Lining sleeper raised beds

[val]

Hi Tony - I wrote to you many moons ago about building raised beds and am now finally getting round to it (5 years on and yes I note the change in legislation in 2003!). As I can't afford to replace the sleepers and will be growing vegetables in the beds, I'd like to line the inside to avoid any toxic contamination. I saw on a Canadian website something called Henry Blue WP200 - a self adhesive waterproof membrane. Do you know of something similar that I can use, available in the UK? Or what would you recommend? I was thinking of a butyl liner as used in ponds, but don't know how easy it is to work with.

[Tony McC]

Butyl might react adversely with any contamination on the sleepers. I'd be tempted to use a double lining of visqueen - non-reactive and much, much cheaper

[val]

Thanks Tony - hopefully it won't be another 5 years before I write again.

[daveaasmith]

i've got a related question - i've just acquired half a dozen tanalised sleepers from my local timber firm in Huddersfield, which will be used around my patio, retaining the beds behind them. The question is about treating them. Should I need to pin some sort of lining behind them, between them and the soil, or will this cause them to stay damp? I'm going to stain them, and will obviously do all faces before I lay them, but any thoughts about the type of stain to use?

Cheers, Dave.

[Tony McC]

Are they really tanalised or are they just treated? Some treatments still use CCA, which is poisonous and should only be used with caution near any veg, but for flower beds, you should be OK.

Stains for timber? There all much or a muchness and it comes down to price and colour. If you have a chance to get a stain for "timbers in permanent contact with the ground", so much the better.