cut sleepers in the garden what to cut and treat them with

[happyhero]

Hi I am going to be using some sleepers in the garden, the real used type with the tar coating or what ever they have on them, but I will need to cut them in some cases, so I have two questions.

1. How would you cut them, I was thinking of using a chainsaw, but can you cut fairly straight with that method(a couple of the cuts will be long ones, along the lengths). Would a circular saw be any good first from one side and then the other and then maybe either a hand saw or saber saw to cut right through or will oak beams burn the circular saw out quickly?

2. Secondly what would you use to coat the cut edge that would protect the sleeper as closely as its existing protection, ie I am trying to prevent my cut edges being the weakness that gives in first. Some of the cut edges will be in contact with the ground, with the project I am doing so I want something that gives a very good protection.

Any help appreciated.

 

[Diyisfun]

A circular saw should ALWAYS cut all the way through. It is dangerous to cut half way.
The reason is due to build up of waste material, it can jam the saw & kick it out.
As far as treating the ends at the golf club, they just cut them & leave them, seems to be ok.

 

[Thermo]

1st bit of advice....avoid them like the plague. They are heavy, hard to work with, they smell in the summer, leak tar, and are not recomeneded to be used near children. use oak or softwood instead

they can be cut with a chain saw, but as for ripping them down with a chainsaw, it will be difficult and you will struggle to get a decent cut, even if you are used to using a chainsaw. they also blunt chainsaws chains very quickly.

they dont need any treatment on the end as they are full of stinking tar and creosote

 

[carolf]

We had old railway sleepers installed to hold back the raised ground around our new patio about 15 months ago and they look really good. We had a bit of smell for a couple of months, but that's all gone and we have had no leakage of tar or anything else from them.

The work was done by experts, they cut and shaped the sleepers by chainsaw, one of them along the entire length which is now in the ground; the cut edges weren't treated as the sleepers are pretty much impregnated with creosote and the exposed edges are starting to weather very nicely.

 

[Thermo]

well speaking as someone who runs a landscaping company and does it day in and day out, we dont use them, for the reasons ive stated. I hope you dont have any problems with them, but there are a lot of downsides to them.

its also the reason that there use has been banned in many situations by EU regulations.