Sleepers in the Garden Do they need treatment ?

Ezekieljm

Morning,

As the title says we are going to lay sleepers in the garden to make some raised beds and need a bit of advice on whether we need to treat them or coat them with anything or just lay them out plus any other advice people come up with related to raised beds etc etc

Thanks

ormus

i doubt you need to treat them with anything.
they will probably see you out.

Jaynne

Just a pillow and blanket will do.






I'll get my coat.

tanith

It will depend on the sleepers that you buy some are treated some are not, if they are old sleepers they may well of been treated with tar or creosote which isn't really good for raised beds. So ask questions when you buy them, are they reclaimed or new and what have they been treated with..
If you google railway sleepers there is a wealth of info out there..

greenhill

Jaynne wrote: »

Just a pillow and blanket will do.






I'll get my coat.

So glad to know I wasn't the only idiot that on reading the title, imagined people in tents and sleeping bags in the garden:):)

wellused

I don't think that it is legal to sell reclaimed railway sleepers anymore as they are treated with some really nasty preservers, and not only that but the trains used to empty the contents of the toilets onto the track up until a couple of years ago so they will be steeped in human waste.

Gloomendoom

I used a couple of reclaimed railway sleeper as a shed base last weekend. They were untreated hardwood. Not sure what type... a red colour.

Anyway, the more common creosote soaked softwood type shouldn't be used near things that you are going to eat but, as has been said, they last for a very long time.

I think trains still do empty the toilets on to the track.

wellused

Oh maybe they do but they stopped doing it on the West Coast Mainline since Richard Banson took over.

Gloomendoom

wellused wrote: »

Oh maybe they do but they stopped doing it on the West Coast Mainline since Richard Banson took over.

It's probably the newer trains. I think there are some heath concerns for the track maintenance workers. It can't be pleasant.

wellused

I worked on the track for 19 years and the first thing that we learned was once standing in a place of safety to turn our backs to oncoming trains.

Ezekieljm

Ok so apart from the pillow and blanket comments (which by the way made me chuckle out loud and got me strange looks from my colleagues at work)

I am having a company landscape our garden at the moment they are rebuilding the garden wall then will lay the sleepers (for raised beds) and then pave it (Indian sandstone) so I have no idea where they get them from but as they do this for a living i am presuming they have a legit supply.

It seems I need to ask questions of where they come from and assuming they do not actually come from the railway what should I be doing.

Thanks again