Decking from sleepers!

Can you post a pic or two, with any form of timber decking you should leave a small gap between each plank, I know these are sleepers, but they will still expand and contract with different temperatures.

 

Wow - nice

Simple answer - leave the gaps. They look awesome and they look 'right'.

Certainly cement mortar/grout will crack and fall out, and will probably look pretty daft whilst it's still in there.

If you really felt you had to fill them, I suspect a dark brown frame sealant/mastic from a skeleton gun run in there - but kept a bit down from the top surface, I think - would be ok, although 15mm is a very big gap to fill.

But - leave it

 

Nice, in all honesty I wouldn't fill the gaps, looks good as is.

 

See I knew it was the right thing to say, DA on board too.

 

Sharp sand.

 

Post-crete with some black powder colour added.

 

Leave the gaps, adds character.

 

Ah, I thought the fibre optic was for soooper-fast BBand

I simply wouldn't use a non-flexible, brittle material like mortar/concrete.

But I think this could work - chust name your finish; crushed glass? Nae prob. Black stone? Ditto. Mix, trowel in, and pack down...

http://www.richcoltd.com/crushed_glass.htm

 

I can't offer any suggestions on how to fill the gaps, I just came on to tell you what a great looking deck you have there - very nice job!

 

Don't get carried away - we were complimenting the sleepers, not the sleepyhead who fitted them...

Ok, ok, ok - you've done an awesome job

Anyways, please do bear in mind that by filling these gaps you will be seriously hampering drainage.
As they stand, these sleepers should require minimum maintenance, but once you stuff something in them gaps it will need regular cleaning - possibly light jet washing - to keep it looking good. And the timber will be more constantly damp too since the rain won't be able to drain away immediately, and these top-sides of the sleepers will be kept damp for a looong time...

Please give that some thought first. I do think your ideas are brilliant, but you might have cause to regret it.

 

What you really need is a very long 2mm drill bit that's guaranteed not to snap (ie - it doesn't exist) and drill the fibre holes at random right through the akshull sleepers. Leave the gaps as they are.

That way it'll still look like a fab rustic decking - until night falls...

Are these sleepers suspended on a decking frame? Ie - do you have access to the undersides? If so, then it would be possible (tho' not easy) to drill smallish access holes of say 6mm dia from the underside, stopping an inch or so from the top surface, and then drilling fibre-sized holes (1.5mm?) from the top to meet them. Bring your fibres up in random places on the sleepers, seal and cut flush.

(A bit like the channel tunnel meeting in the middle after being started from two countries - except more difficult... )

 

A great looking deck . Just leave it as it is IMHO. Especially as I like sleepers as I like railways. No anorak, Thomas the Tank etc. jokes as I have heard them all before. You will have to be careful wearing high heels though!

 

Very nice that deck is as already said leave as is, it's the character of it.

 

Leave the gaps, forget about fitting fibre optics. At the moment it looks classy not tacky.