Thanks for that The scaffold planks do I just sit them on the current soil with a few stakes behind them? on the opposite side I also have a brick wall which has soil agaisnt it,that's not an issue right as brick walls are stronger? Also do sleepers need to be lined with membrane?
I always line wood which will be in contact with soil. I usually recycle old compost bags turned inside-out (so they are black) and staple them in place with galvanised staples. I've also use the coarse woven plastic type weed/landscaping membrane and also black plastic damp-proof sheet but when I tried some of that fabric type weed membrane, the wood rotted so would suggest you avoid that particular type.
A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
Worth using a bit of liner there too as walls suck-up moisture from the soil so less watering will needed in the future plus it will protect the wall from any staining caused by rising damp, even if it's just a garden wall. Wet walls get those white salts appearing on the surface (efflorescence) which can look unsightly.
A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
If you have soil against a fence the moisture in the soil will tranfer to the fence and rot it many times faster than it would rot if kept clear of the soil
As someone who has experience of inconsiderate or just plain daft neighbours piling gravel or soil or both up a fence, I advise you not to do it.
I'll confess to having corrugated steel shuttering and steel steaks in place to hold back a planting area next to a neighbours fence. Bamboo, a couple of conifers and a laurel all put effort into shifting it over somewhat. The neighbour who was adjacent had a new fence put in at a strange angle to avoid our mess, and more so rather to avoid our other neighbours who made no effort to retain any of their soil. Had they even mentioned it to us, we would have made the effort, once the old rotten panels were out, to pull out the steel retainer and just chomp a few inches of our mess out of the way, then re-steak it. Alas.
Concrete gravel boards are permanent and will take a reasonable amount of weight of soil. They come in 6" and 12" heights and should just rest against the existing concreate fence posts. You could bang a steak (even wooden would work) in the middle or near each end to keep the gravel board upright until the soil is filled in behind it. As the gravel board extends a 6ft gap, make sure they are steel reinforced and not some cheapy false economy crud that snaps in the middle and created three times as much work!
Wooden gravel boards would work, so long as treated. As would scaffold boards. But wood does rot, even treated thick wood, like the sleepers. It just a matter of really how much time it takes.
I am making a raised garden bed on either side of my garden using sleepers Once I fill them up with soil,some of the soil will be against my garden fences What would I do to protect the fences from the moisture of the soil and also the weight(if that's an issue) Thanks
I don't know if you've found the answer but the simplest thing is to line it with damp proof membrane. At the bottom of the raised beds don't forget to staple in anti-rodent mesh. You can find these online. All the best.
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The scaffold planks do I just sit them on the current soil with a few stakes behind them?
on the opposite side I also have a brick wall which has soil agaisnt it,that's not an issue right as brick walls are stronger?
Also do sleepers need to be lined with membrane?
It is an external wall not part of house
I'll confess to having corrugated steel shuttering and steel steaks in place to hold back a planting area next to a neighbours fence. Bamboo, a couple of conifers and a laurel all put effort into shifting it over somewhat.
The neighbour who was adjacent had a new fence put in at a strange angle to avoid our mess, and more so rather to avoid our other neighbours who made no effort to retain any of their soil. Had they even mentioned it to us, we would have made the effort, once the old rotten panels were out, to pull out the steel retainer and just chomp a few inches of our mess out of the way, then re-steak it. Alas.
Concrete gravel boards are permanent and will take a reasonable amount of weight of soil. They come in 6" and 12" heights and should just rest against the existing concreate fence posts. You could bang a steak (even wooden would work) in the middle or near each end to keep the gravel board upright until the soil is filled in behind it.
As the gravel board extends a 6ft gap, make sure they are steel reinforced and not some cheapy false economy crud that snaps in the middle and created three times as much work!
Wooden gravel boards would work, so long as treated. As would scaffold boards. But wood does rot, even treated thick wood, like the sleepers. It just a matter of really how much time it takes.
Same colour as my fence?