Overview

OAK RAISED BED KITS
Do you fancy building a raised bed from NEW OAK RAILWAY SLEEPERS? Are you thinking of creating a raised bed or planter with railway sleepers to add something extra to your garden? A special feature, some raised vegetable beds, or a beautiful raised border? Well, constructing a raised bed out of new oak railway sleepers is amazingly straightforward. Very quick & simple, with very little tools needed, and our KITS provide you with everything you need!  Our KIT is SIMPLE! Think lego or wooden building blocks. Easy!

Recipe of a Raised Bed Kit

   +  +  +  = 
New oak railway sleepers + All the fixings + FREE Hex bit 
= Masterpiece!!    Well done!                              

And the GOOD NEWS is... all you need is a drill & someone to help you put them together! 

A QUICK NOTE ABOUT SIZES
Although we refer to the different oak raised bed kits as a specific size, they are in fact slightly larger, according to how you choose to put the pieces together. e.g. with a 2400mm x 1200mm raised bed kit, you might put the 1200mm lengths at each end, or in the middle, or overlapping! Don't worry if it sounds complicated, because it's really obvious when you start putting the pieces side by side on the ground.
      
If we take KIT No.4 New Oak as an example. It is described online as 2400mm (long) x 1200mm (wide) x 200mm (high) and 100mm (thick). In fact there are THREE different finishing sizes that you could come up with, using identical pieces (2 x 2400mm & 2 x 1200mm)
Option A:  2400mm x 1400mm
Option B:  2500mm x 1300mm
Option C:  2600mm x 1200mm
It's all about how you place them together on the ground! SEE PICTURES ABOVE! Be assured that whichever size you decide to go for it's very straightforward to assemble and all the fixings you need are there. Most importantly, the vegetables and flowers will be FANTASTIC!

HOW TO BUILD YOUR OAK RAISED BED KIT

Constructing a raised bed out of oak railway sleepers is amazingly straightforward. Think of lego or wooden building blocks. Very quick & simple, with very little tools needed.

1) Choose where you want to put the oak raised bed
Consider where the raised bed will be positioned and whether you can stand or sit next to one side of the raised bed, or whether both sides are accessible.

2) Lay the oak railway sleepers on the ground.
Place the railway sleepers on the ground in a square or rectangular shape, with the railway sleepers touching at the 90 degree corners. (Like creating a big picture frame). The oak railway sleepers should ideally be laid on a surface that is level and firm.  Many people simply lay them down directly on the earth, grass, deck or concrete. Perfectionists and engineers will probably consider a foundation of concrete or hardcore, but more mortal people will often go for the simpler, quicker option. Whichever surface you decide to lay the oak railway sleepers on, it is important to think of the drainage of the raised bed, otherwise you may unintentionally be constructing a raised pond!

3) Fasten them together
Fasten the railway sleepers together with the Timberlok sleeper screws supplied in the kit. Once you have placed the railway sleepers on the ground on their narrow edge, as in the photo opposite, then screw them together at the 90 degree corners, allowing at least 50mm
(or 2") of the screw to go into the adjoining sleeper. Each kit allows for two screws per corner.  TIP: Timberlok Screws will probably not screw through these new oak railway sleepers without a pilot hole, even if the drill is powerful, so we recommend first pre-drilling the railway sleepers with a 6mm pilot hole, otherwise the screws may get stuck or snap. Drill into the railway sleeper about a cm at a time, and then withdraw the wood drill, so as to clear the wood shavings from the hole, and then drill a bit further.  If you don't do this, the drill may overheat, smoke, and eventually bend, snap or go blunt. See Fixing railway sleepers together.

4) Stack and fix a second layer (For raised bed kits with 2 or 3 layers).
Simply repeat stage 3, apart from the fact that you are placing the second layer of oak railway sleepers on top of the already positioned first layer. Screw the second layer together at the 90 degree corners, as above, allowing at least 2 screws per corner. Once you've done that, you will have two or more layers sitting on top of each other, but NOT attached to each other. Simply now fasten the two layers together with the 4 longer Timberlok screws in the kit that will screw through the top layer to the layer below. 
​TIP: As before, you will need to drill a pilot hole through the two layers to ensure the long screws go all the way through. Otherwise they may get stuck half way through, which is embarrassing, and creates doubt in the eyes of your nearest and dearest.
If you don't want the screws to be seen from the top, screw at 45 degrees on the inside of the raised bed, through the side of the top layer into the layer below. Alternatively you can use a batten or metal strip to fasten the different layers together. The whole structure is now interlocked.

You have now created an oak raised bed that is all connected, and could be picked up in one piece by a crane if you had the inclination! 

5) OPTIONAL. Attaching a plastic membrane
Some landscapers chose to fix a plastic sheet on the inside of the raised bed, to create a barrier between the wet soil and the oak railway sleeper. Occasionally people will even use heavy duty plastic refuse bags, but normally landscapers use a thicker heavy-duty plastic that won't degrade in the soil, like a builder's damp proof membrane (DPC), that you can get in any DIY shop. IMPORTANT. Make sure that water cannot be trapped between the plastic and the railway sleeper when it rains etc... This will have the adverse effect of encouraging rot, NOT preventing it! Make sure that any water is kept out of this space. There are also landscapers who paint the surface of the railway sleeper that is in contact with the soil with bitumen barrier paint or damp proof product such as 'BLACK JACK' (Click for our online selling link) that you would brush onto walls if you had a damp problem. Likewise there are people who apply fence or shed treatment every couple of years or so to the surface of the railway sleepers to help longevity and freshen them up. Choices...choices!  

6) Fill with soil
Before you fill with bags of compost, top soil or manure, it might be worth considering putting stone / bricks / hardcore etc.. on the bottom to encourage drainage. (Many people construct raised beds as a useful way of getting rid of / hiding unwanted bits of rubble etc..!) The great thing about using raised beds is that you can fill them with whatever type of soil that best fits your planting. e.g. lime hating rhododendrons, camellias, azaleas and heathers require a more acidic soil. Raised beds are more likely to lose soil nutrients sooner than ordinary beds, so ideally, a mix of 50 per cent mix of garden soil and 50 per cent peat  or substitute compost with extra fertilizer should give you good results for your raised railway sleeper beds. You may need to top up your oak railway sleeper raised bed with soil or compost again in 12 months.

To encourage moisture retention in the raised bed, you can apply a top surface of your choice such as wood chip, bark or pebbles. The soil in the raised bed can take time to settle and may need topping up. This could take a few years in the highest of raised beds so some people decide to just plant annuals or vegetables to start with and leave permanent plants for a later time.

7) Fill with plants!
That's the best bit!

Extra information:

Height & width of a raised bed
Width: Of course you can construct a railway sleeper raised bed in any size, length or height you fancy. However if you want a raised bed which you can comfortably access from both sides without standing on the soil, you need it to be a maximum of about 1.2m wide. At this 1.2m width you should be able to easily reach all areas of the raised bed. If you can only access the raised bed from one side, the maximum width is going to be about 0.6m.
Height: The height of an oak railway sleeper raised bed will be determined by what’s best for you and how you want to use it. Think about whether you want to do your gardening standing up, in a wheelchair, sitting down or kneeling, and whether you’d like to be able to use the edge of the raised bed as a seat. 

Advantages of raised beds
Raised vegetable gardens are the way to go! Two long term New Zealand residents converted to raised garden beds about five years ago and will never go back to digging in the ground. ''It's been so successful, it's definitely the way to go. Things grow so much faster, it's quite amazing, really,'' Mrs Walshaw says. ''I was picking lettuces in winter - I couldn't believe it. No questions about it, it's far superior.''

With the soil level about half a metre off the ground, the raised beds mean gardening is also physically easier for the retired couple. Anything can be grown in raised beds, which require quality soil in only the top 40cm or so. The base can be clay or any other low nutrient dirt, Mr Walshaw says. ''You just need enough rich soil to turn over. It's not a digging garden, it's a turning garden.'' Raised beds are drier and good irrigation is essential, he says.

Mr Walshaw constructed the 3.5m by 1.5m beds himself. The change from toiling in damp, hard clay-based soil has revolutionised the Walshaw's enthusiasm for vegetable gardening.

Mr and Mrs Walshaw plant early rocket potatoes in September and usually start eating them in mid-November. This year, pink fir apple is also being planted, which is like a yam or Maori potato. Cabbage, lettuce, cauliflower and broccoli are grown in the raised beds, which also accommodate little cutie pumpkins. ''They just hang over the side. They're perfect for two people, so sweet and tasty.'' Broad beans, carrots, courgettes, celery, silverbeet, parsnips, spring onions and rhubarb grow in the raised beds.

''There's nothing nicer than going out and getting fresh vegetables from your garden, which taste totally different to the ones in the supermarket.'' "Raised-bed gardening is easy and produces better crops."

More advantages of raised beds from oak railway sleepers:
Landscape plants need to grow in well-drained situations. A great tool to achieve this is planting in raised beds. Whether we are planting shrubs, bedding plants, perennials, vegetables or ground covers, the beds we prepare for them should be about 6 inches to 12 inches higher than the surrounding soil.

Raised beds drain faster and dry out more quickly than ground-level beds. Some gardeners complain that during dry periods raised beds from railway sleepers may need to be watered more often – and this may be true. However, you can irrigate your raised beds and make sure plants have adequate water.

We must not forget to consider drainage when designing raised beds and choosing plants. Drainage issues need to be addressed during bed installation. We can’t do much to improve drainage once the planting is done. Raised beds are generally the best way to ensure good drainage. If you have a low area that tends to stay wet and you don’t want to put in a raised bed, you can certainly landscape the area with plants that enjoy wet soils. It is often better to choose plants adapted to the drainage in an area rather than to try and radically change it.

100's of Raised bed projects!
PLEASE have a look at some of the 100's of RAISED BED projects, on our railway sleepers projects page. It is a fantastic resource that will fill your head with wonderful dreams and ideas about making raised beds out of railway sleepers! If you can't find what you are looking for, or need advice, then give us a ring. 

WHAT ARE OUR RAILWAY SLEEPER KITS MADE OF?

New Oak: New oak railway sleepers are classified as industrial or landscaping grade, as opposed to furniture or beam grade. That means that although they are mainly square cut, they may have some rounded or waney edges, or cracks or imperfections. Like all 'green' or freshly cut landscaping railway sleepers they have been cut in the last 6 months and are still seasoning or drying out, as opposed to kiln dried furniture grade oak which is slowly heated in driers over weeks, and would require a second mortgage at the very least!  See description below.
Colour: Ranging from yellowy gold to silver grey. The pictures above show how the new oak railway sleepers change from a gold colour, to a blotchy, darker, 'stained' look, & finally to a silver grey as it seasons. This natural cycle of seasoning will take 4 - 12 months, depending on sunlight & location of the new oak railway sleepers. 
Weight: Can be heavier to lift than new pine, especially the 2.4m x 200mm x 100mm size new oak railway sleepers which can weigh as much as 50 kilos. Bear this in mind when you are ordering your particular size of oak raised bed. How do I plan to carry the new oak railway sleepers into position? (e.g. the back of a garden). You'll need at least two willing people, and the distinct possibility of bribery or cohersion. How to Lift Railway Sleepers
Treatment: Our oak raised beds kits are made from untreated oak
Description: New oak railway sleepers are normally square edged on one face, with some rounded edges (scallops) on the opposite face, where the oak has been cut from the outside of the tree.  New oak railway sleepers are unseasoned or 'green' (meaning they have been freshly cut in the last 6 months) and untreated. As they season or dry out they may slightly shrink by a few mm or so. This is dependent on various factors such as temperature, humidity and setting. This can naturally cause the timber to develop dozens of thinner cracks, or sometimes a lesser number of larger ones. Conversely, in wet and damp conditions the wood may swell or increase in size, and the cracks can disappear. This is the never ending merry go round of using natural timber outside! The oak can also have knots, blemishes, or insect holes and can be slightly warped or bowed along the length. You have the option, with one version of the 2400mm x 200mm x 100mm lengths, to have anti-crack plates. (see picture 8).
Cutting: There is nothing you need to cut in the raised bed kits. However if you do decide to make some cutting modifications you'll find that oak is fairly tough to cut. You can either use a circular saw, chainsaw or even a handsaw (if you've got the energy) to cut these oak railway sleepers. As with any project, it makes sense to try and limit the amount of cuts you need to do. Try and plan a design around the sizes available. See Railway Sleeper Cutting.
Attaching / Fixing: Timberlok Screws will probably not screw through these new oak railway sleepers without a pilot hole, even if the drill is powerful, so we recommend first pre-drilling the railway sleepers with a 6mm pilot hole, otherwise the screws may get stuck or snap. Drill into the railway sleeper about a cm at a time, and then withdraw the wood drill, so as to clear the wood shavings from the hole, and then drill a bit further.  If you don't do this, the drill may overheat, smoke, and eventually bend, snap or go blunt. See Fixing railway sleepers together.
Sizes: IMPORTANT. All sizes are approximate. That means that although an oak railway sleeper may be described as approximately 2400mm in length, or 200mm in width, or 100mm in depth it may in fact be several centimetres (or inches) longer or shorter. As it happens, most landscaping projects have an element of flexibility or tolerance in them and can cope with this. If your project needs exact accuracy in length, width or depth, then you may need to cut the oak railway sleeper to your precise specifications yourself, or think of using a different size or type of oak railway sleeper.

OUR COMMENT

These new oak raised bed kits use one of our most popular types of railway sleepers and frequently used for those wanting a longer lasting alternative to softwood, with a crisp, clean and neat landscaping appearance that can look architectural and stylish. Especially popular for situations where chemical treatment is unsuitable. Our oak railway sleepers come from approved, well managed forests in Europe

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Extra Info

EXTRA INFORMATION

WHAT DELIVERY OPTIONS DO I HAVE?
You have two options, depending on which delivery option you choose at the checkout stage online, or when you telephone the office.

1) STANDARD DELIVERY - CUSTOMER TO OFFLOAD RAILWAY SLEEPERS
This is normally a quicker & cheaper means of delivery that generally covers 100% of the UK, providing you have a forklift or sufficient strong people to offload your railway sleepers. 
* DELIVERY TIMESCALE: You can choose any delivery day you want in advance within 2- 4 working days, Monday - Friday. Delivery will be between 9am & 5pm. You can choose, for a surcharge, a Saturday delivery.
* YOU are responsible for offloading the railway sleepers from the vehicle. The vehicle does NOT have a crane offload. If you do not have a forklift, you MUST have at least 2 or more strong people to manually offload. These timbers are too heavy for one person. The driver is NOT able to help you offload or carry materials into your house or garden. One exception! If the railway sleepers are 1.2m or less in length, the lorry driver CAN place the railway sleepers onto the pavement or road using the lorry tail lift and hand pallet truck.
* ACCESS: You must ensure that there is sufficient space for the lorry to access your road and property, and that there is sufficient area for you to safely offload. The vehicle is normally a rigid lorry which is about 10 metres long and about 2.6m wide (Imagine a full size bin lorry) It is crucial to tell us, when we contact you to arrange delivery, whether there are any delivery problems - e.g. a narrow road, cul de sac, cars parked in front of the property etc... An unsuccessful delivery will incur a further charge, often equal to the original haulage cost.

2) PREMIUM DELIVERY - THE RAILWAY SLEEPERS WILL BE OFFLOADED FOR YOU
This delivery charge is normally more expensive than the Standard delivery, but is essential if you order some heavy railway sleepers, and you haven't got a forklift, or sufficient strong people to help you offload. Having your railway sleepers placed on your drive is a perfect way of protecting your back and keeping your friends happy!
* DELIVERY TIMESCALE is generally within 1- 2 weeks, Monday - Friday, and between 8am & 6pm. Unfortunately you can't normally choose your own delivery day in advance, as the haulier will need to efficiently piece together a set of deliveries, according to which part of the UK they are driving to. Please let us know in advance if there are any delivery days you can't make. We will normally confirm the exact date a few days before.
* ACCESS: You must ensure that there is sufficient space for the lorry to access your road and property, and that there is enough area for the lorry to be safely offloaded. The vehicle is normally a rigid lorry which is about 10 metres long and about 2.6m wide (Imagine a full size bin lorry) It is crucial to tell us, when we contact you to arrange delivery, whether there are any access problems - e.g. a narrow road, cul de sac, cars parked in front of the property etc... An unsuccessful delivery will incur a further charge, often equal to the original haulage cost.

IS THERE A MINIMUM ORDER OF RAILWAY SLEEPERS?
No. It makes no difference. The cost to you is the same whether we deliver 1 railway sleeper or 10 railway sleepers... e.g. if the delivery cost to somewhere in the UK for 20 railway sleepers was for example £99 + Vat, then the delivery for 1 railway sleeper would cost the same. That's because our hauliers charge us according to how much lorry space the order takes up, so whether there is 1 railway sleeper on a pallet, or 20 railway sleepers on it, it makes no difference!

HOW DO WE WORK OUT THE DELIVERY COST?
The delivery charge depends on what type of railway sleeper you choose and where you live. If you go online and place the number of railway sleepers you are interested in into the shopping basket, and input your postcode, the website will calculate the delivery cost according to the number and length of the railway sleepers. If you play around with different lengths of railway sleepers, you will discover that 1.2m ones are the cheapest to have delivered, followed then by any sleeper up to 2.4m in length, and then finally the longer 2.6m, 3m and 3.6m ones. It's all about what space the railway sleepers take up on a lorry, and what the haulage companies then charge us.  Lots of different variables! If you order online, the delivery cost will be worked out automatically by a computer brain. If you order by telephone, the delivery cost will be calculated by a mere human being, who will chat with you whilst working it all out!

CLICK HERE for more answers to DELIVERY QUESTIONS