sleepers or brick

[gaz100uk]

Hi. Sorry if this has been asked before.
Im going to be laying some new decking in the garden and have a small retaining wall, not sure if it actually holds anything back. At the moment this wall is 500mm high and 6M long, split in the middle for steps up to lawn. It is made from old used telegraph poles. I was going to replace this but cant make my mind up between garden sleeper or brick. It was going to be sleepers mainly down to ease, as never laid a brick before. Im know wondering how long a softwood sleeper would last before it started to deteriorate. The lawn is very wet and clayey.

Hope someone can point me in the best way

 

[noseall]

For me there is no contest betwixt masonry and timber - masonry every time.

A well built wall has the potential to last for centuries.

As for ease and speed of installation then sleepers are relatively simple and quick to fit, but you still need to have a fixing system to secure them in place.

 

[oilman]

A well built wall has the potential to last for centuries.

Trouble is, the ones built with cement and sandfaced bricks will be lucky to survive a decade.

 

[Thermo]

we do both. as noseall says a well built masonry wall will last a very long time. sadly i see many that arent, especially retaining walls.

sleeper walls are quicker to build and if built correctly will last a very long time. weve gone back to gardens where we have installed them and several years later there has been no sign of any decay on the back faces. You can still use them in a clay soil, youd just need to backfill behind with a free draining medium

 

[gaz100uk]

Thanks for that. Im tending to sleeper again. Is it worth lining the back face with DPM/plastic or even coat with a good heavy duty waterproofer?

 

[Thermo]

no it will hold the moisture against it