Sleeper deck - Building a deck from railway sleepers

[Chris G]

Hi, I am planning to create a deck area using new oak railway sleepers. My current plan is to level the soil and lay the sleepers fat side down on a bed of sand, drilling either end and anchoring down using rebars.
Does this sound like the best approach? What sort of sand is best to use? Any other words of wisdom?
Many thanks,
Chris

[GB_Groundworks]

seems over kill but hey ho,

ive had the new french oak sleepers from these guys http://www.railwaysleeper.com/ theyve got a good site with 1000s of previous sleeper projects

by fat side do you mean the normal way that they would be laid on the railway, you'll struggle like buggery to get them level etc as they'll all be warped and different thickness etc and size variants, we built some retaining walls with them there pigs, had to pre drill and lubricated timberlock screws and drive them in with 110v hilti

do you want the rough look or are you going to lay them run a floor sander over them to achieve and level surface?

get a jet washer to wash them every year as they'll be slippy after the winter

[Carberry]

How big is the decking you are making?
The sleepers are probably heavy enough to not need anchoring, they weigh a good 70-80kg each. I would screed the ground (just plain sharp sand, pre compacted and levelled) and stick the sleepers on that.

[Pablo]

I've done a few new sleeper decks but have always fixed it to a simple frame. If you were to run them through a band saw then you would only need half the amount and save a fair whack of cash and it'll still be very strong. The money you save will pay for the frame. New sleepers are fairly well sawn but will still look a bit uneven. A bit of time spent cleaning off the splinters and high spots will leave you with a long lasting good looking deck.

[seanandruby]

I would lay the two ends on 100ml semi dry concrete, be easier to level. Put a sand and cement mix along edges to keep vermin out.
Also keep them low by digging out for concrete.

[Chris G]

Many thanks for all the tips, much appreciated. The deck is 2.5m x 4m (using 2.5m sleepers) and wanted a rustic look as it is going into a very old walled garden. Was planning to see how it goes down and may sand down if needed. Found the new oak sleepers for about 20 quid inc vat from UK Oak. The total project price was about the same as oak decking. If I can get away without drilling for years i'll be a happy boy as that sounds like a nightmare. Was planning to fix a half sleeper around the edge of the deck to frame it which will also help lock it all together and reduce movement, or will this cause problems as the wood expands and contracts? Like the dry mix idea and making rodent proof! Thanks again, Chris

[mickavalon]

If it costs the same as Oak Decking, buy the Decking and save effort. Edge with the sleepers maybe, but that's a lot of graft for the same effect!!:rock:

[seanandruby]

Personally i'd use flags etc:

[mickavalon]

Bastard to get the screws in sean:laugh:

[seanandruby]

:laugh: Was thinking of the whole lot.