Beginner Gardening: Railroad ties, 1 by amisheliot

amisheliot wrote:
I have used RR Ties and not had any problems. They have been sitting around for so many years any way that most of the chemicals are gone. However, if you want to terrace, I would rec. Treated lumber. It is all uniform, thus making it much easier to work with.

Below is the finished pic (goan try. Never done this.) of my steps onto my brand new deck that I built in the spring of 07. I built a frame, filled it with stone, and put paver's in the center, and then built another smaller frame on top for my steps so that I have the RR Tie frame w/ paver's in the center for my steps. It looks great, I get compliments on it all the time for its uniqueness, but it was hard to do since they weren't uniform.

Also, the brand new treated lumber will last a lot longer before decaying.

I got my RR Ties at the local Menard's. Don't know if you have them out there. You also might ask a local garden center if they can suggest a place to buy them since they use them on occasion.