BUILDER: Ann Shibut

PROJECT: Compost/mulch container

TIME: One day

COST: $79

HOW SHE DID IT: Ann Shibut built a log-cabin-style compost container in the backyard of her West End home.

"My old wire container was no longer adequate or attractive, and when I saw the directions for this one in a book, I knew it was something I could make -- even though I am a 73-plus-year-old woman," she said. "Friends delivered the materials to my driveway, but after that, I did it all by myself.

"Drilling ¾-inch holes in each end of 16 8-foot landscape timbers was probably the hardest part. Holes are drilled all the way through in all but two of the timbers, where you drill only halfway through the thickness, providing a supporting base for four 5/8-inch concrete reinforcing bars. The drill went through some of the timbers as though they were butter, but others were almost as tough as stone. You must be careful to measure so these holes line up one over the other.

"I had to carry the heavy timbers from my driveway drilling area back to the compost pile site. Using four concrete blocks spaced to form an 8-foot square, I placed the two timbers with the holes only halfway through, opposite each other, resting on the blocks. I inserted the reinforcing bars in those holes. Then, log-cabin fashion, I added timbers to alternating sides, threading the bars through the holes.

"Because the sides of the container are raised off the ground, it is easy to shovel compost out from the bottom of the pile, an improvement from my old one where I had to dig down in from the top to reach ready-to-use compost." -- Julie Young

TELL US HOW YOU DID IT: Share your home improvement or garden project in 250 words or fewer with Julie Young, Home & Garden, I Did It Myself, P.O. Box 85333, Richmond, VA 23293, or e-mail jyoung@timesdispatch.com. Include your name, address, phone number and, if possible, high-resolution photos of yourself and your project. The project must be one you actually did yourself.

ONLINE ARCHIVE: Read about others' projects on inRich.com. Keyword: Home.