No plans to raise it or extend it. We built it when there were no bottle banks round here and the shops didn't give money back on our favourite Oz and Kiwi wine bottles so it was a recycling initiative - much scoffed at by OH and the chappy who laid the terrace but it has proven its worth since and they love it.
A tip for anyone considering building one is to make sure you have a good foundation of broken bricks and stones levelled out with concrete . You then just lay your straight sided, high shouldered bottles with no fixing except something to hold them at either end. Back fill with soil from the bed it's holding up. Top with something to sit on (recycled marble slabs from fireplaces here) and fix them with cement. The railway sleeper on the short wall is held there by gravity.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
We're getting a railway sleeper retaining wall for our veg garden at the front, it's being done in July. I think they look great and I've asked the builder to make sure they are without toxic substances in which is not a problem.
The veg and herb garden will be about 12 by 8 foot.
It should look great Lou. Here is part of ours vertical sleepers up the sloping path and horizontal long the flat part at the back of the house. That extends another 10 or 12 metres on the other side of the path.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
My sister and brother in law put in the pressurised new sleepers and patio a year ago for me.The big stone on sleeper is for a water feature to go in my mini wildlife meadow, my garden had a major makeover only in November, the sleepers are great for seating!
Oak sleepers can rot, particularly if they are mostly sapwood rather than the harder and more resilient heartwood.
Treated softwood sleepers can also rot, usually due to the preservative not penetrating the wood very well. if treated wood is cut or drilled, then the exposed surfaces will allow rot to enter. Also large section timbers tend to split when exposed to the weather and this also allows rot to enter. Redwood (pine) is more resilient than whitewood (spruce) so it would be worth checking with your supplier.
We have some oak sleepers around a raised bed and they look great. They are rotting, but very slowly and attractively. They've been in about 9 years, good for a few more.
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Do you have any plans to raise it? I'm sure there'd be plenty of volunteers to help empty the bottles....
No plans to raise it or extend it. We built it when there were no bottle banks round here and the shops didn't give money back on our favourite Oz and Kiwi wine bottles so it was a recycling initiative - much scoffed at by OH and the chappy who laid the terrace but it has proven its worth since and they love it.
A tip for anyone considering building one is to make sure you have a good foundation of broken bricks and stones levelled out with concrete . You then just lay your straight sided, high shouldered bottles with no fixing except something to hold them at either end. Back fill with soil from the bed it's holding up. Top with something to sit on (recycled marble slabs from fireplaces here) and fix them with cement. The railway sleeper on the short wall is held there by gravity.
We're getting a railway sleeper retaining wall for our veg garden at the front, it's being done in July. I think they look great and I've asked the builder to make sure they are without toxic substances in which is not a problem.
The veg and herb garden will be about 12 by 8 foot.
It should look great Lou. Here is part of ours vertical sleepers up the sloping path and horizontal long the flat part at the back of the house. That extends another 10 or 12 metres on the other side of the path.
My sister and brother in law put in the pressurised new sleepers and patio a year ago for me.The big stone on sleeper is for a water feature to go in my mini wildlife meadow, my garden had a major makeover only in November, the sleepers are great for seating!
Looks really good.
Im considering using new oak sleepers for a project in my garden - I've seen that they are untreated as the wood is so 'hard' they will not rot.
Anyone used these? Can they be laid directly onto the soil or is a base of hardcore recommended?
Oak sleepers can rot, particularly if they are mostly sapwood rather than the harder and more resilient heartwood.
Treated softwood sleepers can also rot, usually due to the preservative not penetrating the wood very well. if treated wood is cut or drilled, then the exposed surfaces will allow rot to enter. Also large section timbers tend to split when exposed to the weather and this also allows rot to enter. Redwood (pine) is more resilient than whitewood (spruce) so it would be worth checking with your supplier.
We have some oak sleepers around a raised bed and they look great. They are rotting, but very slowly and attractively. They've been in about 9 years, good for a few more.
That's very nice Obelixx and Deborah can't wait.