David Arkin's landscaping on a steep slope with oak railway sleepers
Hi please find attached photos of a project in Highgate, North London with the use of your oak sleepers.
The garden is on a main road leading from Archway north London to Highgate. The property is on a 45% slope with the soil composition being solid clay. My objective was to introduce top soil to the site and a level planting surface. Your oak sleepers were my solution. Untreated, so no toxins leeching into the soil and a reasonably priced hard wood to contain 10 tons of top soil that I introduced into the site. To maintain the structural integrity of the retaining oak wall the sleepers were buried 1.2 meters down into a hard core cement foundation and then cut to the clients design requirements with a chain saw. Drainage had to be provided as well so the water accumulated behind the timber wall could run off site.
Three 'Cloud trees' have been planted with a geotech membrane covering exposed soil surface for planting later. The project will continue in the spring.
Kind regards,
David Arkin
Arkin Garden Designs
London
RAILWAY SLEEPERS USED
63 no. 2.44m x 200mm x 120mm
New oak railway sleepers
RailwaySleepers.com Says..
Many thanks for your excellent photos and description of what has clearly been a epic project, that will no doubt continue its challenges into the spring. The complex logistics of working with railway sleepers on what must have sometimes seemed like a cliff edge, cannot be over estimated. All credit to your impressive design, determination and ingenuity. So saying, it almost feels a shame that once you have completed this magnificent undertaking, most people will enjoy and praise the glorious finish, rather than appreciating the heroical struggles in undertaking such a monstrous slope!