How to make sturdy wooden edging?

lfckop5

I am in the process of redesigning my back yard. My goal is to make really strong and sturdy wooden edging which won't warp. I had some edging in this home when I moved in and if the timber was 2cm thick that's probably being too kind and the stakes were short, small and pretty pathetic. It warped and completely dislodged within 12 months.

I have now manually edged my lawn to the shape I want it(see attached pictures) and my plan is to use 50mm thick treated pine sleepers for the edging and possibly some timber posts cut to 500mm in length for the stakes to solidly hold the sleepers upright in the ground and for a long time.

I will need to join sleepers together at 90 degree angles as i turn corners and also join sleepers in straight lines as some of my lengths are over 4M long.

Could I ask for some advice on:

1) the best material to use when joining 2 sleepers together in a straight line and at 90 degree angles(I was thinking a timber post could be used but there may be something better to achieve this?)

2) which timber screws would you recommend for this project?

3) any other advice you have for me would be most welcome as I am handy but have never done this before.

Thank you.

MitchellMc

That looks sensational, @lfckop5! You've done an amazing job on this edging, and I trust you are extremely happy with the results.

Many thanks for sharing the finished project with us. What are you going to work on next?

Mitchell

TheHandySqirrel

Nice! I like that you continued the fence's colour scheme to make the garden look harmonious.

Now you can enjoy the feeling of pride and happiness every time you enter the garden (until it wears off ;-).

lfckop5

@MitchellMc thank you. I'm pretty proud. Not sure on what's next, but hopefully the weather in Vic improves soon so I can relax on the deck and admire my garden.

lfckop5

@TheHandySqirrel thank you. I'm really happy with the results.

Noyade

Morning @lfckop5

Looks fantastic as does the garden itself.

How deep have you submerged the sleepers?

My concern at the time when I built my 'sleeper edging' were those wretched black birds with the orange beaks (name?) that toss bark over the edging onto the lawn whilst savaging. However, in the end I found they could still hurl bark over the 200mm wall. 😔

Noyade

And you did a great job with the anchoring.

I noticed this sad attempt (note the warping after only 3 months) on a nature strip walking to work earlier this year...

TheHandySqirrel

Hi @Noyade,

sad attempt indeed. Looks like the builder opted for a nail-in bracket and connected the sleepers on the top only with no part below ground level. That is doomed to fail after some time. They should join the Workshop community!

pete_brig

Looks terrific @lfckop5--well done!

Cheers, Peter

lfckop5

@Noyade thank you.

My sleepers are submerged about 120mm in the ground(ground is uneven at some points in the pictures). I don't have the bird issue in the back garden but have exactly as you described in the flower bed next to my driveway at the front. Those little buggers push so much of my mulch into the driveway and create such a mess it drives me nuts.