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How to secure sleepers to a soil wall?

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  • 12-08-2016 10:51am
    #1
    seamus
    Registered Users Posts: 68,317 ✭✭✭✭


    Bit of an odd one here. I've a heavily sloping garden, of which I've dug out and levelled the lowest 2m to make the flat/play area of the garden larger. This has left me with a roughly 30 - 40cm high "wall" of soil at the edge of it that I want to use sleepers to cover up/finish off.

    The issue I have is that I want to lay the sleepers on their narrow edge. It looks nicer and it means I have to use less sleepers. But then they need to be secured. I would rather not use stakes because they'll need to be on the outside edge and will ruin the clean look of the wall.

    The sleepers aren't there to keep the soil back, I just need to keep the sleepers from falling over, so I was wondering if it was possible to get some kind of long nail-like thing that I could drive through the sleeper and soil to hold it in place?

    Edit: I was actually thinking I could use small steel rods or bolts, maybe 10mm in diameter, 150-200mm long. Drive them into the top of one sleeper and cut out matching grooves on another. Place the other on top and it should stay steady. Thoughts?


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    #2
    greasepalm
    Registered Users Posts: 5,332 ✭✭✭greasepalm


    that long ago since i did that i would have used a baton treated first and inserted on the soil side then used 4 inch screws with hex head as can use a socket and ratchet on or spanner.


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    #3
    Gen.Zhukov
    Registered Users Posts: 1,958 ✭✭✭Gen.Zhukov


    I'd look at attaching a U shaped bracket at the back/inside of the sleeper and then stake through the bracket into the ground. Clean look and less work.

    Or, doing the same with a L shaped bracket.


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    #4
    mickdw
    Registered Users Posts: 23,356 ✭✭✭✭mickdw


    Just done such a job. 2 sleepers high on edge. I concreted posts into ground hidden on inside of sleepers and screwed through sleeper into posts.
    I backfilled with some large stone to stop clay pressuring the line of sleepers and topped off with topsoil.


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    #5
    lazybones32
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,647 ✭✭✭lazybones32


    Set them in concrete.


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    #6
    seamus
    Registered Users Posts: 68,317 ✭✭✭✭seamus


    In the end it worked out that two sleepers high on their narrow edge would have required a lot of digging to get the level right, so I went with 3 stacked on their wide edge. Got some 16mm alu pipe with 1mm walls and cut it into little pegs that I used to secure the sleepers to one another and into the ground. A few hidden screws then to secure them all together.

    Thanks for all the suggestions.


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