Just saw a fence in Portland that used railroad ties as posts

I was walking through a neighborhood in Portland last week and saw a fence that really made me stop. The whole thing was built using old railroad ties as the main posts, with regular cedar boards in between. They had sunk the ties about 4 feet deep and used huge lag bolts to hold the rails. It looked super solid and had this cool, industrial feel. I've never seen that done before on a house. Has anyone here ever built something like that, and how did you handle the weight when setting the posts?

2 comments

2 Comments

thompson.brian7d ago

Saw a bench made from a single tie once.

fox.simon7d ago

Reminds me of a guy who used old bowling alley lanes. Cut them into weird shapes. Made a whole dining set. Looked cool but super heavy. Had to reinforce his floor. Kinda the same idea, using one big piece of something.