How to treat rotten sleeper and add another on top?

TimD

Hi,

   I've got a garden with some sleepers - some of them are starting to rot.  I don't really want to dig them out and replace - 

A) Is there a product I can use to stop the rot?

B) I want to add a sleeper on top of this one to raise the garden bed a bui. Can I simply add another sleeper on top and screw it into the bottom sleeper - presumably with galvanised screws?

Many Thanks

Tim 

MitchellMc

Hi @TimD,

It really depends on how far the rot has progressed, and that is hard to judge without seeing detailed photos. There are products on the market that can harden or stabilise rotting timber, but they are generally intended for cosmetic or light structural repairs, not for sleepers that are in constant contact with soil. Once a sleeper starts to rot, especially where it meets the ground, any treatment you apply to the surface will not stop the decay that is already happening underneath.

Because of that, there usually isn’t a reliable product that will truly stop the rot in a garden sleeper. At best, you might slow it down a little on the exposed face, but the sleeper will continue to deteriorate over time.

In many cases, sleepers used as garden edging are not buried deeply. They are often just laid on the ground or lightly bedded in. If that is the case for yours, you may not need to dig them out at all. Try brushing the soil back at one end and see if you can lift it out. If it is not acting as a post set into the ground, it can often be removed quite easily.

Adding another sleeper on top and screwing it into a rotten one underneath is not something I would recommend. The fixings will only be as strong as the timber they are going into, and if the bottom sleeper is already decaying, it will not provide good long term support. Even galvanised screws will not solve that issue.

If you want to raise the garden bed, the best long-term solution is to remove the existing sleeper and replace it with new sleepers, stacking them to the height you need. It is more work upfront, but it will give you a much more durable and reliable result and save you having to revisit the job again in a couple of years.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell