Anyone have experience with Railroad Ties?

I've got 32 railroad ties stacked in my driveway.
The plan is to build a retaining wall with them, but i'm having lots of issues with design & construction. The wall is going to be built between 2 structures.

1.) Best way to cut them? I really don't want to buy 5 extra chains for my chainsaw.

2.) Best way to drain water from behind the wall? I've bought piping for a french drain, but i'm not sure how to create an outlet for the piping.

3.) How deep does the dead man timber really need to go into the packed surface?

Disclaimer: I have built a retaining wall with my father and brother once using RR ties, so I can offer this:

1) A chainsaw will be the BEST way to cut them. Instead of investing in extra chains, invest in a good quality ($30) file and guide.

2) My dad took care of the drainage pior to backfilling slightly, so all I ever saw was about 1 foot of soil on top of gravel drainage and perforated / corrugated drain pipe. Wiser minds will have to weigh in on this.

3) The deadman question is best answered by knowing the dimensions of the wall that you are building.

Our method for a wall that was 9' long x 4' tall was to have 4 total "T" shaped deadman timbers 2 of which were located at the bottom course of the wall 3 feet in from each end and the other 2 were put in the same place but 2' deep. Each of the deadmen extended 3' into the packed surface.
The basic premise is that you want to have the pressure that is exerted behind the wall to EXCEED the weight of the backfill that is pushing out on the wall.

Make sense?

1) I have only cut them with a chain saw. Messy, dirty, hard work. Not easy on the saw and sure as heck not easy on the body.

2) Weep vent as you see in masonry construction maybe? Backed up with your french drain.

3) Sorry no clue on this one.

yes, makes sense, but not exactly what I wanted to hear.
I was hoping you would say a $10 sawzall blade, use this adapter for the drain pipe, & don't worry about more than 2 dead men for a 25' wall.

I'm afraid i've bit off more than I can chew with this project.

Grannyknot said:

yes, makes sense, but not exactly what I wanted to hear.
I was hoping you would say a $10 sawzall blade, use this adapter for the drain pipe, & don't worry about more than 2 dead men for a 25' wall.

I'm afraid i've bit off more than I can chew with this project.

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The deadmen are going to be a VERY IMPORTANT for a wall that long.

How tall?

I would say at least every 6' along the length located at 1/3rd height up from bottom and 1/3 down from the top.
Also I forgot to mention in my earlier post to pound a piece of rebar down through the timber to secure it into the ground.
I do not think that you have bitten off more than you can chew.

You really don't need weep holes for a wall made of ties. The wall will drain through the small gaps between tie layers and end-joints.

Backfilling with sand or gravel will go a long way in preventing frost heaving and preventing accumulation of water that would give you problems.

Bite the bullet and plan on using a chain saw to cut them to length.

The wall is going to be about 4' high, tapering down to 2' high.
The length is 25 feet.

I have rebar, a rebar cutter, and a hammer drill with a ground rod driving bit.
The deadmen are going to suck, as well as the use of the chainsaw, if I can get it to start & stay running.

Well if the chainsaw does not run well, that indeed makes the task a little more difficult.
The larger and IMHO, more pain in the A$$ part was drilling down through the ties to place the rebar. Because my father is a bit of a perfectionist, not only did we rebar through the inner deadmen, but also through the course above and below where our deadmen attached to the main wall.
Railroad ties are VERY difficult to drill through. My advice is rent or borrow the largest drill with the sharpest BITS (note that I used plural).

You know the kind of drill that has an extra handle sticking out for leverage?

Which leads me to the next bit of advice: Hang on to that sucker and do not for an instant forget to pay attention, cuz if that bit binds and catches, it will throw you to the ground and/or fracture your wrist!

brewkinger said:

Which leads me to the next bit of advice: Hang on to that sucker and do not for an instant forget to pay attention, cuz if that bit binds and catches, it will throw you to the ground and/or fracture your wrist!

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Haha, I can say I've been there done that lmao, that's a hammer drill, very strong. To cut them ties just get a good 12" wood/bimetal sawzall blade and have at it used them before to cut ties and works great. But make sure to tie everything together and have a deadman in place at least every 8'. And as said above, no drain pipe needed behind them just back fill with gravel and sand and will be good to go.

I've got a hammer drill and a 18" drill bit for the rebar. Also plan on hammering the rebar with a jack hammer and ground rod bit.
I cut one of them in half last night with a 12" sawzall blade. It worked, but it was very slow.
I guess its a back up plan for the chainsaw.

Digging for the deadmen is going to be the issue, with so many large roots in the ground.

Before you get too far into this project you might want to read up a bit on creosote. Here's a easy to read page: http://www.bclgroupinc.com/blog/2010/08/06/Why-We-Dont-Use-Railroad-Ties-in-Our-Landscaping.aspx

Not saying your railroad ties are coated with it but something to be aware of, if you are not already.

Creosote is only a issue if the ties are used to border a veggie garden or like wise. Since this is for a drive it won't matter.

thejudge said:

Haha, I can say I've been there done that lmao, that's a hammer drill, very strong. To cut them ties just get a good 12" wood/bimetal sawzall blade and have at it used them before to cut ties and works great. But make sure to tie everything together and have a deadman in place at least every 8'. And as said above, no drain pipe needed behind them just back fill with gravel and sand and will be good to go.

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In this context, what's a deadman? thanks,

Yea, what's a deadman? Glad somebody else asked before me.

thejudge said:

Creosote is only a issue if the ties are used to border a veggie garden or like wise. Since this is for a drive it won't matter.

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If he's on a private potable well I would strongly disagree.

thejudge said:

Creosote is only a issue if the ties are used to border a veggie garden or like wise. Since this is for a drive it won't matter.

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Until you get a splinter -- I had some creosote "tattoos" for several months after I took a spill down my cousin's RR tie steps and got a bunch of creosoted splinters lodged in my hand (not a beer-related accident, sadly, just carrying too much stuff to see where I was walking). So wear gloves on this project!

Darwin18 said:

If he's on a private potable well I would strongly disagree.

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Yes true, forgot that point.

A dead man is a "T" section that will come off the backside of the retaining wall (below grade) to help grab and hold the wall up against the back pressure. Google retaining walls and you should be able to see what it is.