Advice making a deck from railway sleepers

Webbs

We are looking to put down a small deck outside our french doors approx 4m x 3m and we like the idea of using railway sleepers as they would be about the same height as our back step.
What I was wondering is if that is firstly a sensible idea, and then if so then what is the best to lay them on,(I am looking for a reasonably easy DIY option) and what if anything should be used to hold the sleepers together as I will be cutting some of them and laying them in a staggered pattern.

Stevie Dakota

I wouldn't do it, railway sleepers would have been treated with all manners of chemicals, I wouldn't put feet anywhere near them. As well as that they are usually uneven and bashed up, you will have uneven gaps too, I think it would look terrible. If I bought a house that had a sleeper deck the first thing I would do would be tear it up!

Sorry OP!

54kroc

Could you get untreated railway sleepers? Something like these

Paulyh

OP, a railway sleeper deck i think would look good.....now i have never used them but i would agree with the above post. they would be contaminated with oil,diesel and stuff like that so you woul dhave to think about treating them with somthing or you might get all that stuff being walked into your house.
if you were to use them though, i would dig down about 150mm and lay a layer of hardcore about 100mm deep, and then a layer of sand about 50-75mm deep.....and possible laying an sheet over that to stop any weeds growing up. i'd select only sleepers with the straightest edges (if thats possible) and try lay them as level and close together as possible using the sand layer to adjust them up/ down as needed.
they'll never be perfectly level but thats part of the charm of them.
i'm not sure what you could do to treat the surface of them though, maybe you could try a few layers of watered down varnish?? it might soak in enough to enable you to keep them clean.
not sure if that helps...............but thats how i would go about it.
but maybe someone that has used them before will correct me if i am way out here!!!

Prenderb

I would advise against sleepers. They're huge, and very heavy to trim and secure, not to mention lugging around. They're also usually loaded with creosote, which is bad for you. The epa website has a document which says: "The use of creosote-treated railway sleepers in residential gardens is an illegal use under S.I. No. 220 of 2003." That is here.

Not the answer you were looking for? I say get some decking boards from the usual place...

Eurorunner

Never really considered it but now that the OP has raised the question, has anyone used the 'new' non-creosoted sleepers for this purpose?

Wonder how it would look and how it would look after a year or two. Also, would the surface be more inclined to get slippy?

Webbs

It would be the new sleepers i would use as i was aware of the issues with reclaimed sleepers. We are hoping to create just a small area outside the back door that would be level with the step and to sit and have a coffee etc, nothing too fancy. We prefer a more rustic look to our garden and thought sleepers would fit in better than the more polished look of standard decking

k123456

I'm in the deck business

To get your deck level you need to build a frame from PT 4x2's. The sleepers would then need to be attached to the frame, you will need v long screws and a powerful drill. You may also need to predrill. Sleepers are difficult to cut.

The above method assumes you have a drop of approx 8-9 inches to accomodate your frame and sleepers

Sleepers are more expensive than deck boards and the max length of a sleeper ie 2.4m deck boards are available 4.8m sometimes longer .

It will be difficult with sleepers to get a square cut, so when they butt up against each other the join will be obvious.

Sleepers weigh a lot, so your frame will need to v well supported.

It will look nice but will be more expensive and labour intensive

Webbs

k123456 wrote: »

I'm in the deck business

To get your deck level you need to build a frame from PT 4x2's. The sleepers would then need to be attached to the frame, you will need v long screws and a powerful drill. You may also need to predrill. Sleepers are difficult to cut.

The above method assumes you have a drop of approx 8-9 inches to accomodate your frame and sleepers

Sleepers are more expensive than deck boards and the max length of a sleeper ie 2.4m deck boards are available 4.8m sometimes longer .

It will be difficult with sleepers to get a square cut, so when they butt up against each other the join will be obvious.

Sleepers weigh a lot, so your frame will need to v well supported.

It will look nice but will be more expensive and labour intensive

Thanks for your advice are you assuming that I would want to raise the sleepers above ground level?
At the moment if we dropped a sleeper on the ground it would be at the right height for what we want. I suppose the easiest way of describing it is that it would be more like making a patio than a raised deck. We wouldnt mind joins being visible etc as we (and the OH especially) have an aversion to neat and tidy lines etc in the garden.

beolight

lots of ideas on this site

http://www.kilgraney.com/Customers%20ideas,%20photos%20and%20projects.htm

might i suggest going conventional route with decking board and then frame\edge it with sleepers 2 or 3 high on their flat will give you seating area and much more natural look than the spindles you see used

also could incoropate a raised plant bed

also sleepers will work well as steps

http://www.burkesbackyard.com.au/Blitz-Fact-Sheets/2005/Backyard%20Blitz%20-%20Ep%202%20It%20Could%20Be%20You%20-%2010%20April.pdf

http://www.tomstoolbox.com.au/treated-pine-deck-sleeper-retaining-walls/

daithip

Don't know if anyone pointed out to you OP but when using sleepers in a garden, if you use the old original ones, they are for life but the new manufactured ones will only last 3/4 years before they rot and have to be replaced. And price wise between the two there is very little difference.

Webbs

daithip wrote: »

Don't know if anyone pointed out to you OP but when using sleepers in a garden, if you use the old original ones, they are for life but the new manufactured ones will only last 3/4 years before they rot and have to be replaced. And price wise between the two there is very little difference.

The old original ones are illegal to buy now.
Out of interest where did you find out the information that new ones rot in 3/4years as we have friend who have had 'new' ones not reclaimed or treated with creosote for approx 10 years now and they look fine.

Thanks again to posters with advice on the deck. I still think that what was described is more complicated than we need as in effect all we are looking for is the equivalent of approx 3x4m patio made from sleepers that would be about 10cm high to be roughly level with a step into back garden

daithip

Webbs wrote: »

The old original ones are illegal to buy now.
Out of interest where did you find out the information that new ones rot in 3/4years as we have friend who have had 'new' ones not reclaimed or treated with creosote for approx 10 years now and they look fine

Recently from a guy who sells both in a garden centre

Webbs

daithip wrote: »

Recently from a guy who sells both in a garden centre

Maybe he was trying to shift his old creosoted ones!!

mad DIY

Eurorunner wrote: »

Never really considered it but now that the OP has raised the question, has anyone used the 'new' non-creosoted sleepers for this purpose?

Wonder how it would look and how it would look after a year or two. Also, would the surface be more inclined to get slippy?

From experience of a well weathered deck made of old sleepers, they got extremely slippy when wet. They may have been treated at some stage with something that caused this, they were probably reclaimed sleepers. Wouldn't know about the new ones.

For me, putting the legal issues aside, the irregular rustic appearance of the old sleepers would be justification for making a deck out of them, perfectly 'square' oblongs just wouldn't have the same character in my opinion.

I wonder is it possible to get new ones that look old ones ?

wildlifeboy

I am thinking about doing this next week. How did you get on op