I plan to use 6x6 landscaping ties to create a border around our swingset and then fill the frame with smooth pea gravel. The border will only be 1 board high (meaning, boards will not overlap or be on top of one another).

How do I secure the ties to the ground so that they don't shift when the kids walk on them?

Thanks!

Gedman

At each corner of the landscape tie dig a shallow footing ( unless you are in a major freeze heave area then speak with your local landscapers for their recc. )

Fill the footing with concrete.
As the concrete is setting up insert a L shaped carriage bolt - threaded end up sticks up out of the concrete about 1/2 inch below the top of the finished elevation of the landscape tie.

Drill a hole thru the landscape tie and slip it over the carriage bolts.
Drill another hole larger than the hole that slipped over the carriage bolt. ( a counter sunk hole ) - use a forsner bit and drill down about 3/4 of an inch.

insert a washer and a nut over the carriage bolt and tighten down.

You will now have a certified child safe counter sunk bolt holding your landscape tie.

If the ties ever become loose, simply tighten down the bolt

Whe you want to remove the whole shebang, simply unscrew the bolts, lift the landscape ties away and cut off the exposed carriage bolts.

We use this method in installing landscape tie steps as well.

What is the best way to cut 6x6 landscaping ties? Even a 12" mitre saw blade can't cut through 5.5 inches. I suppose that the ties could be cut (carefully) with a chain saw - but I presume that it would create a rather rough cut.

Thanks!

Gedman

A beam saw is the scariest tool I have ever witnessed.
I have never used one personally because I can barely pick it up and balance it at the same time.

Usually the chain saw will do an adequate job , and if you need to clean up your cuts you can run a skill saw across your cuts and or a power hand planer.

I have used a wood rasp to clean up the ends if the chain saw operator got a little "off" in the cutting process.

I have also used a Skill saw and rotated the 6x’s cutting each side as the blade is too short. If the rotating didn’t make a through cut then I use a bow saw to complete the cut.

We have anchored the 6x's by making a lap cut on the ends and bolting the 6x's together. This makes the frame a one piece unit. With the lap joint it can only be a square unit unless you do some fancy cutting.

It is not secured or anchored in place but just sits where you put it together. Like "Free standing", Dude !!!

This lap joint holds the 6x’s together and if you wanted to you could use the bolt and concrete method that Michelle uses to secure the frame in place rather than the free standing method I suggested.

Hope this inspires you to " ...give it try".

Jake

This method doesn't require the pouring of concrete, and due to the fact that the rebar is virtually the same width as the holes, the timbers don't tend to work their way back off.
(you will need a sledgehammer to pound in the rebar and a drill bit long enough to go through a six inch piece of wood).
.......Jan

Great tips but wondering if pressure treated landscaping beams (thinner,looks like a 4X4 instead of the 8X8 of a railroad tie and flat on only two sides)are applicable to all of these tips too.

I picked up these pressure treated beams- well, they look like trees cut flat on two sides, for my kid's playset. The area I am surrounding an irregular area roughly 22X18 with an outtake for the slide....some long runs and some short runs . . less than 3 feet . . .

Wondering if anyone has used these or has seen them secured and lasting . . . .

thanks

fwiw, you will typically get better and faster results to a specific question if you initiate a new thread, rather than tacking on to one that is quite stale, such as this.

1 Vary the lengths of the boards so the seems don't match up.
2 over lap the corners so you can drill down through them and run a 4' length 1/2" rebar through all layers.
3 run a total of 3 or more lengths of rebar into each board.
4 On the inside wall of the structure, pound in some treated 2x4 posts. Then drill them to the wall to help maintain their shape to hold what you fill it with.
5 use 10" exterior spikes to connect your layers together if you plan on leaving them there as a longterm fixture in the landscape.

I Then stained the wood to match the exterior of my mother's house and was all done. Now, looking back, I wish I knew to do this myself. But, you learn as you go. I just fixed up the wall this year on Mother's Day for her and it looks as good a new where I hadn't connected the corners with the rebar. Good luck