You can pick up old railway sleepers everywhere now, this is because this gardening material is so popular today for lots of gardening and landscaping projects. Lots of people like to use old railway sleepers, because they are cheap and they have an old rustic look to them that looks fantastic in anyone’s garden space. A word of warning though, before you begin your gardening projects. Some old sleepers are very poor quality, so you have to be very wary on what projects you use them on. In this article we are going to show you how to quickly build a simple garden seat, that will look great in your garden.
How To Build A Garden Seat Using Used and Reclaimed Railway Sleepers
For starters you will need to get your hands on some decent quality used sleepers. This is because the garden seat will need to be able to hold up to your weight sitting on it. I have known people to build garden seats using very old sleepers, that they have picked up from local classified ads websites such as loot for free. But the quality as been so bad, that after a couple of times sitting on the seat it falls to pieces.
Not only is this going to be a waste of your time, but it can cause serious injuries to the people who sit on the garden seat that collapses on them. When buying old railway sleepers for this project, look at buying the highest quality grade that you can. Also before buying check the wood for rot and wear.
You want to buy sleepers that look rustic and old, but you don’t want to be buying sleepers that are covered in rot. The higher quality grade sleepers will be fine for this popular gardening project.
OK, you have now got your railway sleeper. It is now time to cut it into three lengths. Make these lengths custom to your size. For example cut the legs at the height that will be comfortable for you and cut the top of the seat at a length that is going to comfortably accommodate you.
When cutting the three lengths, it is best to use electric tools. This is because they cut square, unlike manual sawing.
Once you have the two seat legs cut and the top cut. It is now time to join the legs onto the top. The quickest and easiest way to do this is by attaching the longest wood screws that you can get your hands on. Attach 3 long screws through the top of the seat onto each leg. For even more added support attach a 90 degree metal bracket under the underside of each leg. That’s it, you have just built a simple garden seat using old and reclaimed railway sleepers.
