Fixing railway sleepers to ground

okedoke

I'm redoing my garden and the lawn will be c 5/6 inches higher than the section of garden beyond it (veg garden/play areas). My plan is to build a low retaining wall using railway sleepers to support lawn. I saw these stakes on amazon https://www.amazon.co.uk/Railway-Sleeper-Driveway-Straight-Bracket/dp/B082VJY1F1/ref=sr_1_8?dchild=1&keywords=sleeper+brackets&qid=1592906993&sr=8-8

which look like a simple way of fixing the sleepers but can't find any for sale in Irl - anyone ever come across these or similar here?

okedoke

weirdly someone else started a thread with the exact same request as me 3 minutes earlier!

seamus

okedoke wrote: »

I'm redoing my garden and the lawn will be c 5/6 inches higher than the section of garden beyond it (veg garden/play areas). My plan is to build a low retaining wall using railway sleepers to support lawn. I saw these stakes on amazon https://www.amazon.co.uk/Railway-Sleeper-Driveway-Straight-Bracket/dp/B082VJY1F1/ref=sr_1_8?dchild=1&keywords=sleeper+brackets&qid=1592906993&sr=8-8

which look like a simple way of fixing the sleepers but can't find any for sale in Irl - anyone ever come across these or similar here?

It's not what you asked, but I've had good success using aluminium tubing. Get some 16mm tubing. To fix a 2.4m sleeper to the ground, you drill 16mm holes into the sleeper, about 75% deep, one at each end and two in the middle.

Cut the tubing about 25-30cm long and push it into the sleepers, then jam the sleeper into the ground. Creates a nice solid wall with no brackets or screws visible. If you want to stack the sleepers, you can put the tubing all the way through the bottom sleeper(s), or you can create 15cm "studs" of aluminium tubing to attach top sleepers to bottom ones. You can also add 10cm studs at either end of the sleeper to stabilise it against a wall or against another sleeper.

I wouldn't advise this though for retaining walls higher than 60cm or if you're stacking more than one sleeper on the narrow edge.

okedoke

sounds interesting Seamus - if the soil is stony would the aluminium dig in or could it bend though?

garv123

I did similar for flowerbeds, but used 5x3 treated timber painted black.

I hammered 4-500mm lengths of rebar into the ground and secured the timber to it using galvo strips. Black spray paint then blended it all in, flowers/stone chippings/ grass will hide them all anyways.

You can also drill holes in the sleeper to let it sit down over the rebar, no fixings needed. Much more work tho:D

blackbox

garv123 wrote: »

I did similar for flowerbeds, but used 5x3 treated timber painted black.

I hammered 4-500mm lengths of rebar into the ground and secured the timber to it using galvo strips. Black spray paint then blended it all in, flowers/stone chippings/ grass will hide them all anyways.

You can also drill holes in the sleeper to let it sit down over the rebar, no fixings needed. Much more work tho:D

Another vote here for rebar.

caddy16

I used 6 inch stainless steel coach screws, 2 per sleeper, screwed them in around 2 inches and set the bolt in a bit of concrete.

okedoke

garv123 wrote: »

I did similar for flowerbeds, but used 5x3 treated timber painted black.

I hammered 4-500mm lengths of rebar into the ground and secured the timber to it using galvo strips. Black spray paint then blended it all in, flowers/stone chippings/ grass will hide them all anyways.

You can also drill holes in the sleeper to let it sit down over the rebar, no fixings needed. Much more work tho:D

Another possibility - Can you buy rebar pre cut to length?

garv123

garv123 wrote: »

I did similar for flowerbeds, but used 5x3 treated timber painted black.

I hammered 4-500mm lengths of rebar into the ground and secured the timber to it using galvo strips. Black spray paint then blended it all in, flowers/stone chippings/ grass will hide them all anyways.

You can also drill holes in the sleeper to let it sit down over the rebar, no fixings needed. Much more work tho:D

Did the same myself

garv123

okedoke wrote: »

Another possibility - Can you buy rebar pre cut to length?

Some smaller hardwares that stock metal pipe and tube might cut it for you. I had an electric band saw so I cut it in the car park in seconds. 12mm Rebar is dirt cheap too.

seamus

Yeah, I didn't use rebar because I didn't fancy cutting it. A pipe cutter made short work of the alu pipe. Also it will rust in the ground, but that'll only be a problem for your grandkids.

okedoke

seamus wrote: »

Yeah, I didn't use rebar because I didn't fancy cutting it. A pipe cutter made short work of the alu pipe. Also it will rust in the ground, but that'll only be a problem for your grandkids.

Likewise cutting it is putting me off

garv123

https://www.austenknapman.co.uk/other-steel/high-yield-steel-rebar/

This site supplies it cut to length, from the uk tho.

You'd cut it in seconds if you borrowed a 4 Inch Grinder.
I cut mine between 4-500mm long