Four Ways You Can Use Timbers In Your Landscaping Design
Timbers can be a great way to change he look of your landscaping. They can be used to create many different features including retaining walls, stairs and pathways. If you plan on using lumber in your landscaping design, there are some things that you can do to get more life out of the timber like using gravel for drainage and installing a moisture barrier. Here are some tips that can help you when adding lumber to your landscaping design:
1. Adding Gravel For Better Drainage Behind Timbers
The soil around you home may not have good drainage, which can be a problem with landscaping timbers. Moisture against the timbers can cause fungus to grow and the timbers to rot. To prevent this problem, you can use gravel behind the walls to allow water to drain. Do this up to several inches from the bottom of the timbers.
2. Using Some Type Of Moisture Barrier For Timbers
Landscaping timbers will be more likely to rot if they have no protection from moisture where they come in contact with the soil or gravel. Give your landscaping timbers more protection, you can use a moisture barrier. This can be something like roofing felt paper that you put against the timbers.
3. Installing Sleepers To Support High Retaining Walls
Landscaping timbers can be great for small structures, but when they are higher, they can have problems with stability. To make a wall more stable, you can use sleepers. These are timbers that run the opposite direction to help hold the wall in place and keep it from buckling out. When doing this, you may want to wrap the entire length of the timber with the moisture barrier. In addition, you can use gravel at the base of the sleeper for drainage.
4. Painting Or Sealing Timbers To Protect Them From The Elements
Another thing that can be done to get more life out of landscaping timbers is painting them or sealing them. You can paint the interior of the timbers with an asphalt-based sealant once they are in place and before you apply the felt paper. For the exterior, you can paint the lumber with a sealant that you would use for a deck or fence.
Using timbers for the design of you landscaping can be an affordable way to create a different look. If you need materials for your landscaping projects, contact a lumber supplier (such as ML Condon Company Inc) to get the materials you need for your projects.
