Garden Levelling, Retaining Wall, Stairs, Benches From Railway Sleepers

Steep Garden Level & Retaining Wall + Stairs + Benches + Flower pots from Railway Sleepers
Most gardens I have seen with a hill has the hill going up at the back. Not many has a hill going down like mine did. I have pondered for many years as to what I should do.. Eventually I came up with this plan and design.
Originally got some quotes from a few landscaping companies that ranged between £9k - £17k. Got some ideas from them along the way but eventually decided to manage it all myself and just pay labourers and for the digger hire... All in all I managed to complete this project in just under £5,000.
Kids are very happy!!

[@JonathanSwiftUK]

Looks great. Just about to level up my sloping garden and this gave me a new idea. Thanks for the video.

[@reeza0]

No problem and good luck with the project.

[@61citystars]

Just finished our garden and using railway sleepers has made such a difference

[@danearp]

Looks like a really late to the show here but, you've done a great job there! Looks brilliant. I hope you have many years of chilling out in the sun

[@berniestephens4506]

Looks class 👍🏻

[@Hajjat]

Wow this is stunning! I love the design! I wish u had a diy tutorial on the retaining wall!! It’s fabulous!

[@luckylady123100]

FINALLY! a video detailing EXACTLY what I need. so many videos made it seem impossible. I will save this video for sure. very nice work.

[@gemlayland4902]

Really really please I found this. Great work and my house slope is identical so nothing to stop me now :) except money but easier to save now I’ve seen a great example - thanks!

[@reeza0]

Gem Layland Thanks 🙂 I also struggled to find a video where the garden was sloped downwards like mine. That’s why I put this video together. The kids love it. Hope you get some inspiration and get yours done! Good luck

[@nohlovelost]

Sigh! 4th night in a row can’t sleep. That song in my head keeping me awake. What a nightmare.

[@reeza0]

hahahaa. Hopefully you also getting inspiration to do level your garden.

[@peterhoskins2860]

Just found the video. Looks awesome. Spurred me on to build planters from sleepers👍

[@reeza0]

Thanks Peter.

[@colsinclair7793]

2020 lockdown& I'm sitting here tapping my feet to that tune.

[@nicolapegg6429]

Me too x

[@The160879]

Great job

[@Jon77777]

Awesome job!!!! 👍

[@reeza0]

Thanks Jon 😊

[@cherylmatthews4066]

WOW! Really WOW! That is absolutely beautiful, you did an amazing job.....perfection. now you have done a dummy run in your garden its time to come and do mine lol. Well done.

[@reeza0]

Cheryl Oldford Thanks. And it was all well worth it!! Maybe I should take on a garden advisory service role in my spare time 😉

[@cherylmatthews4066]

reeza0 you could defo be a Garden Planner/Makeover. You did a professional job there. X

[@Khurr]

Dang...u did the thing...that is spectacular!

[@brianreynolds4627]

Excellent job!…wonderful!

[@paul-henrirasoamanana1952]

great work !

[@silverfox8801]

From a carpenter to a non pro, well done mate! 👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@reeza0]

Big Guns Thanks pal!!! It was actually my carpenter mate that helped me with the sleepers 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@emranraja97]

Amazing job and excellent features to the garden. Start my landscape design soon would turf be better option then planting grass seeds.

[@reeza0]

Definitely turf over grass seed. Good luck mate 👍🏼

[@julim6929]

Fantastic very very good 👍🤗 bye bye from Italy 🇮🇹❤️

[@carlosnava8485]

Great Job!

[@johnmontague69]

Awesome job.

[@leaturk11]

very nice job

[@reeza0]

Thank Will :)

[@yoyoyo3531]

Amazing job there fella, gave me some ideas for mine. Not as sloped as yours but I need to level it, only problem is I cant get a digger round the back. So going to be alot of hand digging.

[@reeza0]

Thanks 👍🏼 my alley way is only 1m wide. I got a mini digger that is about 90cm wide through there no problems. Otherwise good luck with the hand digging 💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼

[@lindsey-annebridges2756]

Same here!

[@nicetysalmondjoy]

Beautiful!!!!!!!!

[@reeza0]

😊 thanks

[@ToutCQJM]

That looks really pretty.

[@VictorianMaid99]

I like the mini excavator

[@avtoban27]

Очень круто, very cool. Greetings from Russia

[@e36racer44]

Really really good video thanks

[@Rain-uh4us]

Great vid loved the music too happy feeling just what we need right now ☺ ♥

[@eddiecarrick2424]

I also have a slopping garden and yours looks great well done.

[@cocoocean7843]

Beautiful!!! How much did it cost

[@nicolapegg6429]

Wonderful job, what you can do with money xx

[@renierocumen6020]

Hi, thank you for this great idea. May I know how much roughly will cost me to do these. Our garden is pretty much the same as this one.

[@17thghost42]

Wow I'm so jealous

[@BrownBearOz]

Very impressive

[@Srenfrow424]

Good work.

[@renierocumen6020]

Nice. How much did it cost.? Thanks

[@เปี๊ยกแม่แตง]

Wow.... Brilliant

[@reeza0]

เปี๊ยก แม่แตง thanks ☺️ it was a great transformation. So happy with the result.

[@rikalex1684]

But excellent job buddy

[@mikea953]

nice job

[@stickybandit2346]

What about the rear retaining wall? Are you going to put a fence on top or do people just fall off?

[@chach5478]

Does the rain water still drain?

[@KrolPotato]

Mate, how did you get that earth digger in the back yard?

[@imadboles3431]

How much did it cost? Can you break it down, please?

[@johnoleary9317]

5 stars.

[@user-pj3yd2po9j]

nice!, but wont the palm trees eventually grow out the sides ?

[@darenleftwich7630]

Great job, what sort of foundation did you use for the base of the sleepers?

[@jinnekino7454]

OMG! Love it! Just have one question about the fence: are we allowed to build a new fence side by side the neighbours fence? because mine will be higher than their's because I have slope back yard and want to level it.

[@msdiinsche]

Looks amazing. However I would be reluctant to pay that much for sleepers plus all the work and have to replace it in 15 years when it's rotting. How about using H4 treated sleepers instead? Sorry to be negative, looking at doing something similar, but not if it will only last 10 years

[@jimmys8483]

Oak sleepers will last easily 40years. They’re hardwood

[@Brendannolan1986]

KZbin so much richer for your comment

[@deek8744]

Such a lovely landscaping DIY project. Kudos!!! I was looking for something similar for my new build which is yet to complete. Can you please give me an idea what the slope was like originally when measured from your patio door step to the end of garden? I am trying to visualise, since I have a rear garden (10 m deep) with retention wall in the back and the plan shows a sloping gradient of 1:10 and retaining wall at the back with spec RT 0.225m. Do you need any planning permission to level this off yourself or anything to sort out like this, when you put extra fencing, decking and supporting woodwork on the edges of our garden which has partition with neighbours?

[@OoO-cf3ys]

How did excuvator into your garden?

[@reeza0]

Its a mini digger. 90cm wide and drove it down the side alley way.

[@davelee9069]

Lovely job. The look of the wood looks great. Did you use anything on the sleepers to finish them off like deck oil or stain?

[@reeza0]

Dave Lee Thanks Dave. A year on and the wood is still looking great. They were pressure treated and came with a 10 year guarantee. I thought I would wait a few years until they start looking worn then will look to stain or oil it. 👍🏼👌👍🏼👌👍🏼👌

[@terrycoles461]

Excellent! Love the music, what is the music called pleas?

[@xxrxcknm0rtyxx689]

Nice work mate..how may skips did you need to get rid of all that soil?

[@reeza0]

Hey pal. I didn’t use any skips and got rid of zero soil. The soil from the top half got shifted to the bottom half (within the walls I built) in order to level it out. If anything, I had to bring in a few tons of topsoil for the top layer before the grass went on.

[@jigzonyt517]

Surely building regs dont allow that drop off at the end of the garden incase of kids? Looks like a pretty high drop off beyond the grass 🤷🏼‍♂️

[@tommykennedy]

How did you build the bench? Do you have any drawings?

[@rizzotto139]

Absolutely brilliant!!! Great looking yard my friend, love it!! I wonder how good you can get the wood to look, stain wise etc...

[@reeza0]

Thanks David. I’m very happy with it and the kids are loving it from what I had. Yes I’m thinking of staining options 🤔

[@Domini_k]

£20 for a sleeper, no change of that now. It's at least £30 plus.

[@james7477]

you`re looking at £30 for pressure treated softwood or £40 for green oak in East Anglia right now (for good quality sleepers).

[@leventdogan5340]

Reeza, what is that blue sheet you have used behind the sleepers, in the flower box areas, is it for weed protection or to seal the water?

[@reeza0]

Levent Dogan Yes the blue plastic sheeting is to seal any water or mud in the flower boxes and also so no mud/sand/water comes through the sleepers to the front. In addition to this is also put some drainage (French drainage) in the flower box and the inside of the garden flat surface and the back wall.

[@MegaThepow]

If you don’t mine me asking, how much was the total project cost? Very nice job

[@reeza0]

MegaThepow sure. Details of total costs are in the video description.. 💰

[@leventdogan5340]

Hi Reeza, its a great job, well done! Which screws did you use to attach sleepers togethers, i hv seen a couple of wood dowels, can you please confirm, ta v much

[@reeza0]

Thanks Levent Dogan. I really enjoyed this project. For the screws, I used TimberLok screws. A mixture of 15cm and 25cm ones. The 25cm screws could go through 3 sleepers.

[@leventdogan5340]

@@reeza0 thank you Reeza

[@thenuptse8827]

Are the sleepers on the steps 200x100 also? If so do you find 200mm adequate for the tread? Thanks and great project by the way 👍🏻

[@reeza0]

Yes they are 200x100 sleepers. But each stair is 2 sleepers deep. So 200x200. I would probably have preferred to do 300x200 deep 👌 good luck with your project 👍🏼

[@thenuptse8827]

reeza0 So the rise is 200 too due to two sleepers on top of each other. Yes I see that now. Thanks for your help 👌🏼

[@reeza0]

Yes that’s it 👍🏼. However as I said, if I could change anything. I would make the steps 300x200 as I feel that currently it’s a bit short for an adult size foot. Cheers.

[@jawadarif5676]

How did you get a digger in there

[@reeza0]

Its a mini digger. 90cm wide and it fits down the side of my house.

[@Layth.]

Great looking garden - who did the work as I would like to do the same to my garden.

[@reeza0]

Layth .I. Butt Hi. Thanks for the comments. Really pleased with how it turned out. I did most of the non intensive work myself (and project managed it all) i hired different labourers to do different things. For example: I hired a bricklayer to build the wall at the back and add the drainage. I then hired a mini digger and driver to move the soil and level it out etc. Then a friend who is a carpenter completed the all the wood work (wall, stairs, planters, benches) with the sleepers etc. I then hired an electrician to put the lights in. I then completed the rest myself (top soil, grass, fencing, planting etc) Hope you get some inspiration to do a similar project.

[@Layth.]

@@reeza0 looks fantastic and all credit to you and the team. Your carpenter freind, he available to do mine?

[@reeza0]

Thanks. Yes possibly.. I could ask him. Where about are you based? He is in the Berkshire / Hampshire area in the south of England.

[@Layth.]

I am in West London, Greenford, UB6 postcode.

[@paulrichardson3491]

With the sleepers costing £20.00 EACH, that garden has cost a TON.

[@gurdevbrar]

20 was cheap then. Now 2021 it's 25 plus for decent ones

[@CarlBird]

How did you get the mini digger down the side of your house. It looks as though it’s tight both sides mate.

[@reeza0]

Yes true. Both sides / alleys are tight and only 1m space in width. I was able to get a “mini digger” that can reduce its wheels size to 90cm wide. So no problems (just about) getting it down my alley and to the back. If that didn’t work I was going to use a helicopter to get it in/out 😉

[@TheEamz]

Hi, great looking garden - i want to do something similar to mine. Could you let me know a couple of things... 1) how did you join together the timber sleepers? 2) what company did you get your supplies from? 3) how much did it cost roughly? 4) at 1:19 it looks like you used a deadman, is that right? 5) what kind of space did you leave up to the fence on the sides? Thanks in advance!

[@theophrastusbombastus1359]

Yeah, a "how to" video would've been better. A bunch of stills animated together didn't give me the info i came looking for

[@reeza0]

TheEamz hi. To answer some of your questions. 1. I used TimberLok screws specially made for sleepers / timber etc. 2. Got my supplies from various building supply companies locally. But the main item the 70 x Railway sleepers I got from a company called avsfencing.co.uk (sleepers were pressure treated and came with a 10 year warranty against rot etc) 3. All in all it costed me about £5500. 4. Yes I used dead men on both sides on the stair case. 5. I left about 20cm space between fence and side wall / sleepers. Then I filled t with bark. Some additional things to mention. Drainage is very important. Along the back and sides of the walls. I put French drainage. Also waterproofed under the stairs and the inside of the planters etc.

[@reeza0]

Cunning Linguist I didn’t put this video together to show people how to do it. This was not my intention and I am not a landscapers or anything. I just put this up to show my project and what I have achieved and hopefully people will take some good ideas from it. I did a lot of research prior to doing this and seeked a lot of advise from professionals. At the end I decided to do it myself and at half the cost of the next professional quote.

[@stevecarter8810]

Great to read this answer. I was wondering whether you'd paid attention to drainage and rot! Well done. When you come to sell, you will only need one photo of the house, from the rear, and they'll be flocking.

[@donglabong]

Theophrastus Bombastus sucks to be you then doesnt it you miserable fucking turd

[@glowwurm9365]

Assuming you’ve used a mitre saw for that timber, I’ve found cutting them to be a nightmare

[@reeza0]

Yes. Mitre saw. The blade needs to cut more than 100mm deep. As the sleepers are 200x100

[@james7477]

@@reeza0 did you go for green oak or pressure treated timber sleepers? Thanks.

[@romeodenis77]

I went to B&Q to find out how much is one similar chunk of wood, figured out and my dream was over.

[@reeza0]

aka ProBruh hahaaaa.. if you buying the railway sleepers in bulk then I wouldn’t buy from B&Q. There are fencing and other building companies that sell them (the chunks of wood) much cheaper. I paid just over £1100 for 70 sleepers.

[@keithy363]

How the hell u get the digger in the garden no side access , and man I don’t miss England poxy size houses and gardens , but love ya work 👍👍

[@gillessellier1451]

hi mate, how did you get the backhoe in the yard? I can't see any way in.

[@reeza0]

🚁🚁🚁

[@reeza0]

Gilles Sellier Hi. You may not have seen it in the video. My side alley is exactly 1m wide. The “Mini Digger” I hired was 90m wide. So just managed to fit luckily 😳

[@AlexS-kx8ez]

hi, did you need any digging permits before starting? thanks

[@reeza0]

No. But I did check the plans to make sure that there were no pipes or drains where I was digging in the garden. 👍🏼👌

[@AlexS-kx8ez]

thank you!

[@CatCheddar]

Hi, did you connect the french drains to a main sewer or let it soak into the ground?

[@reeza0]

A_A I added the French drain so that any water does not soak into the main grass area. The drain leads out to the back area of the garden under the trees. I left a gap when building the back wall and fed the pipe through it

[@towdoctor670]

That block retaining wall better be damn sturdy. Over time your yard collapses. I didn't see any drainage back there but it might be there and you just didn't bother showing us.

[@reeza0]

Tow Doctor : yes I did put drainage running along the back on the inside of the wall, before the digger moved the soil. Then going out some holes we left for the pipe. You will see in the video, from 32 seconds in at the back left corner the black flexi drain pipe.

[@towdoctor670]

reeza0 oh yeah I see it now. The yard looks great. Don't mind me. I get sassy when I'm hungry. Good job sir.

[@2wheelspy]

What is the blue sheet behind the sleeper wall?

[@reeza0]

Although I put drainage on the inside of the walls. That blue sheet was extra precaution to ensure the wooden sleepers do not rot if water does not drain from the planters etc.

[@2wheelspy]

reeza0 do you know what it is called, the blue sheet?

[@cheif80]

im Stil trying to figure out how the hell you got that digger back there lol

[@reeza0]

Calvin Williamson Helicopter of course 🚁🚁🚁🚁

[@reeza0]

Calvin Williamson the side alley of my house is 1m wide. The mini digger was 95cm wide. So just made it through! Thankfully. 😅

[@cheif80]

reeza0 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@cheif80]

reeza0 ahhh good deal then

[@lindsey-annebridges2756]

Would it be possible without a digger in a garden half the size? Asking for a middle terrace owner! :D

[@Thedog30]

Ten grand later...

[@DAVID-et1lj]

How it cost you the woods ????

[@reeza0]

The sleepers (wood) cost about £1000 for about 75 pieces.

[@DAVID-et1lj]

@@reeza0 WUAU !! Expensive

[@diversifyingincome6986]

@@DAVID-et1lj Actually that is a really good price for 75 softwood sleepers. They are usually around £17 to £20 each.

[@faces.8957]

How did you secure the sleepers to the ground?

[@reeza0]

Various ways. Not only did I put concrete at the base along with good drainage to secure the bottom row of sleepers but I also put in a few deadman in (lookup deadman in construction on google)

[@bp4682]

Would have been alot cheaper taking it down too its original level where the conifer are

[@bigbeatyswollocks4859]

👏👏👏 ☝

[@stoikgramadanski7401]

Money invested in the backyard are more then in the house itself, dude....

[@b21playa]

How did you get the digger in the back?

[@reeza0]

b21playa helicopter 🚁 would have been my last resort... Luckily I managed to get a “mini digger” & driver hire. The mini digger can go as narrow as 90cm for exactly this reason. My alley way was 100cm. Phew 😅 The guy took 3 hours to completely move and level the soil. 👌👌

[@Shazzkid]

Nice job but u didn't make a retaining wall, just a regular wall...

[@reeza0]

Shazzkid Thanks for your comment. The retaining wall is along the back of the garden. You will see it being built at the beginning of the video

[@-_James_-]

I think (s)he is referring to the fact that the 'retaining' wall isn't structurally designed as a retaining wall, insofar as it doesn't have a footing running back under the ground it is retaining, or reinforced steel providing resistance to tensile forces from the weight of the soil behind. Probably not too big of a deal when building such a low wall, but I would still expect that wall to fail from frost/water damage much quicker than a true retaining wall would. Doubly so given it didn't look like you filled the ground immediately behind with loose stone to reduce the weight pushing against it.

[@duterteistotallycrushing4520]

Unless there's some sort of support on the side of the wall we don't see that wall will begin to shift and need to be redone before it begins to cave.

[@agustincrispino6689]

Nice work! How long took moving and levelling the soil with that mini backhoe?

[@reeza0]

Agustín Crispino thanks. it took 1 day to move the soil and level it with the mini digger. Then later on I used a wacker plate to flatten the ground. 👍🏼

[@agustincrispino6689]

Very nice! Thanks!

[@reeza0]

Subscribe !

[@RH-yk1im]

Terrible music, but nicely done

[@firebug_shevmac8711]

This is stunning. I assume you don't have dogs

[@reeza0]

Siobhan Macinnes Thanks 😁😁 I’m very pleased. No I don’t have dogs, but I do have kids who love playing football ⚽️ 😫

[@Tuffjobs]

Bad idea. The wood will rot and need done again in a few years time. Stone is best.

[@jimmys8483]

🥱 boring

[@robertross2079]

I'm just wondering how you done your retaining wall, cuz I know anytime you have a structure like a garage or your house you have to get engineer to approve one that close. You didn't do your retaining wall right give it four years you won't have a patio either. Just on a normal wall one without a structure you have to set Deadman 4 feet back. Did you tunnel under your patio to do that? one supporting a house and a patio probably need more than 4 foot dead man. Don't see one dead man on the side walls let's just hope there for show or give it 2 years.

[@yoyoyo3531]

He used dead men either side of the stairs. It will only need to support the patio and ground under it. As the house supports itself with the foundations it was built on.

[@hawkeye-vv4kb]

It looks impressive, but I think those wooden steps etc will rot fairly quickly (wet soil and also termites). Why not using bricks which can look just as attractive as wood?

[@reeza0]

hawkeye0248 thanks, I thought of that and I think it will last... So behind the wooden sleepers I put a perforated flexi drain pipe that runs along the back, under the stairs and down the outside of the wall to let any heavy rain water out. + you will see I also used waterproof (blue) sheeting behind the wooden walls and under the stairs to stop any soil and water directly against the wood. + The wooden sleepers are also ‘treated’ and come with a 10 year guarantee. So I hope it will last that long at least. 😊

[@aztekwarrior518]

all those privacy walls and yet still no privacy ..

[@theophrastusbombastus1359]

Lovely looking project, and i'm looking into doing pretty much the same thing in my garden, but i gave it a thumbs down for the lack of instruction.

[@reeza0]

Cunning Linguist thats a shame about the thumbs down! I don’t do this for a living... This was just a project I undertook in my garden. Was not even going to post it on here but thought others would appreciate. Sorry for the lack of instructions...

[@theophrastusbombastus1359]

Totally understandable! I maybe never intimated well enough just how amazing the whole project was! Looks amazing and it's ace to see what you've done - earns thumbs up in every avenue! It just didn't provide what i was looking to take from the video. I know that's not what you set out to do when you made the video and i appreciate that, i only gave it thumbs down so youtube wouldn't offer other videos i wasn't neccessarily looking for. Absolutely love what you've done though and i only hope mine looks as half as good as yours lol. I'm just sorry i didn't emphasise that more in my original comment.

[@reeza0]

Cunning Linguist no problem mate and thanks for the feedback. Good luck with your project.

[@rikalex1684]

Ahh child labor......

[@klg642002]

Great Job!