Soil touching against Fencing

Zahid_63c

I am making a raised garden bed on either side of my garden using sleepers
Once I fill them up with soil,some of the soil will be against my garden fences
What would I do to protect the fences from the moisture of the soil and also the weight(if that's an issue)
Thanks

Blue Onion

How deep will the soil be in the beds?  Is your fence wood or plastic/vinyl?

Zahid_63c

It's wooden 
I think about 20cm deep 

Zahid_63c

I'll try and send a pic 

Zahid_63c

Zahid_63c

I'll be adding another 15cm of topsoil 

Blue Onion

I would build a back to your raised bed with more sleepers.. or better yet, concrete blocks like these..
That fence looks like it will need replaced in the not-to-distant future.. and looks like it belongs to your neighbor (?).  Place concrete blocks in a row about five inches from the fence, and use that as the back boarder of your raised bed.  You can get concrete toppers for the blocks, if you don't like the looks of the holes.. or a board.  They are cheap, not going to rot, and can be removed easy if the fence needs replaced.  

Zahid_63c

The fence is part of a party wall but my neighbour unfortunately is somebody not worth dealing with!!
I have a narrow garden hence the garden bed is only 60cm wide
I beleive putting the concrete blocks would make it even more narrower
That would be same issue with sleepers plus the cost of the sleepers  
Are there any other options 
The cheaper the better
How would putting damp proof membrane between soil and fence work? 

BobTheGardener

You could use concrete 'gravel boards', intended for the bottom of fencing panels.  Something like these:

https://www.oakdalefencing.co.uk/product/plain-concrete-gravel-board/

If you drive some 50x50mm wooden stakes in between the fence and the gravel boards, they will be strong enough to support the weight of the soil.  Scaffold planks supported the same way would also work, but would need lining to stop them rotting after a few years.

Zahid_63c

Thanks for that 
Scaffolding boards sounds cheaper 
Lining would mean damp proof membrane 
I am planning on changing the fence after a few years so do you think just allowing the soil to sit against fence would not even last that much 

BobTheGardener

The fence will start bowing out under the weight - wet soil is very, very heavy, even if only 20cm deep and even good close-board fencing like yours isn't strong enough.  Aslo, any damp getting between the liner and fence panels will rot them very quickly - it's just not worth the risk.