Can you use sleepers for a retaining wall?

Can you use sleepers for a retaining wall?

Wooden sleepers are an excellent alternative to bricks or concrete for building retaining walls in your garden. Not only do they look beautiful, but they are often a much more affordable option. Garden sleepers can be used both horizontally and vertically when building a retaining wall.

Can I lay sleepers on soil?

Can you lay railway sleepers on soil? Yes you can. If you’re only creating a structure that’s one or two sleepers in height you don’t necessarily need foundations, which means you can lay your railway sleepers onto the soil.

Can sleepers be laid on soil?

How high should a sleeper retaining wall be?

The usual ‘rule of thumb’ is that one-third of the overall height should be buried: So, if a 2400mm long sleeper was to be used, 800mm would need to be inserted into the ground and concreted in place, with 160mm above ground.

How do you fix sleepers on top of each other?

With sleepers on a narrow edge, simply screw the sleepers together at the 90 degree corners, allowing at least 50mm (or 2″) of the screw to penetrate the adjoining sleeper. Two screws per corner is ideal.

How do you fix sleepers in the ground?

Using wooden stakes to secure your sleepers is another popular method for adding stability. Sink around 60% of the stake supports into the ground, setting with cement if preferred then simply drive your fixings through the sleepers and into the supports.

How long will sleepers last in the ground?

Softwood sleepers comes from pine and it is known that they a less resistant to decay and have to be treated to ensure they last a long time, when treated and maintained after purchase you can expect softwoods sleepers to give you up to 20 years of use.

What goes under a retaining wall sleeper?

Retaining walls with vertical sleepers Dig a trench to follow the path of your wall, one third the depth of the sleepers. Line the bottom of the trench with a layer of shingle, followed by a shallow layer of dry postmix concrete, then position your sleepers and backfill with dry postmix.

Do sleepers need drainage?

Sleepers can be laid directly onto firm ground, however it’s recommended that at the very least a bed of sand or aggregate is used to assist drainage and provide a firm footing. Purists will always insist on a concrete bed, however if the wall is additionally supported by posts then this is not always necessary.

Do you need foundations for a sleeper wall?

How do you join two sleepers together?

If you have placed the railway sleepers on the ground on their wider edge, then again simply screw them together at the 90 degree corners, allowing at least 50mm (or 2″) of the screw to go into the adjoining sleeper. You will need to screw through more of the railway sleeper than on the narrow edge option.

How do you join the lengths of sleepers?

When building sleepers in layers, it’s a really good idea to overlap the right-angled corners for added stability and strength. Simply place your length or frame on top of the first layer so the joins are overlapped like a brick wall, then work in the same way to secure.

How to build a sleeper retaining wall?

A retaining wall that is made of wooden or concrete planks is a sleeper retaining wall. It involves multiple tasks to build a retaining wall with sleepers. You have to measure and mark the wall site accurately. After digging the trench and lowering the sleeper at a vertical angle, leave at least 2 cm of a gap for water drainage.

How to build a retaining wall or raised bed?

Some people place a layer of pea gravel, or drainage pipe at the base of the sleeper wall, before backfilling with soil, so that the water can be channelled out. How to build a retaining wall or raised bed using sleepers stacked horizontally. The most important thing is that the sleepers are laid on a surface that is level and firm.

What is a sleeper wall and how does it work?

A sleeper wall is basically a low retaining wall designed to keep plants from growing onto the side of a house. Sleeper walls are often used to create privacy fences or borders along driveways and walkways. In addition, they can be built anywhere that you don’t want grass to grow. There are many ways to construct a sleeper wall.

How do you support a wall from leaning forward?

In this case, you may need vertical retaining posts (or even sleepers), along the length of the wall, to support the wall from leaning forward. In this case, simply concrete the vertical posts into the ground, and fasten the stacked sleepers to the posts with Timberlok sleeper screws. (see website page for sizes and details).