Laying railway sleepers?

One More Solo

One More Solo

One More Solo

Soldato
Joined
29 Dec 2004
Posts
17,112
Location
Shepley
Hi all,

We're looking to build a raised bed around the outside of our garden using the existing wall as the back and railway sleepers as the front. Advice is conflicting on Google but I was proposing to dig out a trench and lay them widthways on a bed of sharp sand (say 2-3 inches deep). We will be stacking 3-4 sleepers screwed together to create the wall so a fairly hefty amount of weight. Is that going to be sufficient?

There's so much conflicting advice on Google so thought I'd ask here for a proper answer!
 
Guess it depends whether it is virgin ground or backfilled and what sort of soil you have... I laid a few (only 2 high) literally just on flattish soil maybe 18 months ago and they're still where I put them.
 
I'd do as you have suggested and lay them on a thin bed of sharp sand just to improve drainage and make them easier to level it is unlikely that they will settle significantly unless you back garden is very very soft.
 
Are you laying them side on or flat? If side on I'd be concerned about how you will prevent the structure from toppling over. I've seen in the past holes drilled through the sleepers then rebar hammered into the ground through the sleepers to give it horizontal resistance to any load applied from the soil.
 
I'll be laying them flat. I'd seen the rebar option but my thoughts were if something is going to laterally shift however many kgs of screwed together sleeper the rebar is going to make minimal difference. Reasonable?
 
If you're laying them flat I'd tend to agree. Unless you have heavy clay soil which will heave over time.
 
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