Railroad tie foundation

Whether a tie foundation works depends on the site, not a rule of thumb

Railroad ties get recommended as a budget foundation option because they're cheap, already treated for ground contact, and don't need a day of curing the way a poured slab does. Whether that recommendation actually holds up on a given property depends on things that change from one yard to the next: how wet the soil stays, what the ground does when it freezes, and what condition the specific ties are in.

That's the honest answer to give anyone asking whether railroad ties are a good foundation. It isn't a flat yes or no. It's a question about the individual site.

What to check before you commit to it

A few things decide whether ties will hold up under a container on any particular property:

• Drainage. Ties sitting in standing water rot faster than ties on a crowned, well-drained pad, no matter how well-treated the wood was to start.
• Soil type. Clay that holds moisture wears ties differently than sandy or gravelly ground that sheds water quickly.
• Freeze and thaw. Ground that heaves seasonally can shift ties unevenly year over year, which a rigid concrete block resists better.
• Condition of the ties themselves. Reclaimed ties vary wildly, sound in the middle and rotted at the ends, or the reverse. There's no substitute for inspecting the actual timbers.

How to pin down whether your site is a good fit

Walk the exact spot the ties would sit, in wet weather if you can, and see whether water collects there or drains away. Check the ties themselves for soft, spongy sections, especially near the ends, which is where rot usually starts first. If you're reusing salvaged ties, assume any given one could be sound or could be nearly gone, and inspect each one rather than judging the batch by a couple of good-looking pieces.

None of that is a Containers Delivered inspection. It's homework for whoever is setting up the site, because condition on this kind of foundation varies tie to tie and property to property in a way a general answer can't cover.

What our crew sets containers on

Containers Delivered doesn't supply or install railroad tie foundations. Every delivery within 75 road miles of Woodlawn includes our crew blocking and leveling the container on solid concrete blocks, which is what we recommend and what we stand behind. If a site already has a prepared tie foundation ready to receive the box, talk to us when you book so we know what the drop point looks like.