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Old bathtub ideas?
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Posted by
aharriedmom 8B (
My Page) on
Tue, Jul 31, 12 at 9:50
| I'm sort of embarrassed about this question but it's one I've wondered about for a couple years. (see end of post for slightly-embarrassing background story on the bathtubs)
-Is it possible to make a raised bed in bathtubs and does anyone have any suggestions?
-Would it look horrible?
We have a friend who is working for a sawmill which specializes in river wood and he can get tons of scrap pieces of board, so I thought I could build a frame around the base & edges to hide the tub with wood "siding," maybe a board and batten look.
-Would it be best to sink/lower the tubs partway into the ground?
Background story:
We live in the country. Somehow, possibly they were here already?, there are two metal bathtubs on our property. They have actually been used as shooting targets by my husband, so the bottoms are full of holes. I tend to forget about them, as they're now strategically placed out of sight behind a stand of cedar trees, sort of way off in the side yard. I had stored empty plastic nursery and clay pots in them and today went out to sort out my stash and clean some up to use - which reminded me about the bathtubs.
It sort of sounds very rednecky, doesn't it? We've only lived on this property for 6 years and it's still in a constant state of "something to be done" due to maintenance, improvements and general cleanup. The bathtubs, being out of sight, hadn't been a priority - though I imagine eventually they'd have gone to the scrap metal place. |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Old bathtub ideas?
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I feel like I've seen several bathtub planters over on the Garden Junk forum-- head over there and do a search!
Depending on how the bathtubs look, you might not even need to worry about covering them with siding. Also, depending on what you decide to plant--- if flowers are "overflowing", it'll cover up the tub on its own. I think it could be really pretty! |
RE: Old bathtub ideas?
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| I'll head there now! And no, they have no character at all, just ugly metal bathtubs that will definitely need to be hidden. Thanks! |
RE: Old bathtub ideas?
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| I found an image on Google that shows pretty much what I want to do. (and I didn't find anything on the garden junk forum, lol - maybe they're too old and disappeared) I guess it's doable! And can be attractive...
Now I just need to put in an "order" for scrap wood! I can't add the link as a "helpful" link because it ends in "html" - so here:
http://blog.littleinsights.com/2009/04/30/reclaimed-wood-planter-box.a
spx |
RE: Old bathtub ideas?
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| It's possible that there are references to bathtubs somewhere else on the forum but unfortunately a search brings up a lot of references to soaking in bathtubs after a hard-gardening or stressful day. :) |
RE: Old bathtub ideas?
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| The wood siding looks nice in that example link. I'll keep looking for you-- I know I've seen them SOMEWHERE! Here's one link I found for you. She's got the bathtub at the top, and then she posts it again with a few modifications/replanting below: http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/junk/msg0519494310699.html |
RE: Old bathtub ideas?
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| Thanks! If my tubs had even that much character, I'd probably not worry about camouflaging them but instead they look like this: 
only they're both yellow.
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RE: Old bathtub ideas?
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| and full of bullet holes. lol |
RE: Old bathtub ideas?
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| haha! gosh! yellow polkadotted bathtub! With it being a standard rectangle, it'll be much easier to attach the wood siding than I was originally envisioning! |
RE: Old bathtub ideas?
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| I had suggested using them as planters before and I guess my husband doubted my "disguise-an-ugly-tub" ability because he'd always pooh-poohed me. Today I showed him the picture I linked and he said, "Oh, yeah, we can make that happen." So yay! Also, river-wood guy stopped over this afternoon and he said he can definitely get me scrap boards to do it. Maybe by the weekend I'll have a project. |
RE: Old bathtub ideas?
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| Pooh-poohing gets hubby out of work he doesn't want to do! You sound like you could be one of my neighbors! I live in 8b Georgia, where are you? When we lived in Sebastian, Fl, we saw a toilet planter in someone's yard. That's way tackier than a bathtub! |
RE: Old bathtub ideas?
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| I'm 8B Florida, which is something I'd tried to add to my profile but for some reason it didn't "stick." In fact, I notice that it took away my zone on a couple of posts. Various of my children have gotten dragged around with me to thrift stores and I get the feeling they're thinking "Humor mommy, she's gone crazy with this plant stuff". One place has toddler potty chairs and every time I'm waiting to checkout I say, "Maybe I ought to try planting in one of those." just to see the reaction of my kids. :D |
RE: Old bathtub ideas?
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| You could also use it as a worm bin. Raise it up on blocks-slanting down slightly towards the drain, frame it in, use a scrap of screen over the drain hole to catch the worm liquid in a pail underneath. Be sure to include an access panel to your pail in your frame. oh and patch up the bullet holes lol |
RE: Old bathtub ideas?
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| Forgot to add the cover! You could make a wood cover that matched your side framing. Since it would be heavy in one piece, making it in three pieces for easy access to all areas might be easier. |
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