Raised beds can be built from many materials. However, raised beds made of stone are very expensive - this particularly applies to models made of natural stone. Many a resourceful gardener has now come up with the idea of using inexpensive Ytong stones instead. However, that's usually not a good idea.
Is Ytong suitable for building raised beds?
Ytong stones are not ideal for raised beds as they absorb water and can freeze in winter. If you still want to use Ytong stones, you should take measures to make the raised bed waterproof, e.g. concrete foundation, waterproof plastering, pond liner and facade paint.
What is Ytong?
Ytong is particularly suitable for interior design. This originally Swedish invention is a mixture of lime, quartz sand, cement, water and aluminum powder that acts like a raising agent and causes the numerous fine air bubbles in aerated concrete - as Ytong is also called. That is why the material was previously referred to as aerated concrete. Ytong is light, cheap to buy, has good thermal insulation, is ecological and recyclable. These properties seem to make Ytong perfect for building a raised bed.
Is Ytong suitable for building raised beds?
However, this is strongly discouraged, because thanks to the countless fine air bubbles, Ytong quickly soaks up water - only to freeze and then crumble the next winter. Since raised beds are generally very moist, constant contact with water cannot naturally be avoided.
You have to pay attention to this when building raised beds with Ytong
If you still want to build a raised bed out of Ytong stones - perhaps because you have a lot of them left over and don't know what to do with them - you should definitely follow our tips:
- A concrete foundation that is at least 50 centimeters deep needs to be placed under the Ytong raised bed.
- A Ytong raised bed will never be in contact with the ground.
- The lowest row of walls should be built from waterproof and frost-proof concrete blocks.
- Only then brick with Ytong.
- The stones are connected to each other with cement or two-component adhesive.
- Now they have to be plastered waterproof inside and out, for example with bitumen.
- Now paint the Ytong wall with facade paint.
- Be sure to line the inside of the raised bed with pond liner.
- Also make sure that the upper surface is also waterproofed.
- Water must not be able to penetrate anywhere!
Once this is done, you can fill and plant the raised bed.
Tip
However, it makes more sense to use other concrete blocks instead of Ytong. Hollow stones, paving and planting stones, bricks or even self-collected field stones are much better suited for such a project and are also not significantly more expensive.
