Railway Sleeper Calculator UK

Work out how many railway sleepers you need for raised beds, edging and retaining walls. We mix full 2.4m sleepers and 1.2m halves for the cheapest fit.

For raised beds, use the bed planner: enter the bed's length, width and how many courses high, and we calculate the total sleeper run for you.

Start here

01 — The Calculator

How much does your garden need?

Pick a material, pace out your plot, and the value engine prices every way to fill it — hippo bags, dumpy bags or handy sacks.

Standard UK sleepers are 2.4m long — we mix full and half (1.2m) sleepers for the cheapest fit. For raised beds, multiply the run by the number of courses high.

Enter dimensions to calculate.

Run length

0.0 m

Full sleepers

0 × 2.4m

Cheapest mix

0 pieces

Left over

0.0 m spare

Enter your plot dimensions and the value engine will price the cheapest way to cover it.

Worked example: raised veg bed

A 3m × 1.2m bed, 2 courses high: each course is 8.4m around, so 16.8m total. That's 7 full 2.4m sleepers cut to fit — the planner prices it for you.

Common questions

2.4m (8ft) is the UK standard, typically 250×125mm in section. Half sleepers (1.2m) are sold for corners and short runs.

More free calculators

Plain-English guides