We have moved into a newly built house, and we are doing the garden from
scratch. It is only 14 ft by 25 ft, very heavy clay soil, which was
completely waterlogged in the winter, and now has cracks 1'' wide.
We are putting in a garden path and seating area, basically slate chippings
with strategically placed paving stones. We want to use the log roll as
edging to hold the slate in place. What is the best way to anchor this,
bearing in mind I will be digging on the 'border side' to improve the soil,
and put in plants? I don't want the edging falling over etc.
We have had 2 different sets of advice, one to concrete in the log roll all
the way around the edge, the other to use fixing posts about every 3 ft. One
edge will be straight, the other will be curved. Anyone any experience of
putting this in? What worked, didn't work, for you?
Thanks for any replies
Ann

In message , A
Menzies writes
We have moved into a newly built house, and we are doing the garden from
scratch. It is only 14 ft by 25 ft, very heavy clay soil, which was
completely waterlogged in the winter, and now has cracks 1'' wide.
We are putting in a garden path and seating area, basically slate chippings
with strategically placed paving stones. We want to use the log roll as
edging to hold the slate in place. What is the best way to anchor this,
bearing in mind I will be digging on the 'border side' to improve the soil,
and put in plants? I don't want the edging falling over etc.
We have had 2 different sets of advice, one to concrete in the log roll all
the way around the edge, the other to use fixing posts about every 3 ft. One
edge will be straight, the other will be curved. Anyone any experience of
putting this in? What worked, didn't work, for you?
Thanks for any replies
Ann


I would be doubtful about concreting the log roll in as it could help
water collect around the timber and speed up the rotting process. The
log roll will inevitably rot in time anyway and it will be quite
complicated removing it from its concrete bed to replace it. I have used
it on straight runs with supporting posts with no problems at all, but
have never tried to use it on a curve.
--
Sue
Remove the puppies to reply

Hi,
I too have very heavy clay soil (I think most of us have?).
So I decided to use raise borders filled with top soil.

I have used 12" log roll, which I have hammered into the ground (whilst soft) about 2-3".
However, apart from the weight of the soil, there is nothing to move it, no heavy foot traffic ie a path.
I would personally just hammer the roll in and see how it goes, adding a few supports if neccessary later. I dislike concrete as its rather permanent and im prone to changing my mind frequently. I moved the edging four or five times over a period of a months as I prefer a dynamic garden.

Hope that helps, I guess it depends on whetehr you like to do things properly at the begining or just "wing" it and see how it goes, with a backup plan or two if it goes pear shape.

Have fun

Ed

The message
from Sue Begg contains these words:


The log roll will inevitably rot in time anyway ...

True. We have - now had in places - log roll edging. I think
when we bought it stated 'guaranteed for 10 years' and 10 years
it was when it first began to decay.

Having said that it would not put me off using it again.

Jennifer

"A Menzies" wrote
We have moved into a newly built house, and we are doing the garden from
scratch. It is only 14 ft by 25 ft, very heavy clay soil, which was
completely waterlogged in the winter, and now has cracks 1'' wide.
We are putting in a garden path and seating area, basically slate
chippings with strategically placed paving stones. We want to use the log
roll as edging to hold the slate in place. What is the best way to anchor
this, bearing in mind I will be digging on the 'border side' to improve
the soil, and put in plants? I don't want the edging falling over etc.
We have had 2 different sets of advice, one to concrete in the log roll
all the way around the edge, the other to use fixing posts about every 3
ft. One edge will be straight, the other will be curved. Anyone any
experience of putting this in? What worked, didn't work, for you?
Thanks for any replies

I use it to edge a bank next to my pond on which is a path, a couple of
decades on I'm on my second lot of log roll the first having rotted. In view
of some problems I had experienced with the first roll, this time I cut up
some old compost plastic sacks and stapled that behind the log roll to
separate it from the damp earth and also no earth can now be washed out
through the little gaps. Hammered in posts about every 3ft and wired the
roll supporting wires to them so it doesn't show.

--
Regards
Bob
In Runnymede, 17 miles West of London

In article , Jennifer Sparkes
writes
The message
from Sue Begg contains these words:


The log roll will inevitably rot in time anyway ...

True. We have - now had in places - log roll edging. I think
when we bought it stated 'guaranteed for 10 years' and 10 years
it was when it first began to decay.

Having said that it would not put me off using it again.

Jennifer

If you want it to last longer treat it again before installation, they
probably only get a quick dip during manufacture.
--
David

gasdoctor wrote:
:: A Menzies Wrote:
::: We have moved into a newly built house, and we are doing the
::: garden from
::: scratch. It is only 14 ft by 25 ft, very heavy clay soil, which
::: was completely waterlogged in the winter, and now has cracks 1''
::: wide.
::: We are putting in a garden path and seating area, basically slate
::: chippings
::: with strategically placed paving stones. We want to use the log
::: roll as
::: edging to hold the slate in place. What is the best way to anchor
::: this,
::: bearing in mind I will be digging on the 'border side' to improve
::: the soil,
::: and put in plants? I don't want the edging falling over etc.
::: We have had 2 different sets of advice, one to concrete in the
::: log roll all
::: the way around the edge, the other to use fixing posts about
::: every 3 ft. One
::: edge will be straight, the other will be curved. Anyone any
::: experience of
::: putting this in? What worked, didn't work, for you?
::: Thanks for any replies
::: Ann
::
:: Hi,
:: I too have very heavy clay soil (I think most of us have?).

Not me! - mine's like fine black sand, - no lumps and very little stones /
pebbles etc...if we dig down 18 inches it's like the beach! - but we do live
at the bottom of a hill, when we lived at the top of the same hill it was
just clay, but we still managed to grow most things

--
If God had intended us to drink beer, He would have given us stomachs.

A Menzies wrote:

We have had 2 different sets of advice, one to concrete in the log roll all
the way around the edge, the other to use fixing posts about every 3 ft. One
edge will be straight, the other will be curved. Anyone any experience of
putting this in? What worked, didn't work, for you?
Thanks for any replies
Ann


I've used a lot of log roll this year in heavy clay - used fixing pins
(plastic coated steel, to which the roll is nailed or screwed) about
every metre - I've used it to edge a curved, sloping path. The pins are
quite long - about 3 times the height of the roll.

John K - for direct email insert "2" before "@"

"John K" wrote in message
...
A Menzies wrote:

We have had 2 different sets of advice, one to concrete in the log roll
all
the way around the edge, the other to use fixing posts about every 3 ft.
One
edge will be straight, the other will be curved. Anyone any experience
of
putting this in? What worked, didn't work, for you?
Thanks for any replies
Ann


I've used a lot of log roll this year in heavy clay - used fixing pins
(plastic coated steel, to which the roll is nailed or screwed) about
every metre - I've used it to edge a curved, sloping path. The pins are
quite long - about 3 times the height of the roll.

John K - for direct email insert "2" before "@"

I dipped mine in preservative before using it. I chosen the slightly
wasteful
method of getting log roll twice the height I wanted projecting out of the
ground,
dug a small trench, and buried it nearly up to half its height. I then
tapped down
the roll a final inch or so to level all the logs, and fix it more securely
in its trench.
It works fine on clay soil.

Andy.

"A Menzies" wrote in message
...
We have moved into a newly built house, and we are doing the garden from
scratch. It is only 14 ft by 25 ft, very heavy clay soil, which was
completely waterlogged in the winter, and now has cracks 1'' wide.
We are putting in a garden path and seating area, basically slate
chippings with strategically placed paving stones. We want to use the log
roll as edging to hold the slate in place. What is the best way to anchor
this, bearing in mind I will be digging on the 'border side' to improve
the soil, and put in plants? I don't want the edging falling over etc.
We have had 2 different sets of advice, one to concrete in the log roll
all the way around the edge, the other to use fixing posts about every 3
ft. One edge will be straight, the other will be curved. Anyone any
experience of putting this in? What worked, didn't work, for you?
Thanks for any replies
Ann


I'm a lover of log roll and I am currently replacing all my "crazy paving"
retaining walls with it.

I mainly use the one with the two spikes on the end. I first treat the wood
and then DIG small holes where the spikes need to go into the ground. I then
virtually bury the spikes in giving a few had knocks, with a hammer, to firm
it in. I learnt to do this as if you try to hit it in from scratch you might
hit a stone and the wood cracks and falls to pieces.

I have just replaced a wall with it where I had to make my own spiked log
roll as it was too tall to buy in the shops.