Kitchen Garden Forum

I've already bought a 10x6 greenhouse and am now puzzling over the base. After long discussions and mulling it over I've come to the conclusion that railway sleepers would be best for me.
I have read through all the threads I could find re bases.

So, I was planning on using new oak sleepers, which come in at about £150 for four delivered, ouch
Actually reading that maybe I would be better off with a concrete base (round the edges)...... it would be cheaper.

Anyway the reason I posted this was to ask if some builders sand, which I already have, would be OK to use under the sleepers, everyone always says use sharp sand for some reason?

I wish I could finally make my mind up, sleepers yes, but £150!

Or any other advice about using sleepers would be good please.

Dear Womble you could always do a bodge job like this

.

I'm not the most accurate of builders so I used a block wall then topped it with tanalised wood so I could make a few corrections to level and squareness. Sleepers sound like a very expensive solution.

Womble

It largely depends on the aesthetics, I am not sure if sleepers won't make your greenhouse bottom heavy if that makes sense, if it is in your garden you will want the best appearance possible I would think. four by four posts would be better for a small greenhouse, but not as long lasting as concrete or sleepers.

If appearance is not important I would consider either a few breeze blocks laid on sand either builders or sharp, sharp sand is probably better. Or you could make some shuttering out of cheap plywood or other scrap timber and put a concrete rim down I would say minimum of six - eight inches deep, but it depends upon taste, time and cash really.

Compo

Check out my blog and you'll find a series of older posts about putting up my 12'x8' on a sloping site using sleepers as a base.

O.k Moderators, whose pinched my photograph.

Hello Old H',

Are you sure the photo' still exists in the photobucket album that the thumbnail/picture links to.??

I see much model railways in the album and a BR Class 50 diesel locomotive in NSE "toothpaste" livery..but no greenhouses..??

There is still perhaps a tenuous link. ..
...Railway Sleepers

Clive.

Dear Clive thank you for your reply, i was thinking i had been censored.
Shame you all missed what i look like.

I will have to have a word with the people that are in the know to see if they have deleted it.

Very impressed with the tenuous link, very witty indeed.

we used concrete blocks then tanalised timber

Gilly C wrote:we used concrete blocks then tanalised timber

Same here, but the wood "must" be tanalised.

Mine has been up about 12 years, no sign of rot yet!!!

Old advert---Wood is good --but tanalised timber is better.
Oi !!!!

Hi OH, we've not moved your photo, honestly, but if you can't sort it out, you can email it to me and I'll load it for you

I'm afraid the photo now is lost forever, it's a shame really, as it was a rather good one of me.

What a shame you all missed it.

oldherbaceous wrote:I'm afraid the photo now is lost forever, it's a shame really, as it was a rather good one of me.

What a shame you all missed it.

Hi OH,
I've just found it for you again. Don't lose it this time

http://www.artexpertswebsite.com/pages/ ... rdener.jpg


Cheers, PJ.

Thanks for that PJ, as you can tell it was taken when i was a lot younger.

Hi OH,

I bet you haven't changed a bit. I must say though, you have really large feet

Cheers, PJ.