How do you build a garden sleeper with garden walls?

How to make a retaining wall with railway sleepers

Step 1 – Mark out where to build your wall. Clear any surface vegetation and then measure and mark out where your wall will go.
Step 2 – Lay your sleepers. Lay your row of sleepers using your marked area as a guide.
Step 3 - Finishing off.

Likewise, how do you fit sleepers in a garden?

Here are the steps that you should follow when laying your sleepers for garden edging.

Find the Ideal Location.
Lay the Sleepers on the Surface.
Fasten the Sleepers Together.
Insert a Plastic Membrane.
Finishing Off.
Fill Your Bed With Soil.
Fill With Plants.

Secondly, how do you fix garden sleepers? Cut your sleepers to your required length, which could be random for a rustic look. Then mix up some lean mortar, such as 6:1, to be used as a concrete base and haunching. Place at least a 50mm bed of concrete in the bottom of the trench and start inserting the sleepers, haunching them up as you go.

Likewise, people ask, can you lay railway sleepers on soil?

You can also place the sleepers directly on the soil but you might have issues with water pooling around the edges, causing the wood to rot quicker. If you decide to lay them directly on soil, put down a waterproof plastic membrane first to reduce contact with moisture.

How do you secure landscape timbers to the ground?

Rebar, ribbed metal rods used in building construction, is one method used to hold landscape timbers in place and secure then to the ground.

Mark the footprint for the new timbers using spray paint of construction caulk.
Secure the corners together using screws designed for pressure treated wood.

27 Related Question Answers Found

Can you use sleepers as a retaining wall?

Wooden railway sleepers are an excellent alternative to bricks or concrete for building retaining walls in your garden. Sleepers can be used both horizontally and vertically when building a retaining wall. Using sleepers horizontally is more common when constructing a low level wall.

How high can a sleeper retaining wall be?

You can build retaining walls as high as 4.2 metres with the correct engineering and permits. Most domestic retaining walls are below 2 meters, if you would like assistance in this area talk to your landscaper, local council or give us a call on 9761 7123.

What is a sleeper retaining wall?

One particular type of retaining wall is a sleeper retaining wall. These walls used wooden or concrete planks, usually built for use in railroad tracks (parts called sleepers since they simply lay in place and allow for trains to glide along them) to form the structure of the retaining wall.

How do you fix railway sleepers to the ground?

Sink the bottom sleepers into the ground to half their depth, drill holes in the sleepers at 1m centres, 25mm wide by 75mm deep. Tap 150mm long dowels into the holes, fix the next layer of sleepers by locking dowels into matching holes. Drill and fix the next layer of railway sleepers.

Which railway sleeper is best?

Thse are the best condition railway sleepers. Often they are able to be re-used on a railway track. Good condition railway sleepers. Generally pretty straight, with some cracks, but overall, although they are weathered, they are in a fairly solid state, and suitable for most landscaping purposes.

Are railway sleepers safe for vegetable gardens?

Some people prefer a rustic, vintage look and so always look for reclaimed sleepers whilst others look for new railway sleepers as they are safe to use when creating vegetable gardens due to the fact that they have not been treated with creosote.

How do you lay a sleeper path?

Measure your sleepers and dig deep enough so that the sleeper is mostly submerged with 25mm above ground level. Pour 25mm of sand into each hole and tamp it down. Slowly place a sleeper into each hole, using a sledge hammer to tap it down and level it out.

What are the steps to build a sleeper?

Lay the concrete underneath the sleeper, position the sleeper in place and add concrete in the space behind it. Use a spirit level to make sure that the sleeper is level and straight. If your steps are deep enough there should be space for you to move on and do the same for the next step up, and so on.

How do you install landscape timbers with rebar?

To install rebar, drill a hole through each timber, stack the timbers, if necessary, then drive the rebar through the hole and into the ground using a sledgehammer. To prevent rusting, choose epoxy-coated rebar over uncoated material.

How long do railway sleepers last?

New Softwood Treated Railway Sleepers are treated with either a green or brown pressure treatment (Tanalith green or Tanatone brown), both have similar properties and will on average last 15 - 20 years.

How do you fasten landscape timbers to the ground?

Pin the Timbers With Rebar (optional)

Secure the timber border to the ground with rebar, if desired. Drill 3/8-inch holes through the centers of the timbers, spacing the holes about 4 feet apart. Pin the timbers to the soil with 12-inch lengths of #3 (3/8-inch-diameter) rebar driven with a hand sledge.

What should I Bed railway sleepers on?

They should be laid on a concrete bed, 50-100mm thick, with a full haunch to the uphill edge and a small amount of haunch downhill, sufficient to keep the sleeper in place. For extra security, steel pins or wooden stakes could be driven in front of or through the sleeper, as is detailed below.

How long will softwood sleepers last?

10 years

What are Sienna sleepers?

Ironwood Sienna Sleepers utilise a colour and treatment technology, that uses a combination of micronized copper-based preservative and iron oxide pigment which is pressure treated into the wood to give it a rich red brown finish look similar to some hardwoods.

How heavy is a concrete railway sleeper?

700 lbs

Can you paint railway sleepers?

Wood Paint for Railway Sleepers. A range of high quality paints for wooden railway sleepers. These railway sleeper paints provide a strong, durable finish with protection against the elements and come in a selection of bold colours and sheens. Whether new or old railway sleepers, we have a wood paint to suit your needs

How do you attach sleepers to concrete?

Sleepers First lay the sleepers down in the spots where they will be attached. Allow for a 1⁄2-inch overhang at the outside edge of the concrete slab for water drainage. They should be spaced 24 inches on center. The sleepers may be random lengths because the concrete slab will support the full length of the sleeper.