Railroad ties usage?
Question:I'm using railraod ties to border a patio and to create steps down a steep bank in my yard. I was going to drill holes and use rebar to hold the ties. What length rebar do you suggest or would you use a different method?
Answers:
I've seen rebar used. I'd probably want to go with something larger that is a couple inches in diameter and bury it 2-3 ft down in the ground. You have to be careful, especially if you using something like gravel that can act similar to a liquid and push out on the railroad ties and over time make them lean or bulge.
You might try driving metal fence posts into the ground and drilling about a 2" diameter holes in the railroad ties and sliding the ties over the poles, then you could cut the poles flush if you wanted. I'd also think it'd be much easier to drive metal fence posts into the ground with fence post driver than trying to drive rebar into the ground. Otherwise I'd just put some poles in the ground in front of the railroad ties.
I'd use alength long enough to go into the ground underneath at least 1 ft to insure against slippage use a punch of some sort to countersink rebar below surface of steps & make wooden plug for holes for a neat job.
If it's just for steps, a 2 ft. piece of rebar is probably fine. If your making a retaining wall, you need to go a lot deeper.
Rebar is fine, I've used it several times with good results. Use the 1/2 inch stuff, not 3/8.
Also be sure to buy a good long auger bit to drill the holes. Railroad ties eat up regular wood bits.
In addition to the installation, I would recomment every couple of years treating the ties with Terminate. I used railroad ties as a retaining wall and after about 5 years the termites moved in. After that experience, I started using Terminate to prevent any further infestations. Purchased at the Home Depot.
More Related Questions & Answers...