On 05/03/2014 18:54, stuart noble wrote:
On 05/03/2014 16:01, Andy Burns wrote:
Pete C wrote:

On 05/03/2014 13:08, Nick Maclaren wrote:

Pete C wrote:

Oak will outlive treated softwood by decades.

Sorry, but that is so misleading as to be false.

Oak heartwood will outlast cheaply treated softwood by decades,
true, but oak sapwood will not last that long, and the most
aggressively treated softwoods (the old pressure-creosoted and
tanalised ones) will outlast oak heartwood by decades. What am
an not sure is how effective the tanalisation replacement is.

Sorry Nick, I was only repeating what I've seen on television.

Thanks all, the spec of the oak sleepers allows a maximum of one waney
edge, so could be sapwood, but I prefer the look of oak, will likely go
for it.


In direct contact with soil nothing's going to last that long


Off topic a little.
In much of West Wales the veg gardens are made up into beds by taking
the top soil from the paths and using it to raise the bed height, so
often the beds are 12 inches or more above the path height, this gives
drainage and at no cost .
David @ a rain-free side of Swansea Bay