How to Install Composite Edging

Composite edging is a synthetic edging material that is often made from recycled materials. It is used for edging around curved beds and is designed to provide the appearance of wood. The advantage of composite over wood is that it is low in maintenance and bends easily. Composite edging is installed in a trench around the bed. It is staked on the inside edges, and the stakes are fastened to the edging to create a secure border around your garden or landscaped beds.

Landscaper's spray paint
Shovel
1-by-4-inch composite edging
1-by-2-inch stakes, 12 inches long
Mallet
Screw gun
1 1/4-inch coated screws, box

Instructions

- 1
  Spray the outer perimeter of the bed where you plan to install the composite edging with landscaper's spray paint.
- 2
  Dig a trench along the perimeter using a shovel. The trench should be 6 inches wide. The depth needs to be 3/4 inch less than the height of the edging so that the top of the edging is elevated 3/4 inch above the surface of the ground.
- 3
  Position the edging around the outside edge of the trench around the bed. The ends of the edging have a half lap joint so that they can overlap. Leave a 1/4-inch gap between the joints on the overlap for expansion.
- 4
  Hammer a 12-inch stake on the inside or bed-side edge of the edging every 36 inches, measuring from the center of one stake to the center of the next, around the bed using a mallet. The top end of the stake should be approximately 1 inch deeper than the top edge of the edging.
- 5
  Drive two screws through the inside edge of the stake into the edging to secure the edging in place using a screw gun. Locate the screws at 1 and 1 1/2 inches respectively down from the top end of each stake.
- 6
  Fill in around the edging using the dirt that you removed from the trench. This is called back-filling. If you plant to mulch the bed, leave enough room for mulch on the bed side of the edging.

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