Garden sleepers provide a fantastic addition to any garden, allowing you to create some visually appealing borders, steps, flower beds and raised planters. In this article, I’ll show you exactly how to install them for a strong, long-lasting finish. For my recent garden landscaping project, I installed two sleeper walkways with steps and a surrounding border for flower beds. I’ve incorporated our garden sleepers into the existing raised planters and decking areas which I previously built. You can view the how-to guides for these in my other articles listed at the end of this guide.
Before I get into any detail I wanted to show a quick breakdown of the process involved. I’ll then describe some of the finer points to ensure your garden sleeper installation is both functional and long-lasting.
How to Lay Garden Sleepers – A Quick Overview
- Design and plan your garden layout. Sketch your design on some paper of 3D modelling software to visualise and design a functional layout.
- Mark out your sleeper path using spray paints or string lines.
- Excavate your turf or soil to create a trench.
- Compact the soil trench with something heavy like a sledgehammer.
- Apply 50mm of gravel or hardcore into the trench.
- Compact the gravel or hardcore to create a solid base for your sleepers.
- Apply a coat of bitumen paint or creosote to the underside of the sleeper. This will prolong the life of the wood.
- Lay the sleeper and check with a spirit level. Adjust as necessary.
- Align and join two sleepers with the use of supporting battens or ground spikes.
- Secure the sleepers in place with sleeper spikes.
- Add more layers of sleepers as required.
- Protect your sleepers. Apply a stain or paint to finish the look and further protect your sleepers from the elements.
That’s the basic breakdown of sleeper installation but I’ll also talk about how to install sleeper stairs throughout this article. You can use the Table of Contents to navigate around this article. Now let me take you through the details for laying garden sleepers.
Table of Contents
- Garden Layout and Materials Planning
- Mark Straight Lines
- Excavating Turf and Soil
- Treating the Sleepers
- Creating a Solid Base for the Sleepers
- Securing the Sleepers
- Checking Sleepers are Level
- Building a Wall with Railway Sleepers
- Building Steps With Sleepers
- How to Create a Railway Sleeper Staircase
- Protecting your Sleepers
- Wrap Up
Garden Layout and Materials Planning
Before you get started with your garden sleeper project it’s a good idea to plan the layout and calculate how many garden sleepers you require. Most building supply stores offer sleepers in 2.4m lengths so measure up your garden project to understand the quantities required. It’s a good idea to sketch out your design on paper or computer software for a visual representation.
You’ll also need a few other materials to ensure your sleepers are installed correctly. I used 20mm gravel, Type 1 MOT (Hardcore) and sleeper stakes to secure each sleeper into the ground and create a solid footing. I also required about 200 x 100mm screws. Here is a breakdown of the materials I used, along with the quantities and links to where I purchased them.
| Material | Description & Link | Quantity (For my project) |
| Softwood Sleeper | Incised Treated UC4 Sleeper Green 100 x 200mm x 2.4m | 21 |
| Type 1 MOT Hardcore | MOT Type 1 Sub Base Trade Pack | 16 |
| 20mm Gravel | Gravel and Shingle Trade Pack 20mm | 20 |
| 100mm Wood Screws | Twin Thread Screws 5 x 100mm Zinc Plated | 200 |
| Sleeper ground spikes | Timber Railway Sleeper Brackets Straight Edge | 30 |
I’ve opted for a softwood sleeper in my garden as it’s a much more cost-effective product compared to the oak sleepers. If you have the budget, I’d recommend installing oak sleepers in your garden. They will last many more years and I think they look a bit nicer too. Expect to pay around £24 for a softwood sleeper and £48 for an oak sleeper.
Mark Straight Lines
With a plan formulated it’s time to mark out where your sleepers are going to be laid. You can mark out the ground with spray paint or string lines. I used a string line and two spikes to find the perfectly straight edges for each of my paths and borders. Here an example of this simple setup:
Excavating Turf and Soil
With a straight line set, you can then begin excavating the turf and/or soil. To do this it’s best to use a straight edge spade, rather than a curved shovel. I split the turf into square sections which made it easier to dig out.
My first task was to create a straight run of sleepers at the end of my decking. I wanted the sleepers to be at an even height. To do this, I dug out 150mm of turf and soil following the string line. The trench I dug was 200mm wide, a perfect fit for the sleepers.
Once the trench had been dug to a depth of 150mm, I then compacted the soil using a sledgehammer. This helps stabilise the soil underneath and helps prevent any sinking.
I then added 50mm of 20mm gravel, leaving a depth of 100mm to the top of the decking. The perfect depth to sit the sleepers on. I compacted the gravel and added or removed some until it was completely level. I used an off-cut piece of sleeper to help compact the gravel.
Treating the Sleepers
Before adding the sleepers, it’s important to protect them from rotting. I used creosote but you can also use bitumen paint. Just be very careful with this stuff. I used an old brush to apply the creosote.
Do not apply bitumen or creosote to any part of the sleeper that can be touched after installation! It’s nasty and very dangerous to all forms of life. It should only be applied to surfaces that come into contact with the ground or soil.
Find Creocote here or Bitumen paint here. Bitumen paint tends to be the better of the two, but also more expensive.
Aligning and Securing the Sleepers
Here you can see progress after adding the first sleeper.
Creating a Solid Base for the Sleepers
Once the channel for the sleepers was dug, I levelled and compacted the soil to ensure a good, solid base. I used the end of my sledgehammer to achieve this.
I then poured a layer of Type 1 MOT, roughly 30mm deep and compacted this layer using the same method as above. I then poured another 30mm layer of 20mm gravel onto the MOT. This is to allow water to move freely from underneath the sleeper. It helps raise the sleeper off the ground, where water can accumulate.
Securing the Sleepers
To secure the sleeper into position, I applied two ground spikes. These are bashed into the ground using a 2.5lb club hammer like this one: Ram 2.5lb Fibreglass Club Hammer
The spikes can then be secured to the sleeper using 40mm x 5mm zinc wood screws.
These spikes can also be used to join 90-degree angled joins on sleepers. I didn’t use any myself as I have used brackets, but it’s worth considering.
Here is an example where I am using brackets to join two sleepers for the steps.
Checking Sleepers are Level
Throughout a project like this, it’s important to ensure your sleepers are level. You do have the option to lay your sleepers on a slope, but I think it looks messy and disturbs the natural flow of a garden project like this. We have a garden with a reasonable slope, which is why we’ve ended up with steps crafted from sleepers.
Each sleeper I laid was checked using a large spirit level. You can adjust the levels at each end of the sleeper by adding or removing gravel. It can be a time-consuming task, but worth the effort.
Building a Wall with Railway Sleepers
I’ve not really gone for a retaining wall or planter theme in my garden, but some of you may want to. I’ve only layered my sleepers to build steps. The rest are only for bordering purposes to build a pathway and separate planter areas within the garden.
If you wish to build a planter or retaining wall with sleepers, the process is simple enough. Once you have laid your set of sleepers using the instructions above, you can layer sleepers on top.
To secure a sleeper to a lower sleeper, you can approach this using a few different methods:
The first is easy enough. Simply drill a hole at a 45-degree angle from the rear side of the top sleeper into the one below. Using a countersunk drill bit will allow you to insert a screw so that the head sits flush into the sleeper. You should use an 80-100mm screw for this job.
The second way would be to use a metal plate or bracket to join the two sleepers. You can find these here on Amazon. Use 40mm x 5mm screws to secure the brackets into place.
These can also be used to join two sleepers side by side.
The final method makes use of a double-high ground spike bracket. These can be used to easily secure two levels of sleepers whilst only using one spike. You can find these here on Amazon.
Building Steps With Sleepers
Garden sleepers are a great way to create steps and paths, as seen in my garden makeover project. I will show you two examples that I have used to create these amazing-looking steps.
Before I continue, there are a couple of useful tips worth considering when planning your garden steps.
- Garden sleepers are most commonly found in sizes of 100mm x 200mm & 2.4m long. Your garden gradient will determine how many steps you have and how deep each tread will be.
- It’s important to ensure each step riser height is the same. This will ensure a natural feel when walking up or down the path. Different heights could cause falls and trips.
- Walk the path or route of the steps to gauge where each step will naturally be located. In my case, I had to break up one of the paths to accommodate a seating area. This meant the step risers needed to be a little higher. To do this, I added a 47mm piece of timber underneath each step. This made each step the perfect height to naturally walk up.
How to Create a Railway Sleeper Staircase
This process follows a very similar path as the above method for laying sleepers, however, this time we need to cut each piece to size and layer them, one on top of the other.
This is how to start the sleeper staircase:
- Measure and cut your first sleepers. These will need to be long enough to support the riser sleeper and two more lengths behind.
- Dig out the trenches and fill them with MOT and 20mm gravel. Repeat this process for the sleepers behind, which will be one level up. The gravel behind should be the same level as the sleeper in front.
- Ensuring each step is level, continue to layer the sleepers in this pattern.
- It’s best to keep the tread depth the same where possible. If needed, you can double up the tread depth. Always try to avoid sporadic tread depths.
- You can join these sleepers together using the joining methods mentioned above. I went for the first method, which was joining with 100mm screws into a countersunk hole.
These four steps end at the desired level, where I was able to fill and complete a straight run path to my decking at the back of the garden. I’ve compacted the soil and added type 1 MOT, which was also then compacted for a strong, solid surface. I then laid a weed-proofing barrier before adding the final layer of decorative stones.
Protecting your Sleepers
The final stage of any railway sleepers project should be to protect your garden sleepers with a stain or paint. There are loads of products on the market ideal for this job, but one I have decided to use is this Ronseal Ultimate Protection 2.5L Decking Stain.
This will provide an added layer of protection from moisture ingress and add years of life to your sleeper projects. You can also apply paint if you wish to add a splash of colour to your garden. We painted our last garden sleeper project grey to match the rest of the garden.
Wrap Up
Hopefully this article has provided you with some insight into creating your own beautiful garden sleeper landscape. During this project, you are going to get a great workout and the end results will look amazing whilst lasting a lifetime. Here’s my finished project:
More Inspiration
Here are a few more inspirational garden landscaping projects that caught my eye whilst researching this project. Good luck with your garden landscaping project. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions via the comments section below.
