Water proofing sleepers.

jungle jas

Re: Water proofing sleepers.

Post by jungle jas »

Yorkshire Kris wrote:They will be laid with the long edge on the ground and just one sleeper high. They will rest on the ground and secured with wooden pegs. Decking boards will then go over the top to create paths between the raised beds to give the illusion that they are not raised at all.
Nice Idea, in that case you won't see them at all. If they have been pressure treated for rot then all you can do is keep as much water out of them as possible. I would paint the top, bottom and the side facing the soil with bitumen paint(Screw fix do a good one), leaving the side under the decking to breath. It is most importaint not to seal the moisture in by painting all four sides as they need to breath. To stop the bitumen contaminating the ground, cover the bottom and side facing the raised beds with thick polythene. that should do the job. icon_thumright
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Leigh
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Re: Water proofing sleepers.

Post by Leigh »

Or line it out with Butyl Pond liner, bit more expensive but should last longer
Leigh
Kristen

Re: Water proofing sleepers.

Post by Kristen »

Leigh wrote:Or line it out with Butyl Pond liner, bit more expensive but should last longer
That's what I've done with mine (not Butyl, but a pond-liner offcut that I had from building a pond :) )
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Yorkshire Kris
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Re: Water proofing sleepers.

Post by Yorkshire Kris »

Kristen wrote:
Leigh wrote:Or line it out with Butyl Pond liner, bit more expensive but should last longer
That's what I've done with mine (not Butyl, but a pond-liner offcut that I had from building a pond :) )

Was that quite faffy to do? Did you staple or nail the liner onto the sleepers?
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Leigh
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Re: Water proofing sleepers.

Post by Leigh »

No not hard at all in fact probably easier than plastic.
I use staples now, but have used nails in the past just find a staple gun quicker. In both cases use Copper icon_thumright
Leigh
Kristen

Re: Water proofing sleepers.

Post by Kristen »

Yorkshire Kris wrote:Did you staple or nail the liner onto the sleepers?
Don't think I used anything - weight of soil held it in place. The raised beds I made with sleepers are under trees, so additionally I didn't want tree roots coming up, so the whole bed lined with pond liner.

On the raised beds in the veg patch (just one board high) I used [suitably wide] Damp Proof Course plastic (on a roll)
jungle jas

Re: Water proofing sleepers.

Post by jungle jas »

You are all making this project very expensive, builders plastic underground doesn't deteriorate, it will out last the sleepers as long as you keep it out of the sun. As for fixing, nails are better as the head helps stop the water penetrating through the hole you have just made. I wouldn't use either the soil will keep it in place. icon_thumright
fieldfest

Re: Water proofing sleepers.

Post by fieldfest »

How's about a dpm from screw fix? Pretty thick and keeping damp out is what it's made for. Cheap too

http://www.screwfix.com/p/dmp-membrane- ... x-4m/73066

That's the one I used on my conservatory and the off cuts have been used to protect timber with soil against it elsewhere in the garden
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Yorkshire Kris
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Re: Water proofing sleepers.

Post by Yorkshire Kris »

Thanks guys for the help and advice and links to products. I will let you know how I get on in due course. I will let the soil hold the membrane in place. It was just seeing Jet set willies sleepers coated in a black substance that got me thinking.
GoggleboxUK

Re: Water proofing sleepers.

Post by GoggleboxUK »

Tetraseal should work well. That's what I used to waterproof the back of my lighting before I filled the beds up with compost and it's worked a treat.
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