Garden works, part 6: Idea for elevating the garden layout

My initial garden layout turned out pretty good. The train runs well on it, the track is stable, there are no electrical issues. And I could just continue from here and keep extending it, if it wasn’t for ‘external dangers’ that exist in my garden.

Those dangers include our dog which for some reason loves digging holes between my tracks and covers it with soil constantly. And they also include my children who occupy the garden all the time and unfortunately pay very little attention to the layout (not that I’d expect them to really do that).

That would be all fine if I wanted to have just the rail track.  PIKO G scale track pieces are rather sturdy and my kids walk on them all the time and have not broken anything, yet. But I want to build a real miniature world and it will include fragile elements for sure. And I have to protect them somehow.

My solution for that is in raising the layout. And that means elevating not only the rail track but the entire ‘world’ instead. And for that I’ll need to build a raised garden bed and then put my layout on top of it.

There are several ways to create a raised garden bed. Some options require a lot of building skills and I do not have those (yet). And some require materials that are difficult to transport and that would be a problem since the only way to access my garden is through my flat. Taking all pros and cons into account, I’m thinking about building the bed using wood.

My raised layout would be rectangular with a size of around 10m x 2.5m (~32ft x 8ft). And it would be around 60cm (~2ft) tall. I know it’s still not huge but it will already take a significant part of my small garden.

That’s how I would like to start:

This is the far end of the garden bed. It’s build from planks that are 2.8cm (~1’’) thick and supported by squared wood posts 7cm x 7cm (~3’’ x 3’’). The wood will be of course pressure treated and will be weather resistant so I expect it to last at least 10 years in the outdoors conditions.

The layout of my garden won’t allow me to build the bed in its target place. Instead I’ll have to build it and then carry it to its destination. Because of that I won’t be able to build it in one piece but will have to create modules and carry them one by one. The idea is that each module will be around 2.5m x 2.5m (~8ft x 8ft).

To get the final size, I’ll need 4 modules:

And once they’re placed in the proper spot and connected, I’ll try to finish with a shape less rectangular and more acceptable for my wife :)

Once filled with soil, I should be able to lay my track on it:

 
Of course there are other aspects I have to take into account:

• I know I should not be placing the wood directly on the ground and I do not feel like creating a real concrete foundation, so I’ll probably need a lot of gravel to act as a base
• I’m going to impregnate the wood even beyond its factory preparation to give it a chance for a longer life span
• I’m going to put a pond liner around the inside of the bed to minimize the contact between the wood and the soil
• The front corner part will probably need some additional support – I’m not sure how to handle that, yet.

And of course I know very little about woodwork, so I have a lot of doubts:

• I have no idea whether my design is rigid enough. Will it hold all the soil I’m planning to fill it with or will it fall apart?
• The bed will be placed in a corner of my garden. This means I’ll have limited access to some parts and I will have to walk on it. Will it hold under the additional weight of my body or will it break?
• The 10 years life span I’m thinking about is just my idea. I have no clue how long this kind of wood will really last and whether the protection I’m considering is adequate.

The planned cost:

• Wood: ~400 Eur
• Screws: ~30 Eur
• Pond liner: ~20 Eur
• Paint: ~50 Eur
• Gravel: ~50 Eur
• Soil: ~100 Eur
• Work: I’m going to do it myself :)