Laying Sleepers

K09

Hi,

I am thinking of using sleepers for lawn border - replacing old brick border.

How do I set the sleepers in place?

Thanks!

paddy147

K09 wrote: »

Hi,

I am thinking of using sleepers for lawn border - replacing old brick border.

How do I set the sleepers in place?

Thanks!

3 x 2 inch pressure treated stakes hammered into the ground behind the sleepers and then some M6 100-120mm long decking screws or stainless steel to secure the stakes to the sleepers.


Simples.:)


Ill dig out some pics of how my girlfriend did the sleepers in our own garden.

paddy147

A few pics.

8 foot long Pressure Treated sleepers.You can stain them,if you wish to.Use a water based stain like Ridgewood.Several colours to chose from.Its very good.

You can lay the railway sleepers on a shallow bed or sharp sand to bed them in and level them nicely.Use a spirit level and a rubber mallet to tamp the sleepers down and make sure they are nice and level.


Now get a 12 foot length of pressure treated 3 x 2 inch wood for use as wooden stakes.

This will cost you a mere 10 euro in a builders providers.

Cut this into 18 inch long stakes.


Hammer stakes into the ground behind the railway sleepers with a large rubber mallet or lump hammer.

Hammer them down around 1-1.5 inches below the surface of the railway sleeper.

Dig out a small amount of soil and using a cordless screw gun,drill 2 x 5mm holes through the back of the stake into the back of the railway sleeper.

Then screw in your M6 sized 100 or 120mm long decking screw or stainless steel screw througn the stake and into the back of the railway sleeper.Chack again with spirit level that everything is still nice and straight and level.

Then make yourself a nice cuppa tea,stand back and admire your lovely work.



PS-You can also lay the sleepers on their 8 inch flat side,if you wish to.Just do the exact same as described above to install them on their flat side.


Simples.:)

paddy147

Another garden (family members garden) my girlfriend done with old reclaimed railway sleepers.

Done exactly as described above,just that this time the sleepers are staggered (like a brick wall),so they they interlock with one another.And also longer wooden stakes

Still going strong 4 year later.:)

paddy147

Oh and pic of M6 sized stainless steel screw and also decking screw (green coloured screw).

Either of these screws are ideal for use on the stakes/railway sleepers.

I prefer stainless steel myself,as they are stainless and are ideal for external applications.

555guy

I used some on edge for a flower bed a while back , and to keep them in place I got some 2" angle iron cut into 2ft lengths ..bored 2 holes in it , drove it into the ground behind the sleeper and secured with decking screws ... job for life hopefully. 1 or 2" box iron would work just as well I'd imagine.

Eegorbishcan

Just wondering if some of the more experienced sleeper lads wouldn't mind me picking their brains for a few complete newbie questions... this weekend I'm putting together a sleeper bed 3 sleepers high (& 3 sleepers long) at home, running it along the side garden wall, I've got some pretty strong brackets made up to join them all together and I fence lifed all the sleepers last weekend - I've also levelled off the garden and have a massive stock of stone to one side to fill the bottoms of them for drainage once the sleepers are in place.

So I think I'm ready to go but just got thinking today about the weight of the sleepers on the soil and if I should place some sort of foundation in first, to save it dipping or dropping off level or should the soil and stakes generally hold it at a level without the need for putting in a concrete base?

Any other tips or do's and don'ts from previous experience are very welcome

paddy147

Eegorbishcan wrote: »

Just wondering if some of the more experienced sleeper lads wouldn't mind me picking their brains for a few complete newbie questions... this weekend I'm putting together a sleeper bed 3 sleepers high (& 3 sleepers long) at home, running it along the side garden wall, I've got some pretty strong brackets made up to join them all together and I fence lifed all the sleepers last weekend - I've also levelled off the garden and have a massive stock of stone to one side to fill the bottoms of them for drainage once the sleepers are in place.

So I think I'm ready to go but just got thinking today about the weight of the sleepers on the soil and if I should place some sort of foundation in first, to save it dipping or dropping off level or should the soil and stakes generally hold it at a level without the need for putting in a concrete base?

Any other tips or do's and don'ts from previous experience are very welcome

We tamped/firmed down and leveled the immediate ground where each of the base sleepers were going to be positioned.Then we added in a small layer of gravel/sharp sand mix.Tamped that down and made sure it was level.

Then in with the 1st/base sleepers and just make sure they are level/straight in both directions.Then in with the wooden stakes,and built up the raised beds sleeper by sleeper.


Very easy and simple to do.:)

Eegorbishcan

Thanks very much for the sanity check Paddy, was thinking i had all the bases covered but then started to overthink it over the last couple of days - I'll be back for some lawn advice next

jon1981

paddy147 wrote: »

A few pics.

8 foot long Pressure Treated sleepers.You can stain them,if you wish to.Use a water based stain like Ridgewood.Several colours to chose from.Its very good.

You can lay the railway sleepers on a shallow bed or sharp sand to bed them in and level them nicely.Use a spirit level and a rubber mallet to tamp the sleepers down and make sure they are nice and level.


Now get a 12 foot length of pressure treated 3 x 2 inch wood for use as wooden stakes.

This will cost you a mere 10 euro in a builders providers.

Cut this into 18 inch long stakes.


Hammer stakes into the ground behind the railway sleepers with a large rubber mallet or lump hammer.

Hammer them down around 1-1.5 inches below the surface of the railway sleeper.

Dig out a small amount of soil and using a cordless screw gun,drill 2 x 5mm holes through the back of the stake into the back of the railway sleeper.

Then screw in your M6 sized 100 or 120mm long decking screw or stainless steel screw througn the stake and into the back of the railway sleeper.Chack again with spirit level that everything is still nice and straight and level.

Then make yourself a nice cuppa tea,stand back and admire your lovely work.



PS-You can also lay the sleepers on their 8 inch flat side,if you wish to.Just do the exact same as described above to install them on their flat side.


Simples.:)

Hi what wood were these sleepers made from? Oak/Azobe/pine? I'm looking to do a similar job but i heard it may be difficult doing 4 or 5 cuts per sleeper if it's Azobe. saw/chainsaw burnout.

Norfolk Enchants_

jon1981 wrote: »

Hi what wood were these sleepers made from? Oak/Azobe/pine? I'm looking to do a similar job but i heard it may be difficult doing 4 or 5 cuts per sleeper if it's Azobe. saw/chainsaw burnout.

Paddy's banned so he can't answer you, but if you take care to make sure there are no stones/grit or metal in the sleepers before you cut then you should be fine, but in my experience no matter how careful you are you can expect to sharpen the saw after every few cuts.