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sleepers for retaining wall

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  • 04-06-2008 12:01pm
    #1
    baguio
    Closed Accounts Posts: 199 ✭✭


    I was going to use the old creosoted sleepers for a raised bed - but having read up on it and given that they're not supposed to be used for this purpose anymore, I suppose I better steer clear.

    Has anyone used the 'new' tanalised pine sleepers for this purpose? Will they rot in no time if used for this purpose - even if a wood preservative is applied?


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    #2
    bbam
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,410 ✭✭✭bbam


    We've used standard old sleepers in our garden for a range of beds... from 1 high to 3 high and have had no problems..

    Maybe if they were for veg there might be a problem but otherwise they should be fine...

    For the deeper beds we lined the inside with polythene to stop leeching out between them as this looks nasty..

    Cheers
    BAM


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    #3
    PhilCurran
    Closed Accounts Posts: 131 ✭✭PhilCurran


    there was an ad in the independent last saturday for non-creosoted railway sleepers by a crowd called Edenderry Architectural Salvage. I noticed it when I was doing the sudoku!


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    #4
    baguio
    Closed Accounts Posts: 199 ✭✭baguio


    bbam wrote: »
    We've used standard old sleepers in our garden for a range of beds... from 1 high to 3 high and have had no problems..
    Well, i suppose your unlikely to see any problems unless its a big problem :eek:

    Did you stain them every year bbam? Its just i've noticed some sleepers that have been out in full sun - and they start to look scruffy. Would be fine of course if the setting is on a rustic or less formal theme.

    They would be for ornamental use - so I might just go with them as expenses are beginning to creep up! Over and above the extra cost, the heart breaking thing is if I decided to go with the untreated sleepers and they fall to bits in a couple of years....


    @PhilCurran - thanks for the heads up on supplier. Not of use to myself as long way from Edenderry but maybe useful for another reader. Have supply within a mile of me.


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    #5
    harto
    Closed Accounts Posts: 31 ✭harto


    The use of creosote has been banned in the EC since 2003. This includes the use of sleepers which have been designated as "Waste" and need to be environmentally disposed of.
    Since 2006 in Ireland the sale of creosote soaked sleepers to the general public is illegal (with the exception of farmers for some reason).
    More importantly also since 2006, the use of creosote soaked sleepers by the public in their own private gardens etc is illegal.
    Contact the EPA in Wexford for any confirmation of this.
    Now I am not sure how many people have been prosocuted todate for breaches of this, if any, but besides that, surely the opinions of a large european wide body, our own environmental experts and a dose of our own common sense tells can help us make an informed decision.


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    #6
    bbam
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,410 ✭✭✭bbam


    They do bleach and need retreating every couple years depending on how fussy you are...
    We'd be in a rural setting so I wouldnt be that concerned... If the planting is good and beds kept weed free it looks fine..


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    #7
    Minder
    Registered Users Posts: 2,774 ✭✭✭Minder


    What size raised bed are you building? I just finished a raised bed built from deck boards. Built in a L - shape, it is 520mm high and 3400mm along the longest edges. I used 75mm square fence posts in the corners and along the inside edges for bracing. I also tied the braces together with some off cuts - going across the shortest edges. I treated the inside with a water based wood preservative before lining it with polythene. It is now filled with ericaceous soil and has seven blueberry bushes, two azaleas and a drawf rhododendron in it.


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    #8
    baguio
    Closed Accounts Posts: 199 ✭✭baguio


    Will be stacking them on their sides - 3 sleepers or 600mm high.
    Had already some of the new pine treated sleepers bought and have decided to stick with these. The few I have stocked up on so far - i have treated with Sadolin Classic. Will probably follow your lead Minder as regards the offcuts and fence posts. Maybe also use a few angle brackets and upright metal strips to hold them firmly together.


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