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03/07/07, 07:01 AM
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Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: extreme NE TN
Posts: 916
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Concrete Block Prices
The closest (only) masonry supply is charging $1.78 a BLOCK! I was planning on building a raised bed. 40 feet long by 3 feet wide and stacked three high.Guess I better make other plans..sheesh.
Is this the going rate in your areas or is my area high because it`s the ONLY masonry supply for 50 miles?
Eventually I would have liked to have had three beds of this size,maybe I`ll just do half of the first bed this year.
Sharon
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"You can only come to the morning through the shadows."~J.R.R.Tolkien
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03/07/07, 07:21 AM
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Join Date: May 2002
Location: GA & Ala
Posts: 6,207
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That's about the going rate here too in LaGrange, GA..I'd go to Craigslist or the Thrifty Nickel and get used blocks, cost about 1/2 and face it, a good used block that isn't cracked is just as good as a new one and a few chips aren't going to make any difference either.
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Be yourself - no one can tell you that you're doing it wrong!
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03/07/07, 07:23 AM
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Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 630
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Unfortunately, that sounds about right for the price.
Building materials are at an all-time high. You'll look back in a couple of years and think this is cheap and wish for it.
Did you try asking for them on your local FreeCycle chapter? You never know, it doesn't hurt to ask. Yard sale season is coming, too. I feel your pain! I can't afford any of this stuff, either, and even if I could-I still wouldn't pay the prices they have on it. 
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03/07/07, 07:38 AM
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keep it simple and honest
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Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: NE PA
Posts: 2,362
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You might try using rough cut lumber if you have any mills near you. I use 2 X 12 X 12. They make a good bed and hold up for several years. The 1 X isn't very long lasting. Maybe it depends on your location.
Ann
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03/07/07, 07:39 AM
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Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: North Central Indiana
Posts: 1,259
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Here at Lowes the cement blocks (8" x 8" x 16") are .85 cents each. Is there a Lowes anywhere around that you could drive to? Might be worth the trip. 
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?actio...16L&lpage=none
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03/07/07, 07:43 AM
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Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Mid-Michigan
Posts: 1,526
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by hengal
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Here in ohio at my local lowes that same block is $1.34 ...
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03/07/07, 07:51 AM
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Join Date: Sep 2003
Posts: 84
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I bought them for $1.20 yesterday at Home Depot. They were 96 cents a year ago so prices are higher. However, I did notice that lumber seems to have pulled back a tad. As the effects of Katrina subsides, will things get cheaper or will they remain high from now on? Any thoughts?
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03/07/07, 07:53 AM
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Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: No. Illinois
Posts: 1,447
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Our local big box store ran an ad for 8X8X16 at .85 each last weekend.
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"He laughed, because they were all the same"
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03/07/07, 08:23 AM
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Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 4,230
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waiting to build the rest of my raised beds too--same problem
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In Life, We Weep at the thought of Death'
Who Knows, Perhaps in Death,
We Weep at the though of Life.
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03/07/07, 10:18 AM
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Join Date: May 2004
Location: Zone 9b, Lake Harney, Central FL
Posts: 4,898
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Do 2 rows instead of 3 for now. You can add the other row later when you add more dirt.
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03/07/07, 10:28 AM
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Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Vancouver Island BC
Posts: 114
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by urbanfarmer
I bought them for $1.20 yesterday at Home Depot. They were 96 cents a year ago so prices are higher. However, I did notice that lumber seems to have pulled back a tad. As the effects of Katrina subsides, will things get cheaper or will they remain high from now on? Any thoughts?
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Lumber has lowered in price and may (don't hold me to it) come down a little more. The raw log values have been dropping for awhile now. For concrete the major cost is the energy to produce the cement. I seriously doubt that will ever come down in price. China has been buying up massive amounts of the stuff as well keeping prices high. If we get a recession there may be a glut on the market for awhile but how fast those prices will come down to the consumer is the question. We almost never see the price drops but always see the price hikes.
8"x8"x16" where $2.25 cdn when I checked homedepot on the weekend.
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03/07/07, 10:42 AM
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Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: North Carolina
Posts: 226
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I just bought some about 2 wks ago in NC at Lowe's - they were $1.47 each. I just did one row for my raised bed and will add to them later. We have good ground underneath that has been gardened alot and I think it will be plenty to start with. Mine is about 28' long and 3' wide and I used 40 blocks (we had 20 that were left here when the house was built, so it didn't cost that much).
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03/07/07, 12:39 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: extreme NE TN
Posts: 916
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This price was for the 12 inchs blocks,I have not inquired at Lowes or Home Depot yet(both being 50 miles away)..I just automatically figured they would be more.
I was looking last week in the local pennysaver and someone was GIVING away 200 used blocks...But one of the springs in my truck is broken I was so mad 
Using lumber here for raised beds (unless treated)wouldn`t be a good idea.It`s practically a rain forest around here..I even pulled some fungus off the siding (treated) of my house the other day and the house sits in direct sun!I`ve heard treated lumber and veggies may not be a good thing.Sounds logical to me anyway.
I asked the masonry suppy store if they ever had "seconds" or broken blocks that they would sell at a discounted price and the lady just acted like I was speaking martian
I may NEVER get raised beds...grrrr
Jan Doling,I think you have the right idea...cause I bet it would have been hard to fill the bed up with dirt three high the first year anyway.
Sharon
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"You can only come to the morning through the shadows."~J.R.R.Tolkien
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03/07/07, 01:02 PM
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Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: SC Kansas
Posts: 998
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My raised beds for the first 2 years were just pile up dirt. I no retaining walls of any sort. Worked just fine. It tends to settle out on the edges some, but a little bit of preparation for the next year fixes that.
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03/07/07, 01:17 PM
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Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Louisiana
Posts: 6,761
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1.25 here In NW La...was 1.10 forever...since we started building three or four years ago ..this is the first increase so I guess it was time.
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Christanie Farm...living life as it was intended
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03/07/07, 01:34 PM
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Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 366
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Menards has them for .99 this week.
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03/07/07, 03:15 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: extreme NE TN
Posts: 916
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by gccrook
My raised beds for the first 2 years were just pile up dirt.
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Thats the way my garden has been for about 10 years now.I dunno,I just wanted raised beds built with block.I think they look nicer.You can plant flowers in the holes.You can keep the weeds down right up to the edge of the bed.And it`s easier on my aging back.
Sharon
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"You can only come to the morning through the shadows."~J.R.R.Tolkien
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03/07/07, 03:18 PM
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Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: SC Kansas
Posts: 998
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by 4nTN
Thats the way my garden has been for about 10 years now.I dunno,I just wanted raised beds built with block.I think they look nicer.You can plant flowers in the holes.You can keep the weeds down right up to the edge of the bed.And it`s easier on my aging back.
Sharon
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Oh, I absolutely agree that they look nicer, and are easier to maintain. I did a couple with blocks last year, and will probably do a couple more this year.
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03/07/07, 03:25 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 427
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Atwoods has an ad today for $1.37 for blocks.
Last edited by Country Doc; 03/07/07 at 08:01 PM.
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03/07/07, 03:45 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: "downstate"
Posts: 604
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found someone on freecycle last year getting rid of brick (torn-down bldg.) 30 mi. away let me come and take what I wanted for free. Made some real nice raised beds with it!--RM
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