only the first season will look perfect. In the second year, the most effective protective impregnations will not save the wood from gradual blackening. Over time, the fence will become overgrown with fungus. And all this, from exposure to the same UV rays and dampness.
The photo shows a good example of the appearance of a wooden fence that has served for two years.
Giving preference to fences for WPC beds, the owner of the site saves himself from the annual painting of wooden boxes. Moreover, every 2-3 years they will have to be made new, and this is already a waste of time and your own savings.
Characteristics and popular manufacturers of WPC
The composition of WPC is somewhat reminiscent of chipboard. Waste from the wood industry is the basis. The only difference is the binder – the polymer. During the combination of sawdust with additives, a polymerization process occurs, resulting in a thick mass with new properties. Further, using the extrusion method, the finished product, WPC, is formed from the molten mass.
The filler does not necessarily consist of fine sawdust alone. Any fractions from flour to large chips are used. Sometimes there is a composite of straw or flax. Together with polymers, glass or steel impurities may be present in the composition. Aesthetic appearance of the finished product is given by color stabilizers.
The USA and China are considered to be the leaders in the production of WPC. On the construction market, you can meet the product of the domestic manufacturer Kompodek-Plus. The SW-Decking Ulmus and Bruggan brands have proven themselves well. Very popular among domestic summer residents are beds made of WPC holzhof from a Czech manufacturer.
On the presented video you can get a closer look at the fences made of composite:
Do-it-yourself WPC fence assembly for garden beds
The composite lends itself very well to processing, which allows you to make your own fence for a summer cottage. In addition to the WPC itself, you will need hinges. Their design consists of two collapsible elements, when connected, a traditional rotary loop is obtained. Hinges connect the boards, which allows you to give the box the shape of a different geometric shape. Two elements of the hinge are connected by stakes. With their help, the box is fixed to the ground. Still stakes help to build up fences from several boards in height.
The easiest way is to fold the factory-made fence. The set contains boards of certain sizes with fixed hinge halves. It is enough to connect them with stakes and install the finished box on the garden bed.
If a decision is made to independently manufacture a box for a garden bed, you will need WPC boards. Hinges with pegs can be replaced with wooden posts and metal corners to fasten the corners of the box. In this case, the connections will be fixed, and the product can initially be given only one shape.
Consider an example of making a fence:
- The WPC board is sawn into pieces of the required length, in accordance with the size of the box of the future bed.
- With the help of factory hinges or homemade posts, a box is fastened from the boards. Moreover, at the corners of the product, the columns are made 200 mm higher than the side, and the inner columns are made higher by 500 mm. This will allow you to build up the bed in a seamless way with several boards. If the side height remains unchanged, then you can limit yourself to installing corner posts.
- The finished box is transferred to the garden. Markings are made under the corner posts, the fence is moved to the side and small holes are dug.
Now it remains to install the box in its place, plunging the corner posts into the pits and ramming them with soil. If hinges were not used for the connection, then the corners of the fence are reinforced with overhead metal corners and self-tapping screws.
Homemade WPC fence is ready. You can bring in the soil and plant your favorite plants.