150 x 250mm Oak Sleeper 2.6m

150 x 250mm European Oak Sleeper, 2.6m

French Oak Sleepers, or garden sleepers, have always been a popular product, largely because of their versatility. Most of our contractors select the 100mm-200mm oak sleepers at 2.4 metres but we also stock 130mm x 220mm and 150mm x 250mm oak sleepers, both at 2.6 metres length.

Our larger oak sleepers are often used where a large section of oak is required but the price doesn’t justify purchasing a large oak section being cut and then machined. Large oak sleepers can be used horizontally, or vertically, but they may start to rot after 4-10 years. Your pond installation or garden steps should be checked for wear and tear at least twice a year.

Large sections of oak can be used for growing vegetables raised beds. If you have access to a chain saw, or a large table saw you might want to construct some oak garden furniture. Beware of the weight, even a small oak sleeper can weigh 50kg. Because of the weight, and price,, you would be advised to price a new project in oak sleepers and in softwood sleepers, or the UC4 Incised sleepers which carry a Manufacturers 15 Year Warranty. If there are a lot of cuts involved then you will lose a lot of the benefit of the UC4 timbers.

European Oak Sleepers and appearance

Oak sleepers will vary in appearance. Fresher cut stock tends to be a pale green to soft russet tones, but as they start to weather the colours will become more muted. After a season or two they will become a slate grey colour. This is perfectly natural. Occasionally fresh cut oak sleepers may have dark grey or black marks on the exposed face. This is perfectly normal and sometimes occurs when the timber has been in contact with steel from fork lift “prongs”. Marks can be removed by use of a belt sander or an experienced tradesman may prefer to use Oxalic Acid.

Because of the high amounts of tannin in oak timber it is recommended that stainless-steel threaded bar and fixings are used. Any other fixings could lead to a materials failure. Old buildings invariably had to use hand-made oak pegs.

Design considerations

Some sleepers will have waney and uneven edges, some may even have bark on them. This is part of their charm and rustic appeal. These “features” are allowed within the sleeper grade, these are neither a visual, or structurally graded, timber product. However, the sleepers will usually have two to three good adjoining faces, but when this is not the case, they can be useful for steps. As the sleepers dry out they will start to exhibit end splits and the grain will open up a little.  Any black marks can also be sanded down as the oak starts to surface dry.

Fresh cut oak contains a high proportion of water even after cutting. Typically 7% of the oak’s volume will change in the first year. However, this potential rustic appearance is considered a feature, not a defect of the product Because oak leaks water some of the tannin will leach out of the oak sleeper as well. When assessing your design make sure you make allowance for this leaching, it will probably stain gravel, rendered walls, slabs and other light coloured materials such as white gravel.

Oak sleeper sizes and weights

We normally carry the following three sizes of oak sleepers, there may on occasions be a slight variation. Approximate weights are 48 kg., 72kg. and 96kg. As a rule we would expect a mechanical (i.e. forklift) offload or the assistance of one, or preferably two able bodied persons when we are delivering oak sections of 100mm x 200mm at 2.4 metres.  The other two section sizes are 130mm x 220mm  at 2.55 metres and 150mm x 250mm at 2.55 metres.

Deliveries to our yard are usually full loads direct from France. This allows us to get a keener  price which we can then pass on direct to the Trade. Here the customer, Ian from Liberty Landscapes, has used the colours and size of the sleepers to make a bold seating area. 

Alternatives to oak sleepers

Our European oak sleepers are intended primarily for landscaping uses. If you require structural oak or graded oak then we can price this for you, we can bring over bespoke sized oak sections from France for larger structural projects. Smaller orders can be sourced from England using French oak, e.g. for mill wheels, gates and freshwater fish passes.