Using Railroad Ties for Landscaping
Using Railroad ties for landscaping allows the homeowner a lot of flexibility in design. They make excellent retaining walls and are useful in sloping areas to create a terraced effect.
Using Railroad Ties for Landscaping
Railroad ties, or sleepers as they are known in the railroad industry, are used to support the track and keep it spaced to the proper gauge. Since the ties are spaced fairly close together, a single mile of railroad track will contain around 3000 ties. The ties usually sit on a raised platform called the ballast. This is made of various materials with gravel being the most common. The weight of the train is passed through the track to the ties and spread evenly to the ballast. So, how do you end up using railroad ties for landscaping?
Since railroad ties are routinely replaced as a part of track maintenance, there is often an inexpensive supply available for other purposes. One of these purposes is landscaping. The sections are heavy and about 8 feet long. They have a very earthy wooden look and are fairly inexpensive. The best thing is that they have such a wide variety of landscaping uses.
They have been using in raised bed gardens and are frequently used as retaining walls. Another common use is to create steps or a terraced look on sloping ground. When they are used this way, they prevent erosion. The use of railroad ties in landscaping is only limited by your imagination. Some designs have used them to line walkways or create enclosed play areas such as sandboxes.
One concern of railroad tie use in home landscaping is the presence of creosote on the wood. Creosote is used on railroad ties and also telephone poles to retard rotting in the wood. Creosote is that black, sticky tar like stuff. Although creosote is not extremely toxic, it does present some health concerns. It is necessary to isolate your creosote soaked ties from any potable water supply, of course. It is better to plan your landscaping use of railroad ties in such a way as to avoid excessive contact with them. The creosote does retard rotting and so helps preserve them even after they are part of your yard.
There are substitutes for railroad ties. Some companies sell ties that have not been used in railroad track and are free of creosote. These are usually called landscape ties. They are much more expensive than real railroad ties and also have a cleaner, more polished look that does not seen to convey the rustic look of the railroad ties.