EI7IQ

Talkback: How to build a raised bed

At 16ft. you will need a cross brace in the centre to stop them from going bow-shaped but this can be anything really - a piece of 4x2 from a building site is ideal. As for the nails coming out - you need nails at least three times the thickness of the timber. Screws are better but need to be really long. Using one and a half inch timber, you'd need screws 5mm x 125mm or so. Also drill (thinner) holes in the piece where the head of the screw will be. This will help pull the joint together.

Talkback: How to build a raised bed

Jangra - I'd use untreated timber. It will last for a long time anyway, and you can always replace it when it does rot. Treated timber is treated with chemicals and that's going against the very spirit of growing your own. That said, there are treatments which are certified as being okay, but I'd just go to my local builder's merchants or sawmill and get the cheapest timber I could, so long as it was high enough and thick enough and bring it home and make my own.

Talkback: How to build a raised bed

Braddy183 - I wouldn't use railway sleepers, unless they are different from the ones here in Ireland. The Irish ones are treated with creasote. Plus there are serious H&S risks associated with railway sleepers and the way they are used by the railways. Scaffold planks are good but expensive. You can buy 16ft lengths of nine (inches high) by one and a half (inches thick) and they are good to use. If you buy five of them they will make two 16ft beds. Cost about 36 euros per bed.

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