Tired looking sleepers

[Matt42]

Hi,

Maybe a silly question but do railway sleepers in the garden look tired after many years? The rest of the garden is now spruced up and I am wondering if new sleepers around the decking, maybe brown, would fit in better. Can't decide if i am being pedantic!!

Any gardener opinions welcomed.

Thanks

Matt

 

[rjm2k]

would be clearer with a photo

 

[Matt42]

Im returning to this with a couple of questions. I am tying to upload photos that are on my ipad but it isnt working, any ideas? Anyway, that wasnt one of my questions! First question - can you manually saw sleepers to the right length, they look quite chunky? Second question - should i put something between the sleepers and soil as it'll just rot the wood again?

Matt

 

[EddieM]

depends on whether or not they are real sleepers or sleeper stylee. but yes both can be manually cut, hard work though and real sleepers are really tough on the saw.

 

[Matt42]

Proper sleepers, 102 inches long, standard size i reckon.

Ummhh, advice for sawing? Type? One man job, i hate sawing after a shoulder op last year, you know when you wake up the next day and you cant mov lol!

I read a previous thread that you can staple polythene to the under side of the sleeper so between sleeper and soil. Sounds too easy a solution to me!

Matt

 

[AronSearle]

You want to keep them dry, or rely on their durability or preservative. Proper sleepers will last decades in ground contact, cheap 'sleeper style' timbers typically have no durability and poor levels of treatment, expect them to last about 5 years, probably.

Polythene will keep moisture from the soil away from the sleepers, but will also hold any water that get's behind the sleeper, either way the sleeper is still getting wet. It depends on the soil/landscape, whether polythene will do any good.

If by 'tired' looking, you mean they have decay, chuck em.

If they just look grey and weathered, leave them be.

 

[Matt42]

I never realised there were cheap ones and longer duration ones. Here's some photos, I think they look tired and going to replace with the other picture, the top sleepers as they look less 'cresoted'. I can't decide if I am making a job where one is not needed but the sleepers are rotting.

Untitled

• Matt42
• 24 Sep 2014
• 1

 

[Beefpotnoodle]

Like Aronsearle says, if they need replacing because they are decaying you'll have to replace. Anything you put in will age, somehow. You could try a treatment on them.

If the present ones are new, you'll need to replace more often to keep that 'new' look that it sounds like you prefer.

I don't and have original sleepers with the bolt holes and all. They are rough and tar or oil treated I think and not very uniform, some would say ugly! But that's the 'charm' I like, and they will look like this for a very long time.

Beefy

 

[Beefpotnoodle]

Top pic looks like 'new' style or non original sleepers. Bottom ones look like 'proper' sleepers! You can tell because it looks like the top ones are more uniform and have gone grey. The ones you are looking at wont go that way, if they do itll be in many many years

 

[AronSearle]

I never realised there were cheap ones and longer duration ones.

Lots of people sell new bulk timbers, with poor treatments, as 'sleepers'.

Some of them are properly treated, but generally I would say to avoid them.

Proper sleepers will cost you, if they are cheap, there is a reason why.

 

[Matt42]

Thanks guys, this place is really helpful. The sleepers in place are rotting, you can see clearly on the longer one next to the shed but they do ooze cresote and have bolt holes in which is odd, that suggests they are old and not new dressed as old?

I am going to get 6 'new' ones then from the yard above, 20 quid each (2 around the patio) as below.

One question, the ones around the shed are sawed to fit but all the sleepers are 102 inches long down the yard. Do you get different lengths so I can fit exactly?

Matt

 

[AronSearle]

You can't asses decay visually, might be superficial weathering.

Stab em with a screwdriver, decayed timber goes soft and spongy.

Do you get different lengths so I can fit exactly?

Do you get different width rail tracks

If you buy longer timbers, and cut to lenght, aggressivly treat and then seal .cut ends

 

[EddieM]

Proper ex railway sleepers are not supposed to be used in gardens anymore, due precisely to the fact they are full of toxic carp.

 

[Beefpotnoodle]

The toxic stuff is what keeps it for so long, but its worth mentioning that animals like dogs and pesky children (the most evil form of animal ) do the strangest of things and expect to find bits of wood in their mouths!!! So if you have kids or pets maybe reconsider the real sleepers due to the toxins

 

[EddieM]

The toxic stuff is what keeps it for so long, but its worth mentioning that animals like dogs and pesky children (the most evil form of animal ) do the strangest of things and expect to find bits of wood in their mouths!!! So if you have kids or pets maybe reconsider the real sleepers due to the toxins

Indeed so, however to answer the OP's question about cutting them, well a normal handsaw will do the job, but it's hard work and on genuine sleepers harder work, it is also very hard on the saw. I've seen quite a lot of them cut using a chainsaw, but unless you a) have one b) know how to use one c) have the proper protective gear and d) in real sleepers ensure all the "artifacts" (bolts, straps, other nameless bits and bobs) have been removed, I would advise against that method

Oh and they're not really banned? (discouraged) because of pets / children gnawing on them, but mainly because they leach toxins into the ground, which you really don't want it say growing veg in a sleeper enclosed bed.

One last thing is remember if you burn any of the offcuts / waste of real railway sleepers, bear in mind they burn with amazing intensity (don't put in your log burner!!)