Got a project coming up where I need to build a dipping pond from sleepers for a primary school
Luckily they’ll be new softwood sleepers…so relatively easy to work (stored outside of course, so moisture content unpredictable)
So I thought of a large biscuit joint in a routed slot to aid lining up and construction, especially to get the neat faceted top, but it could also potentially work for the sides: leaving a nice mitred joint effect with no cut end grain exposed. Will aim also to have no visible fixings on the top as children will use this to lean on and dip the pond for wildlife
Construction is 200x100 softwood sleepers in different configs: sides are largely 100x200, top is 200x100, rough overall dimensions: 4000 x 2400 x 600mm
I’ll be building this with volunteers so like the idea that I can get them cutting batches of identical parts to construct the outer frame
There will be long screws as mechanical fixings, but I’d like the timber joints to be serving a mechanical purpose containing the 5 tonnes of water (it works fine when you overlap sleepers in a rectangular brickwork construction with bolts through overlapping sleepers)
Thoughts?
