Browse Forums DIY, Home Maintenance & Repair 1 May 19, 2014 9:40 am Hi All, I need some advice on which material to use for building garden beds. The garden bed will 12 meters long and about a meter wide (.8 mts to be precise) One option is to use treated pines from bunnings http://www.bunnings.com.au/200-x-75mm-2 ... s_p0120646 or http://www.bunnings.com.au/200-x-50mm-2 ... s_p0120645 however, I have read that these are prone to wrapping and not really good. The next option is Eco wood from Allgreens.com.au. Anyone used these before? http://allgreen.com.au/productDetail.as ... r---2.4mt- The last option is to get some used Jarrah railway sleepers 2 meters length, 250mm x 125mm in width and thickness This is the expensive option . However, if it is longer lasting and viable in the long run compared to the above I prefer to put in the extra cash. Thank you for your time and help fAiTh_LoVe_HoPe Re: Treated Pine vs used railway sleepers 2May 19, 2014 10:04 am Treated pine is treated with toxic chemicals and there is no real control over concentration levels. If you are going to be growing vegetables I would use railway sleepers. Foremost Building Expert in Australia,assisting with building problems/disputes, building stage inspections,pre-contract review advice for peace of mind 200 blogs http://www.buildingexpert.net.au/blog Re: Treated Pine vs used railway sleepers 4May 19, 2014 1:21 pm Thank you for your reply building-expert. Just read this on the Better Health website "Treated pine should be not be used for building raised garden beds due to the chemicals used in its treatment. These chemicals can come off on your hands and can leach into the soil and contaminate your produce." http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv ... arden_beds I guess, treated pines not only warp, they can also be possibly dangerous. The garden bed will be about 600mm high (i.e. three sleepers stacked on top of each other along their width) Yes, there will be some veggies Reading a few other forums it seems that old railway sleepers too would have been treated with chemicals, plus the engine oils/grease.rust etc and may not be suitable for a veggie/garden bed. What options do I have? Redgum, Cypress or iron bark sleepers from Sleepers Direct? fAiTh_LoVe_HoPe Re: Treated Pine vs used railway sleepers 5May 19, 2014 3:33 pm I think red gum is your best choice Foremost Building Expert in Australia,assisting with building problems/disputes, building stage inspections,pre-contract review advice for peace of mind 200 blogs http://www.buildingexpert.net.au/blog Re: Treated Pine vs used railway sleepers 6May 19, 2014 6:37 pm Used former railway sleepers will be the longer lasting, however you may never know what has got in to the railway sleepers. A level crossing not far from here was at one stage 'fenced' off, and was warned away from it from it due to asbestos contamination. I stopped to ask if they were going to remove some trees that were obstructing the view of the road, and that's when they told me to not come anywhere near it. Owner Building at Jimboomba Woods in Logan City Qld. Blog : http://bandlnewhomebuild.blogspot.com H1 thread : viewtopic.php?f=38&t=68283 . Re: Treated Pine vs used railway sleepers 7May 25, 2014 9:54 am I would prefer to go with ex railway sleepers. A nice way to recycle, and they give better look IMO. DIY, Home Maintenance & Repair Are you going to have the frame exposed or are you cladding it with something. Usually if you are making an exposed frame you would use solid legs around 100x100 or… 3 6585 Iām just in the process of replacing 2 stud walls that have been severely damaged by termites and am planning to use h2 blue pine. I just wanted to if anyone can advise… 0 52856 Hi, as per the subject. Does anyone have any recommendations for the best value decking oil (Bunning is close to where I live) for a treated pine deck? Thanks 0 10971 |