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Primary Facts You Should Know About Treated Pine Sleepers

07 November 2022

Plenty of structural materials can be used to ensure that property owners can obtain their desired outdoor structures and elements. One of the structural materials that properties can take advantage of is sleepers.

Sleepers are often utilised to support a wide array of outdoor structures like retaining walls, pathways, steps, raised beds, and lawn and border edging. When utilising these materials, contractors would often arrange them horizontally, allowing them to support outdoor structural materials as well as distribute any load that they will receive.

Many materials can be used in creating sleepers. But one material that a lot of construction companies opt for is treated pine. Treated pine sleepers are popular in the construction industry since they are often maximised in backyard construction projects. Here are some facts about treated pine sleepers you should know about.

Treatment is Necessary

One thing you should know about sleepers is they should be treated optimally. Sleepers made from timber may still withstand common outdoor elements even without any additional treatment, but their service life could somehow be shortened. They might even decay and rot as time passes, which is not a good sight for an outdoor property feature. Treating timber sleepers to at least H4 prevents these things from happening and allows them to last for a long time.

Utilising the Right Preservative

In selecting sleepers for a construction job, one should opt for those with the right preservatives. Some treated pine sleepers are equipped with chromated copper arsenate or CCA, making them resistant to termite and fungi attacks. Contractors, however, can only use these sleepers if they will not come into close contact with humans.

For outdoor structures that may require human contact, contractors must opt for treated pine sleepers preserved with alkaline copper quaternary or ACQ. This preservative ensures that the sleepers will be protected from exterior elements without causing harm to people.

Tons of Applications

Another fact about treated pine sleepers is they can be used in a lot of applications. Most property owners would use these structural materials in creating retaining walls, which can be done by slotting the timber sleepers into the retaining wall posts. However, their durability and longevity make them perfect for constructing garden steps. They are also used in building benches and tables. These sleepers can even be maximised in bounding soil at elevations in parks, yards, and other landscaping features.

The Origin of Sleepers

One more fact about sleepers, in general, is they were first maximised in the railway industry. In the past, the sleepers used to create retaining walls were initially obtained from railway tracks. Once the railway tracks have to be replaced, the old ones are sold as timber walls, which are then converted into the previously stated outdoor feature. The only problem with conventional sleepers is they are prone to termite attacks. Hence, it pushed the construction industry to maximise a more durable treated pine as the primary material for sleepers.

If you want to add some treated pine sleepers to your property, you can contact us at I Got Wood. You can also visit our online shop to purchase them right away.

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