Buried pressure treated post easier to rot?

[Yi Jin]

I am building a deck right now. The contractor just digged holes, ranges 2 to 5 feet deep, and poured 1 1/2 bag (120lb) of concrete mix in each hole. He is going to put in the post.

So they are still 1.5 foot to 4.5 foot deep above the footing. The posts will sit on the footing, buried with the dirt.

Will the PT posts rot easly? Since they are buied, how can you tell if a post is rotten underneath? The contractor claimed that the post will be good for 20 years. But how can you tell? I would not like to have a lot of people on the deck and then the rotten posts cause a collapse.

Since the posts are do deep, it seems it is really difficult to replace them when they are rotten.

Am I worried too much? The contractor is not willing to pour the more concrete in.

Yi

[Herb]

When the posts rot, they will become loose in the ground and the fence will sag. You will have to dig them out and replace with a new post. Getting the old post out will be somewhat difficult for those that are deep. Many people use a bumper jack and chain to aid in lifting the post out of the hole. The rot will most likely take place just below the soil line. An alternative is to place a new post right next to the old post and leave the old post in place. I am not a fence expert, so what I have said is based on my personal experience with my fence.

[Clyde Gill]

That would depend on your location, Yi. You might be able to get away with a buried post in Tucson AZ, but here in Missouri that post would rot within a few years time. One of the best ways to mount a post is on a bracket that has been set into a concrete pillar.

clyde

[Yi Jin]

Does that mean cold climate make PT wood rot faster?

I am in surban maryland, near Baltimore.

I suggested concrete pier idea to the contractor. But he claims nobody is doing that anymore. Buried post make a deck much more stable.

Yi

In article , Clyde Gill wrote: >>

[jim]

tell the contractor that you want it done right: concrete up over the soil and tben metal post holder clips into the concrete and then post on the metal clips...if he does not want to do it that way then tell him that you gonna get someone who can do it that way.. bet what he want to do is not up to code either... gonna have problems with the local code people...

[mark Ransley]

You are worry to much, contractor is right except they will probably last 40 years

[mark Ransley]

Clyde he is talking pressure treat. There are piers in water here for

15 years that are fine

[Jim Nitz]

Read this link, and check the labels on the lumber. You may or may not be worrying for nothing.

[Art Begun]

A properly built masonry pier will almost always be better than a wood post.

[jim evans]

Properly treated PT wood will resist rotting and termites for 20-40 years. I'm in Houston where mold grows on anything that doesn't move for 10 minutes -- humidity, monsoons combined with heat. I've seen cedar posts rot away in 3-6 years. There are PT posts at my previous home here that are still sound, holding up a double planked 8' fence for 35 years that sees tropical storm winds occasionally. At my current house the PT fence posts are 23 years old, and I recently put new rails and 6' 1x6 pickets on these still sound posts.

When posts rot they do so where the post enters the ground. If you inspect the point they enter the ground you can tell if they are rotting. Termites may destroy them below ground, but they'll rot into at the ground level before the buried part rots.

jim ___ Have a home upkeep question? Try my help page. It's sort of an alt.home.repair FAQ.

[L. M. Rappaport]

On Wed, 23 Jul 2003 13:27:37 -0500, jim wrote (with possible editing):

That's right. Treated posts, tend to rot where they transition: right at ground level. They don't rot under water or soil, nor above ground. Do as Jim suggests: sonotubes below ground to slightly above and then add clips for treated posts. They might shift, as you get frost in Baltimore, but they won't rot.

-- Larry [e-mail]

[Harry K]

And if he again claims it won't be as stable it is a clue that he doesn't know how to build a stable platform.

Harry K