railway sleepers

[noodles]

Hi All,

I have been offered a lot of railway sleepers from a friend. I intend to make some
raised beds with them. Anyone got tips on the best way of putting them together for best results? No fancy wood work though as i am not great at DIY.

Cheers,

Noodles.

[prison break fan]

Lucky you! But they are really heavy! pbf.

[noodles]

Hi SusieGee,

i see what you have done, thanks for the pic. Like the idea of nailing the sleepers
across the top, that's simple enough even for me.

Cheers,

noodles.

[Carltonian Man]

Hi Noodles

Possibly stack them in a brick-style overlap. I fastened mine with pieces of cut angle-iron drilled to take four screws then secured them inside the corners using coach screws. Moving the sleepers can pose difficulties (avoid using a whellbarrow if poss, too unstable). Wheels placed under the pivotal point makes for easy shifting on hard surfaces.

Good luck with your project

Martin

[grahamhobbs]

Sorry to say this, but railway sleepers are no longer recommended for raised beds because the chemicals used to preserve them are not safe. In fact I think it is illegal for plant centres and the such like to sell them.

[Millymollymandy]

Don't they sell new ones these days which are not old (used for railway) sleepers?

[JulieSherris]

Sorry to say this, but railway sleepers are no longer recommended for raised beds because the chemicals used to preserve them are not safe. In fact I think it is illegal for plant centres and the such like to sell them.

See, I have great problems with this new 'law'.... over here in Ireland, the general public can't buy the treated sleepers because of the creosote based chemicals leeching out... but if you are a farmer, you CAN buy them!

And so the general public tend to buy them from the farmers

[MuddyWitch]

Yes you can buy 'new' sleepers; we bought three for the bridge over our faux stream eight years ago.

MW

[phil55494]

If you want them cutting, try and get someone else to do it.
I helped a friend do some garden rework a few years back. Cutting the sleepers in half was the hardest bit. Two people and a big bow saw took a long time to get through on. Another friend with a chainsaw was having to sharpen the chain after cutting through each sleeper.

Phil

[noodles]

i think i will go ahead and use the sleepers i am getting. I had heard about the issuse
re creosote and preservatives etc. What i plan to do is cover the inside bit of the bed with
plastic to stop any chemicals leaking. Hope this works. I had a look at the othe thread on here
about making raised beds. Like the look of those gravel boards, might look into this too.