wooden edging help

[seneca]

I want to put some edging between a lawn and some raised beds, and was thinking of using some kind of timber. Anyone have any recommendations? I think it will need to be some kind of pressure treated landscape timber, but can't seem to find any where I live. I have seen pictures of timber being used: one kind just looks like decking and the other has a rounded edge. BTW I don't want to use log role. There is a kind which is about 1m long and 4x4". It has a flat top and rounded edges. Anyone know what it's called?

thanks

 

[Thermo]

sounds more like a fence post with one edge rounded off. Speak to a local fencing supply company. You could use fence posts or half machined poles which can look quite nice and are very sturdy and easy to install. Ill try and find a few pics of some ive done

 

[WabbitPoo]

I want to put some edging between a lawn and some raised beds, and was thinking of using some kind of timber. Anyone have any recommendations? I think it will need to be some kind of pressure treated landscape timber, but can't seem to find any where I live. I have seen pictures of timber being used: one kind just looks like decking and the other has a rounded edge. BTW I don't want to use log role. There is a kind which is about 1m long and 4x4". It has a flat top and rounded edges. Anyone know what it's called?

thanks

or go to B&Q and get some long 4x2" treated timber (its with the decking). If you or someone you know has a plane you can round the edges off yourself. Still recommend treating "treated" timber with some preservative.

 

[noseall]

unless you leave the wood dipped in oil and creosote for a long time, it won't last as an edging.

even oak can suffer in the ground.

if it's pine, you will be replacing it sooner rather than later.

 

[seneca]

>>sounds more like a fence post with one edge rounded off

that's right. never thought of it like that. The flat edge would allow 2 to be stacked easily. Can it be bought in the ready planed form, or would I need to find someone who can do it.

>>Still recommend treating "treated" timber with some preservative.

I've got quite a bit of wood around the garden (mostly furniture) and have previously posted about what was the best thing to use on it. Other than some bizare advice about coating it with lindseed oil everyday for a year, there were no suggestions. Have you a name for a good preservative (clear and stained versions.)

>>unless you leave the wood dipped in oil and creosote for a long time, it won't last as an edging.

I thought the main area where it would get penetrating damp, would be from beneath (contact with soil) , so I planned to staple some thick plastic sheets underneath. Will that not help? What do people do with decking and sleepers? surely they last don't they?

Come to think of it, if both sides are planed, then it would have a flat top which, 1) wouldn't look as good and 2) leave a flat surface where water, frost etc. would settle.

 

[noseall]

take a look at a treated timber post, say 3"x 3", that has been concreted in within someones garden.

after a couple of years the post will rot immediately at ground level, just above the concrete line. below the ground and where it would be encased in the concrete, the post looks ok. 6 inches above ground, the post looks ok. but at ground level, shoite.

its probably the combination of soil and water that the timber cannot tolerate.

 

[Thermo]

none of the fence posts i install rot in two years. if your going to use the fence posts as an edging they should be fine and certainly straight enough to use and wont need planing. dont cover them in plastic, it will only retain moisture and stop them breathing. You should get quite a few years use out of them before thye need replacing.

 

[noseall]

Thermo, the point i'm trying to make is, there are far more suitable, clay or concrete products out there that will last many years longer than timber at ground level.

only a very expensive treated hardwood (e.g.oak) will stand a chance as a raised bed edging.

all that aggressive soil and rain on a regular timber edging, at ground level, dream on. it will be wood lice feed and full of holes in no time.

 

[Thermo]

i would still expect a pressure treated piece of wood that size to be serviceable (if not pristine) for a good 5 years. I agree there are far better alternatives but you pay your money and take your choice!

 

[noseall]

take no notice of me Thermo, I'm just a bit argumentative tonight.

 

[seneca]

as I'm hoping it would last more than a few years, maybe I should use something made from concrete. Only reason i chose wood, was it seemed easier to put down long lengths of the stuff, and they could be easily cut and joined. Trouble is I have a lot of edging to do and I don't fancy having to concrete a load of cement edging into place. Also, wood does look a bit better than concrete.

thanks for the advice anyway.

 

[Thermo]

go with wood if you like the look of it, it will last longer than you think

 

[bludger]

Hello,

You will help preserve wood by soaking it, not just dipping it. Dig out a shsllow pit in the ground, long enough to take the lengths of timber you want to use, line it with plastic, and soak the timber until it sucks up no more. Sawn timber will absorb more preservative than planed wood and will thus last longer. Softwoods last very well treated this way.

Incidentally, it is the bugs in the soil that rot wood. There are more bugs in topsoil than in subsoil, which is why wood rots around ground level. When you preserve wood you are repelling bugs, not water.

Hope this helps

 

[seneca]

thanks bluger

I imagine i'd need a lot of preservative to soak a piece of 4x2" x2m. What would you recommend.

also, could you tell me the best thing (preservative/stain etc.) to apply on pressure treated softwood. I have an arbour and an arch that are made from the stuff and was wondering what was best to use on it. any ideas?

thanks.

 

[Thermo]

if you want to go over the top use cuprinol or similar. dont forget thouggh its been pressure treated. that means the prerservative has been forced into the wood and is a lot more effective than soaking it