Railway Sleepers?
Question:I was just wondering has anyone used railway sleepers in there garden, its that i have not got a proper patio area in my garden, as i moved into a new build house and the builders did not really lay much of a patio area, i am not sure what i want out the back, i did not want to do something that was going to cost a fortune like paving slabs, i did think about decking but not sure does that go a bit crap looking after awhile, thats why i thought of railway sleepers,they look a bit different but could you use them as a patio area? any ideas on this? thanks.
Answers:
Genuine old railway sleepers are no longer strictly available to buy in retail outlets due to the preservatives/creosote in them. They would be mighty expensive anyway to cover an area, plus they would be a slippery surface in the wet. Slabs are actually one of your cheapest options, but don't just lay a square/rectangle, put some imagination into the design and slabs are ok, and relatively quick to lay. maybe use some shingle area somewhere too, that's quick to lay, just tip it out and rake it level, can't get easier than that :-)
I thilnk railway sleepers will look a bit cheap and nasty, apart from being very heavy to move and expensive - about £15 to £20 each. You could put down decking. We put decking in our garden about 10 years ago and it still looks good. You can stain it or paint it if you think it might look a bit drab but it is quite serviceable and really tidies up the garden. Gives you somewhere to put patio pots and tubs and somewhere to sit.
Depends if you have children and intend to let them play on this 'patio' area. The reason I say this is: Most Railway sleepers are covered in oil/grease. Furthermore when they were actually being used as sleepers - then its more than likely they will have urine and 'night soil' grimed into them too.
So: Question - do you REALLY want to lay railway sleepers that may have urine and 'night soil' ground into them in your garden area?
Hi you can buy upvc decking it looks nice but I think it is expensive!
This would be more expensive than slabs and far more difficult to source and handle. Sleepers are heavy and will almost certainly be impregnated with creosote or other preservative making them even more difficult to handle. Much better to use slabs in an artistic way. have them cut in a semi circle or a triangle this means you only cut the last slab. Decking can be treated/painted etc so that it will always look as you wish it to but ageing wood does have it's own attraction. The treated decking should last 5 years or so between treatments unless you are using a teak or similar oil when you treat every year.
They are a bit uneven to use as a patio area. They are never exactly level either. Decking is an @rse. We have a lovely circle deck feature with lights in and it has bird cr@p all over it constantly, it also needs pressure washing all the time and is slippery too. Stick to patio slabs.
sleepers are still available in parts of Scotland at around £18 each. They are a bit heavy and you really need to be quite good at landscape achitecture to use them to their best effect.
Slabs really are not that expensive and if you get expert advice they are not hard to lay and will last a long time.
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