Railway Sleepers. how to install?

[Paul11]

Looking to use railway sleepers for the flower beds along the garden..

few questions.

1) under the sleeper do i just lay them on the earth or do i have to put anything down on the ground ?

2) at the back where the raised bed will be in contact with the fence, do i have to put any barrier between the earth and the fence ?


thank you in advance

 

[bloodiedathame]

I put pea shingle under mine to aid drainage. About 50mm.

I'd put a membrane between earth and fence so as the fence is less likely to rot.

 

[Mark M]

I put some in at my parents house and we dug a small trench and filled it with pea gravel which made levelling them dead easy.

 

[R.O.S.S.I]

In my garden they had wooden stakes screwed to the back and been driven into the ground.

 

[theone8181]

For a minute there i thought you were going to ask how to lay them for a train line.

 

[AHarvey]

Use new railway sleepers, not reclaimed ones. The **** that comes out of there will kill plants, lawn and any of your clothes that touch it. My friend didn't listen and got them for £3 each from another mate.

Within a week of putting them in his cream £800 front room carpet was destroyed.

If you've not got a concrete panel footer under your fence, consider having them fitted. It's not just the water that is an issue, the weight of the soil pushing on them is as well.

Different ways of laying them. Stakes behind them.Gravel and concrete underneath. You could just plop them straight on the soil and jump up and down on them to get them to stay. However if you're going more than one sleeper high stakes are normally best with proper screws holding them together. You can also put a waterproof membrane between sleepers and soil.

I need to get mine sorted asap. Adding spot lights and a hammock point on my design. It's just finding the time.

 

[#Chri5#]

Use new railway sleepers, not reclaimed ones. The **** that comes out of there will kill plants, lawn and any of your clothes that touch it. My friend didn't listen and got them for £3 each from another mate.

Within a week of putting them in his cream £800 front room carpet was destroyed..

Why did your mate put railway sleepers in his front room?

 

[AHarvey]

Why did your mate put railway sleepers in his front room?

lol, I meant from tracking over them with his shoes and walking it in to his front room.

 

[Shimmyhill]

lol, I meant from tracking over them with his shoes and walking it in to his front room.

Shoes in front room, what kind of madness is this

 

[nutcase]

Use "domestic" sleepers. Real timber railway ones are very well treated with preservative that causes the issue above, but stops them rotting for a very long time. Makes them burn very well too

Ensure the drainage around them is good otherwise they'll rot away in no time.

 

[Paul11]

Excellent, thanks guys. off to measure how many i need ..

new pine eco sleepers i think

 

[Maundie]

Aren't the reclaimed ones a health hazard as well?

My mate who works on the railways said they weren't allowed to give them away any more as they were classed as toxic due to the years or the toilets being emptied on them.

 

[~Divine~Wind~]

a brand new treated garden sleep should be available at most suppliers at around £15-20

 

[Maccapacca]

Aren't the reclaimed ones a health hazard as well?

My mate who works on the railways said they weren't allowed to give them away any more as they were classed as toxic due to the years or the toilets being emptied on them.

Toilets
Asbestos brake dust
Years of oil and grease
The original preservative treatment which could be anything

Yes they are a nightmare, please don't use them.

 

[BigT]

I just did a little deck area surrounded by sleepers and since I was putting gravel under the decking frame I did the same with the sleepers and it was easy enough to level them:

 

[Amp34]

Alternative for fixing them, if you have a good sized wood drill bit, is to drill through and steak them with rebar through the middle at either end.

 

[Hotwired]

Use new railway sleepers, not reclaimed ones. The **** that comes out of there will kill plants, lawn and any of your clothes that touch it. My friend didn't listen and got them for £3 each from another mate.

Within a week of putting them in his cream £800 front room carpet was destroyed.

Being saturated with tar is why they last so long but not suitable for contact especially in hot weather. I can still remember the tar loaded sleepers that edged a school playground garden...

I'm thinking about sleepers to replace some lookalike sleepers which blatantly had no treatment, certainly weren't real ones. I'm basing this on the woodworm and rot that is crumbling them after about 5 years.

 

[Noakesy85]

I had 16 of the large old railway sleepers in my garden used as a raised bed. It took me and a mate 9 hours to dismantle and move the sleepers as they weighed a ton!! They were horrendous to move so wouldn't reccomend them at all!