Thanks chaps. I had planned to put the supporting short posts in concrete,
and have the edges of the "sleepers" on shallow concrete footings, but then
I thought "Doh" - the veggie bed will be, oddly enough, full of soil
anyway, so the little critters will be able to tunnel under any footings and
nibble on my sleepers without too much troble. I think I'll just construct
them anyway, and if they last 8 or 10 years, that'll do me, and then I'll
make some more!
"gardenlen" wrote in message
...
g'day pat,

you don't say where you are from but if the red gum you talk of is the
same as waht we call qld blue gum then it is pretty much termite proof
itself once the sap has dried out of it, and using it as edging it
will last a long time, me i would go for the sleeper size wood in 6
meter lengths it is self supporting and will take a whole lot longer
to begin to break down, we had some still going strong after 8 years
on the ground.

an easier to way to ensure protection maybe would be to get that
aussie made timber/metal protector made from wool greas (lanolin) it
has a good reputation, and a wide application of uses around the home.

like i said i wouldn't worry about the termites too much there is
bound to be easeir stuff for them to chew on around the place.

you can get the timber kiln dried pay a bit extra but that will remove
sap moisture from the wood and minimise shrinkage.

that termite granite barriere needs to be compacted for it to work,
you would also be looking at creating a 300mm x 300mm barrier under
the area the timber is being used, much the same with cracker dust,
and they both work better in dry zone areas, so not sure that they
would be as effective in a wet zone area?

On Tue, 1 Aug 2006 21:17:27 +1000, "Pat" wrote:

snipped
With peace and brightest of blessings,

len

--
"Be Content With What You Have And
May You Find Serenity and Tranquillity In
A World That You May Not Understand."

http://www.gardenlen.com