How to replace rotting railroad tie garden edging
Old railroad ties used as garden borders eventually decay and break down, leaving property owners searching for an affordable, natural replacement that still allows for an easy lawn-mowing strip. Without a durable alternative, homeowners are stuck with crumbling wood and debris that is difficult to clean up and hard to DIY.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Replacing old ties with new railroad ties or landscape timbers
- 2Doing the replacement in sections over multiple seasons to manage costs
- 3Using a dry creek bed edge with river rock for a clean mowing strip
- 4Regrading the area to eliminate the need for a border entirely
- 5Measuring the existing grate and ordering a replacement online
- 6Welding the old grate if equipped with the tools and patience
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I have about 200 feet of railroad ties used as edging around my back lawn and side gardens. They were installed 30 years ago and are crumbling. I’m looking for an affordable, natural material replacement that will still allow for mowing the lawn.”source ↗
Where this came up
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