Turn a ho-hum yard into the landscape of your dreams
If you’re looking for a polished, professional look to update your plant beds and walkways, learning how to install landscape timbers can bring your landscaping to the next level. These lengths of wood are made for various landscaping uses, and installing them can be a rewarding DIY project to beautify your yard. You can use landscape timbers to edge flower beds, create new garden beds, or edge driveways and walkways, boosting your home’s curb appeal. Use our easy guide to tackle this DIY project like a pro.
Before getting started, you’ll need to know how much landscape timber you’ll need to buy. Measure the perimeter of the area where you’ll be installing the timbers so you can determine how many timbers it will take to complete the project. Take the total length of the perimeter and divide it by the length of the timbers you’re using, rounding up to account for partial lengths as well as corners.
You’ll also want to choose the right size and kind of wood for your timbers. They come in a variety of widths from 3 to 6 inches, so select your size depending on how wide you want your landscape edging to be. Most landscape timbers are made from pressure-treated wood but are also available in finished and unfinished natural wood. Remember that untreated wood will be more susceptible to rot and water damage and will not likely last as long as pressure-treated wood.
Mark the intended placement of your timbers using stakes and string. This will ensure your timbers are installed correctly and exactly where you want them. Hammer a stake into the ground where you want your timbers to begin, tie the string to the stake, hammer another stake into the ground at your desired end point, and attach the other end of the string. If your design involves corners or other angles, use a stake at each corner to indicate where the angle will be.
While marking the placement, ensure that you will not be digging into any sprinkler lines or other lines that are buried less than a foot underground.
Using a shovel, dig a trench about an inch wider than the width of your landscape timbers along the marked line. You’ll want to dig 3 to 4 inches down to stabilize the timbers once installed and give a professional, finished look. Remove any larger rocks or other obstacles that may interfere with leveling the timbers with a garden hoe or your shovel.
While the timbers don’t necessarily need to be perfectly flat according to a level, depending on the landscape of your yard, they should be level with the contours of the ground and even with each other. Use a hoe or shovel to level the bottom of the trench, then either walk inside the trench or use a hand tamp to pack down loose soil and create a solid base for your timbers.
If desired, install landscape fabric in the trench to discourage weed and grass growth around the timbers. Unroll the fabric down the length of the trench and affix it with landscape fabric staples, then trim to fit. Be sure that no fabric is showing past the top edge of the trench, as it will be visible once your timbers are installed.
Next, set your timbers inside the trench. Be sure not to leave any space between the timbers. For additional stability, join adjacent timbers with galvanized mending plates and deck screws on the interior surface facing into the plant bed or along the bottom surface so the plates don’t show. This can help keep your timbers level with each other and reduce shifting and uneven settling.
If your edging requires multiple timbers and you’ll need to cut a timber significantly shorter than the full length in order to reach the desired end point, consider shifting the timbers so both ends have shorter pieces of equal length. This will give a more symmetrical look than having a short piece on only one end.
If you end up needing to use partial timbers to reach your desired length, use your saw to cut pieces to the necessary length. If you’re only using right angles in your edging, you won’t need to cut any angles, as you can just butt the end of one timber perpendicular to another. If you’re looking for angles other than right angles, mark and measure out the angles, then cut using your saw.
Once your timbers are laid out, use your drill and a drill bit that’s slightly smaller than the diameter of the galvanized spikes to drill through the timbers. You’ll want to drill at each end of each timber and every 4 feet in between. Using a small sledgehammer, drive the galvanized spikes through the holes and into the ground to secure the timbers into place. Ensure that the spikes are fully driven into the ground and the heads of the spikes are not sticking up at all.
Once the timbers are secure, use some of the soil you removed from the trench to fill in the gaps around the timbers and tamp it so that it’s level with the ground. If desired, spread grass seed on the side facing the lawn to avoid a line of demarcation around the timbers.
Installing landscape timber edging for garden beds or walkways can be a straightforward DIY project. However, if you have a larger area to cover or are looking to install landscape timbers for a retaining wall, you might enlist the help of a local landscaper. Landscape pros can handle bigger projects or anything that involves structural concerns. Landscapers can also execute other landscape edging projects, like landscape curbing.
Most landscape timbers are 8 feet long, but some are also available in 10-foot and 12-foot lengths. Choose the length that will allow you to install landscape timbers using the least amount of cutting to fit. Shorter timbers will allow you to more easily create angles and shorter plant bed sides.
Warped wooden landscape timbers are the result of the wood taking in too much moisture and then drying out. Treated lumber is less likely to warp but may still be susceptible to changes due to moisture. You can reduce the risk of warping by treating the cut ends of your timbers with a product specifically made for waterproofing wood.
Landscape timbers can last 10 to 20 years in the ground when installed correctly. Pressure-treated timbers will last longer than non-treated ones, as pressure treatment makes the wood more rot-resistant. Wood exposed to high moisture levels or extreme temperature and weather fluctuations may not last as long as wood in drier areas with more consistent weather.
