The use of railway sleepers in garden design has increased dramatically in the last few years, with more and more people utilizing their basic yet robust shape and construction in more and more innovative and practical ways, often simply to add the finishing touches to their creations, or to build something entirely from the sleepers themselves. We’re fully stocked with several different sizes and stains of reclaimed railway sleepers here at Cawarden Reclaim, ensuring your garden design ideas can run wild whilst maintaining a ubiquitous level of sustainability and environmental friendliness in your projects! Here then are three ideas you might not have considered when it comes to sprucing up the garden with sleepers!
Terracing
Sleepers are great for terracing and creating steps in pathways. By alternating the sleeper’s position, laying it flat or on end, you can build a strong and sturdy outdoor staircase. With a building stone or concrete base as well, you’ll have a terrace that will stand the test of time, footfall and weather!
Planters
Railway sleepers are often used to create planters in their entirety, making for a unique, striking and practical addition to the garden. Embedding the sleeper into a semi-dry concrete bed before stacking the rest on top in an alternating, overlapping manner and inserting a 20mm steel dowel into pre-drilled holes, connecting the sleepers to each other and to the concrete will create a substantial and natural looking garden planter that will allow you to experiment further still with design and placement!
Fence Posts
Their thick and sturdy stature means railways sleepers are also good for fence posts, perhaps to edge a raised area of landscaping or to simply cordon off separate sections of the garden with a gentle, design-focused aesthetic. They are visually comparative to breakwaters and when this ideal is played upon in say, a themed garden, they can serve for a picturesque way to add rudimentary elements to your setting. They should be installed largely in the same way fence posts are, however as they’re typically shorter, ensuring a third of sleeper is buried will properly anchor it.
And there you have it, three easy ways to make your garden look great with reclaimed railway sleepers. For the full effect, use them in conjunction with reclaimed bricks, tiles and other items all available from us here at Cawarden Reclaim!