Railroad ties are the rectangular wooden objects which are used as a base for rail tracks. The ties are laid transverse to the rails and on them the rails are supported and fixed. This is usually done to transfer the loads from the rails to the ground so that the rails are not damaged due to the excessive load of the railways. These ties are generally made of wood but since they are easy to crack and the rails can collapse, these ties are now made from concrete. When these ties are damaged and overused, they are simply stacked all together on heaps to be disposed. These railroad ties can be very useful in landscaping, if you want to add that unique touch to your garden. Railroad ties landscaping can be indoors as well, if you have a big house, and adding these ties can give your interiors a whole new look!
Landscaping with Railroad Ties
There are many ways you can use these dumped railroad ties as landscape designs in your garden or home interiors. Wherever they are put, they give the place a very rugged and raw look, so if you use it outdoors, it will always look natural even though it is made up. Landscaping with railroad ties is a wonderful idea for parks, public gardens and zoos where the attempt is to make them look as natural as possible. You can find the ties in many wood depots as these ties are brought there to be reused for many purposes. After you purchase these, you can make your home and garden look wonderful with the following mentioned ideas, take a look!
Landscaping Ideas
If you have a very large area at hand in your yard and you want to make great use of it, try decorating it by using these railroad ties. You can have railroad tie retaining walls as fencing borders for a vegetable garden, flower garden or even to grow a lawn in it. They help in keeping these garden at an elevated level from the ground and make good use of the extra space around the house. It is as simple as nailing the ties together and creating a fence around that particular plantation and also around the entire garden area. It looks very attractive since, the ties are made from wood and have that rustic look on them. You can also use the ties in another unique way by making seating benches from them and having beautiful landscape lighting around the area.
Railroad Ties for Steps
Another great use of these railroad ties which are either wood or concrete can be, to use them in making steps in the garden. As natural as this idea sounds, it looks great when they are made. If you already have a lovely green landscape coming down from a hill area around a cozy country house, these steps look very original. Sometimes, when these are used as front yard landscaping ideas, they are not even visible as they merge so well with the natural beauty around the grass, trees and the flowers. Thus, placing single ties in the mud to make steps is a great substitute for an ordinary stony and difficult climb, up and down the hill.
Landscaping Styles
If you think, that the ties are only used outdoors as they give a very rough and natural look to the scenery outside, you could be wrong! As much as you can use these outdoors, so can you use them inside the house, for various purposes like furniture and cabinets. This wood is definitely a tough material to shape, but you do get ready-made shapes and sizes of these railroad ties in the market nowadays. There is also another concept known as composite railroad ties landscaping, wherein you can find materials like plastic and concrete ties made along with the wooden ones. You can use these home landscaping design ideas as these are much easier to mold if you want to use them indoors. Lovely furniture like tea tables, chairs, dining tables, sofas, beds, showcases, etc. are all very attractive choices of these railroad ties.
With these great ideas for landscaping, hope you have found a new interest in making your surrounding look better than before. So, ahead and use these natural resources to make great amenities from them, with your imagination!
