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Landscape Design

Purge the railroad ties!

15 years ago

I'd like to pick the communal landscaping brain. My house suffers from the "typical 80's tiered railroad tie garden" syndrome. We're aiming to remedy that ASAP. What's the most efficient / safest way to remove ties and the 8" lengths of rusty rebar that's holding them in the ground? Some of the ties have rotted pretty thoroughly, so those have been removed, but many are largely intact. My only minor success with pulling the rebar has been with locking pliers, but as most of them are rusty, the rust generally just ends up flaking away and there's not a good surface to grip on.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. We're thinking of taking this on over the long weekend. Thanks!

Featured Answer

ytsemaddy
Original Author

15 years ago

The funny thing is that I tried the pickaxe method last fall. I apparently didn't get the head far enough under the tie, since the edge of the wood broke as I was pulling back on the pickaxe, which sent me sprawling backwards and I ended up with a sprained wrist! I think if I try it again this week I'll wear my rollerblading guards. :)

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Comments (6)

ronlarimer_zone7
15 years ago
I would hit them with a sledge hammer to widen the hole in the ground and then lift them out.
laag
15 years ago
Pick axe. Swing the head under the end of the tie and use it to lift the tie in the same manner you use a hammer on a nail.

A sawzall with a long metal blade is not the worst thing either if you can fire it up and ease it between the seam to cut the nails. You have to be careful, though, because if the blade bottoms out it will break.
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Just remember, RR ties get to be heavy after a while. If you are lifting them and they're light-weight, the core's already been eaten out by termites. RR ties are fine in some areas, I don't recommend them around your house just because of the termite vector, especially here in the south. If it's a large, mounded bed, veggies up in center where water's always washing down really isnt a problem. But I would not plant veggies immediately behind RR ties. At least a few rows back where you have maybe marigolds and garlic and onions in front as pest deterants would be the minimum distance I'd put tomatoes back from RR ties, just knowing cresote chemistry and leaching. But again, a raised bed with mounded soil will limit much of the back-leaching and instead have it flow down and away from your plants anyway. The more vertical clearance past the RR ties down to the ground the better, as it will encourage a 'safer' removal of the cresote. Otherwise, busted up concrete and hauling off rocks from construction sites works for me. I've only bought some cobblestone pavers to edge out central areas I'm around a lot, and use the rougher stuff elsewhere.
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I live in Gainesville, former home to the infamous Koppers plant that made creosote and arsenic treated lumber, mostly utility poles from what I understand. The soil within a 2-mile radius of the former property is so polluted still that no one can plant anything edible in the ground. The most dangerous health-threatening component of creosote is dioxins, which can be released into the air and settle everywhere as dust. Lethal levels of dioxins were found miles away from the Koppers plant site. The statistics on cancer and especially miscarriages within that two-mile radius is unbelievable. If you care anything about your health, don't use creosote treated lumber in your yard, much less in your veggie garden. According to the EPA, it is illegal to use anything treated with creosote in your landscape. http://www.gardensalive.com/product/railroad-ties-are-not-legal-for-home-landscape-use/you_bet_your_garden
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I wouldn't be too quick to jump on the bandwagon that if recently purchased they are just "landscape timbers" and not railroad ties. Home Depot and other home improvement stores DO sell used railroad ties (location dependent). In fact, HD advertises theirs specifically as being creosote treated and that they bring "a piece of Americana to your landscape"!! For only $18.97 each! LOL!! Not something I would recommend......they will continue to leach creosote forever until they rot, which can be a very long time. And the leachate will be sticky and gummy, just as one would expect of creosote. And they smell in hot weather - a strong chemical aroma similar to petroleum.
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stevega
15 years ago
The bigger the pry bar, the better. Use scrap 2X4 or 4X4 as a fulcrum. To remove the rebar, tap side to side to loosen. Then clamp big locking pliers down low and use the pry bar against the locked pliers.
Just before using these techniques, I broke the pick axe handle and went flying backwards. Being on a slope made it even more spectacular. Fortunately, no injuries.
dee_can1
15 years ago
I'm faced with the same problem of getting them out. The neighbour's railway tie wall pushed over onto our property a long time ago, and they need to be removed sooner rather than later. (Man, those things smell.)

Anyway, once you get them out, how do/will you dispose of them? Where?
Embothrium
15 years ago
If using power saw I'd wear something to protect me from toxic dust being thrown up. I also wonder where off-site disposal could take place. I think the transfer station near me doesn't even accept flourescent lights! Everything gets dumped on the floor, where it is eventually scooped up by an earth mover - they took out the pits when they built a new facility.

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