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Splitting Sleepers/Beams (worried about safety)

v4jrdbrpwfZAZWkS2zv4jrdbrpwfZAZWkS2z Posts: 4
edited May 2022 in Problem solving
I had my garden redone last year and the landscapers used sleepers/beams for a retaining wall and stirs. They have all started splitting and the cracks look pretty deep.

I have asked the landscapers to come back assess the work but I’m not having much luck. 

I don’t care about the cosmetics of it but wondering if this is dangerous and if I should avoid using the stair and what I can do (if anything) to make them safe. 

Posts

  • v4jrdbrpwfZAZWkS2zv4jrdbrpwfZAZWkS2z Posts: 4



  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043
    If they are green oak they will be bound to split when the weather is dry and warm. They look pretty thick and solid.
    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
    You can get both pine and oak sleepers, treated and untreated, properly seasoned or green. Do you know what they are or have an invoice or specification for them? Untreated, green pine would be the weakest and most likely to crack like that but any green wood will react to temperature changes. 

    For a structural element like a staircase, especially one with open treads (no supporting vertical risers) the specification is key. If it’s only a few steps it should be OK but a long flight would be more of a concern. If you don’t feel safe though, you don’t feel safe, so maybe get an independent professional in to look at them. If a safety issue is identified, that will give you ammunition to challenge the original landscapers.
    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
  • v4jrdbrpwfZAZWkS2zv4jrdbrpwfZAZWkS2z Posts: 4
    edited May 2022
    I was advised that the sleeper were treated but don’t have anymore specification than that. 

    The stairs are my main concern, if he finally agrees to come and review the work and says it’s safe, is there anything I can ask him to do, in order to support them more? When I have spoken to him, he advised that most landscapers will find some kind of fault with any work as they will be hoping for work out of the inspection, so I really don’t know who to believe. 
  • v4jrdbrpwfZAZWkS2zv4jrdbrpwfZAZWkS2z Posts: 4

  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
    edited May 2022
    I was thinking more of a carpenter or building professional that wouldn’t have an interest, but it’s always tricky holding workmen to account, everything is always ‘perfectly normal, nothing wrong with them’! They may well be right, but better to put your concerns in writing and submit photographic evidence, not much use if they disappear or go bust, but it’s something. If you had specified and they had charged for seasoned, treated oak sleepers then they substituted them with a cheaper alternative that would be different but otherwise we do tend to blindly trust companies to know what they are doing. 

    What you could do to put your mind at rest is to screw sturdy metal plates underneath each step, with the plates locking into brackets fixed on the strings (sloping side bits). That way the wood becomes largely decorative, not fully load bearing. You would have to pay for that peace of mind though.
    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
  • WilderbeastWilderbeast Posts: 1,415
    Ok so I am a joiner/builder and can safely say most big beams will get cracks and splits, it's very common in the treated pine wood. Personally the only crack that would worry me is the piece with 4 screws and a crack that follows them that does want looking at. I could post a picture of some 6 inch posts holding my big pergola up with huge cracks but I'm more than happy
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