How to repair rotting raised garden bed sleepers?

AbbyS

there,

I recently bought a property that has a few raised garden beds. The sleepers used as garden walls/retaining walls are rotting and I would like to replace the worst ones. I'd like to replace them with something similar so the ones I switch out don't look out of place, however I have no idea what type of wood was used/what I should purchase. The sleepers are 300cm long, ~20.5cm high and ~10.5cm deep. Can anyone suggest what type of wood I should purchase, and any tips on the best way to remove and swap out the rotten sleepers?

Thanks!

JacobZ

Hi @AbbyS,

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community, it is wonderful to have you with us.

That profile is what I would refer to as a railway sleeper, and unfortunately, we do not have that exact profile available for purchase. We do however sell 200x50mm sleepers and instead, I would suggest replacing your rotted out sleepers with two 200x50mm sleepers set back-to-back. There are treated pine and hardwood options, with hardwood being the more durable of the two.

Removing and replacing them will first require us to identify how they are currently fixed in place. Typically, there will be a post behind the timber that the sleepers are bolted to, however I can't see anything like this in your photos. Can you see any screw or bolt heads anywhere on the sleepers? Either on the face or the top of the sleepers?

Identifying how they are currently fixed in place is the key thing here. If you can do a bit of investigation around this, it will help guide the removal process.

I also note that there are rotted out sleepers at the base? Were you planning on replacing these also, or just the one at the top?

The first step either way, would be to remove some of the soil behind the sleeper to relieve pressure. If it is just the top one being replaced, remove the soil directly behind the sleeper at a width of about 300mm. If you are going to the base, then you would need to remove the soil to that depth.

Once soil is removed, disconnect and remove the affected sleepers, then replace them, following the same fixing method.

Let me know what you think and if you have further details to add, I will assist further.

Jacob