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+--- Thread: Bamboo posts? (/showthread.php?tid=7572)
Bamboo posts? - SandyS - 07-24-2010
Hubby is thinking of building an outdoor shower out of bamboo. Does anyone on island sell bamboo that could be used as posts, about 3" or larger in diameter?
RE: Bamboo posts? - julie111 - 07-26-2010
Hi Sandy I got some at paradise plants about a year ago but I dont know if they still carry them. Julie
RE: Bamboo posts? - csgray - 07-27-2010
Make sure they are treated (usually with borax solution) or they will get eaten by bugs or rot really fast. I built a gazebo out of untreated babmboo once, it was nice while it lasted.
Carol
RE: Bamboo posts? - DTisme - 07-27-2010
Someone recently posted a whole yard of 3-4" diam. bamboo on freecycle. You might want to check out freecycle.org site for Big Island and see if it's still listed. I don't remember a TAKEN post ever coming thru.
Carol, how do you treat the bamboo? Mix borax with water and spray? We have a bar we built that has bamboo trim that's starting to look a little gray. Will the borax help it not rot, too? (doesn't seem like it would affect rot)
RE: Bamboo posts? - SandyS - 07-27-2010
Thanks to all. We did find some at Paradise Plants but will check freecycle as I like the price better [
]I would also like to know how to treat the bamboo if anyone has any ideas.
RE: Bamboo posts? - csgray - 07-27-2010
I did a ton of online research on bamboo architecture about 5 years ago, treatment methods ranged from full immersion in vats to hooking the bamboo poles individually up to a vacuum/gravity feed set up that slowly replaced the water in the bamboo with the borax solution. Many of the methods were very low tech because they have been developed in places that only have low tech options. I would try a simple Google search of the phrase "bamboo borax treatment". INBAR is the international governing body for all things bamboo and have vast amounts of information published online. Good luck.
Carol
RE: Bamboo posts? - csgray - 07-28-2010
This looks like the right size bamboo, but you cannot build with green bamboo, even if you don't treat the poles they have to dry before you use them. If you can wait these are a pretty good price. In places where they use a lot of bamboo for construction they often design the structures so individual poles can be replaced without having to rebuild the whole thing.
http://honolulu.craigslist.org/big/grd/1868242849.html
Carol
RE: Bamboo posts? - Kapohocat - 07-28-2010
Since we are the bamboo quest - I am looking for 3/8" to 3/4" bamboo fencing that is 3 or 4' tall that has almost a raffia like material tying them together instead of wire.
Tried the usual suspects in Hilo.... any ideas?