Laying Sleepers

Slipshaney

Hi All, looking for some advice please.

I currently have a flower bed with wooden edging, that is starting to rot and fall apart after the years....Its about 10 inches tall, and Im looking to replace this with sleepers

I got a quote for the work but seems very steep, and Im hoping I can do the job myself. The sleeper will be going down on the driveway in front of the house, so not onto soil.

Would this be a simple enough job, just to lay the sleepers on cement, and maybe put a few brackets between them to hold them together?

Thanks!

Dr4gul4

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058213602/laying-sleepers

How handy are you are setting out a string line for level, and working to it, along with mixing up cement ? what are you hoping to cement the sleepers to ? as for joining the sleepers, sure some flat brackets and some screws would suffice.

looksee

Did the price include the sleepers? Have you priced sleepers, they are quite expensive and with the increase in the price of timber they are likely to have gone up again. What kind of sleepers is he quoting for, there are differences between 'real' sleepers (which are not recommended these days because of the way they have been treated) and the lengths of timber that are sold as sleepers. Does the quote say how they were to be fixed? Generally a professional job would be to drill through the sleeper and put a long bolt through into the surface underneath. Again, the fixings are not cheap. How would the sleepers meet the driveway surface? Or is he going to put down some sort of foundation?

Doing it yourself I agree that you could probably do it the way you suggest and it would be ok. You will need to ensure that water does not pool under the sleeper on the concrete.

Slipshaney

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118035455#Comment_118035455

I should be OK with levels and cement etc, and its not a huge area either. I was hoping to cement the sleepers to the existing driveway out front, or is that a bad idea?

Slipshaney

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118035463#Comment_118035463

The price did include the sleepers alright, and everything else, but it was north of 2000 to be honest, thats why Im looking at doing it myself....

Its not a huge area, I reckon 6-8 sleepers will be needed as we will need to cut down some of these to size.

I was hoping to just put a layer of cement down, and lay the sleepers on that, and join them using standard brackets..

hirondelle

I don't see the need to cement the sleepers to anything. I would cut them to size, apply a few coats of waterproofing, then fix them to each other. The mass of them along with the weight of the soil will hold them in place I would say.

Slipshaney

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118035671#Comment_118035671

Thanks for that. Over time, would the weight of the soil/root structure etc push out the sleepers maybe?

SlitDrip

How high are you going ?

real sleepers are 30e a pop now.

There are massive so still good value in my eyes.

The ones the pass for sleepers these days are dirt imo.

Slipshaney

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118035703#Comment_118035703

Just going as high as the sleeper, I would say 10-12 inches. Was looking at something basic like these - https://www.coopsuperstores.ie/Oak-Railway-Sleepers-1661529

hirondelle

I really can't see how- once you connect each sleeper with brackets (or even long woodscrews put in at an angle) will hold them. Some people set up the raised bed then hammer a thin piece of wood down into the ground inside the sleepers on each corner- if you are completely on concrete then maybe secure the lengths with a bracket bolted to the concrete. There will be a tonne of soil inside the sleeper so you would really want to be moving the bed to do so!

Slipshaney

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118035716#Comment_118035716

thanks a million for that - certainly would make things easier!

SlitDrip

I dont know where you are but your local salvage will have the real ones.

I bought 10 from landmark salvage in Newcastle last year.

I wouldn't be cementing them down either , you could bracket them to the concreate and tie them together

Slipshaney

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118035735#Comment_118035735

Thanks again - when you say the real ones, do you mean the chunkier sleepers? I dont think I would have the room for those, so would need to go with the thinner ones...

salmocab

I hammered rebar into the ground behind the sleepers and fixed the sleeper to the rebar. The soil hid the rebar.

Slipshaney

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118035818#Comment_118035818

Thanks - and what did you attach the rebar to the sleeper with?

salmocab

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118035826#Comment_118035826

I think I used galvanised band and screws. Cut a few inches of galvo band and screw it either side of the rebar with a couple of wood screws.

looksee

I would be inclined to bracket the sleepers to the concrete as suggested, soil has an amazing way of sneaking under anything like that and eventually lifting it, it does not need a lot of anchors to hold it down.