Can I build a raised bed of sleepers right up against my house wall - would it pose any threat to th
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I am thinking of building a shallow raised bed in my front garden, with sleepers, partly because the garden is on a slight slope and all the organic matter and mulch washes away. I understand that one should never raise the level of the earth right against the house as it could well cause damp problems (thank you GW forum). Could putting wooden sleepers right up against the brick pose a problem, either for the house, the individual bricks (damp, mossing etc), or the plants in the bed? It's an Edwardian terraced house. I know little about brickwork or how water is processed by it. Many thanks
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I wouldn't do it. Damp will get in between the timber and your above-DPC brickwork, and any air bricks will be blocked. I'd leave a gap of at least a couple of feet to allow air to get between the wall and the raised bed, and for rear access.
I agree with WillDP ... don't do it.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Super useful advice. Thanks. Any ideas what I can do with a slope? The garden is about 2m x 3m and everything seems to wash away. It's planted up with very many bulbs and salvias. The earth is pretty hard clay after about 6 inches. Thanks.
I take it your slope runs away from the house? How about a terrace (you could use your railway sleeper idea) to level the area off?
Or is it sloping down towards your house?
Could you build a series of shallow terraces (using gravel boards, perhaps)?
Or use decorative stones as a mulch to stop the soil washing off?
Or make some variation on the theme of a rockery?
Last edited: 31 May 2017 14:25:29
It's sloping away from the house, but the garden is pretty tiny. I'd love to grow veg in it.
You could use sleepers to create a terrace, so long as your'e not raising the ground level against the house - ideally you want the outside level to be at least 6" below DPC level. So lay your sleepers along the front and the sides of the bed so the top of them is at that level. Lay a little strip of gravel or paving alongside the building and leave it unplanted.
Many thanks, Will. How would I know clearly what the DPC looks like from the outside, in the garden? I will go and investigate the walls thoroughly.
You'll see a larger gap between the rows of bricks where the DPM is versus the other rows. You may even see a black line which is the edge of the DPM.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.