Saving deck supports

Dec 23, 2006 3 Replies

My is 20 yrs old and the 4x4 supports are sunk directly in the concrete. Inspection does not reveal any obvious rot... yet. I was wondering if making a flashing near the concrete/ wood interface but high enough to allow air circ would be of any use at this late date. I also considered using the glycol-borax-boric acid mix as a preventative. There is a bit of a gap between the wood and concrete that should accept this if it's of sufficiently low viscocity. I know that in the long run I't's a lost cause but is this a worthy project?


Location of deck? city, state

Is concrete a slab on grade? A pier foundation?

I doubt that the flashing would help much or be worth the effort.

You might consider drilling a hole into the post at a 45 deg angle such that the bottom of the drilled hole is about 3 or 4" above the concrete.........

fit the hole with palstic tube & funnel so that your can flood / saturate the post base with some sort of wood preservative

if you want to go "organic" use raw linseed oil...like the Vikings :)

do this dance when the wood is as dry as it gets ......no rain or watering for a long time

cheers Bob

Sorry about the lack of clarity, Bob. That ws writen in too much haste. My location is south- central PA. The concrete is simply pured in a hole around the wood. All that said I think that your comment suffices as does the site that buffalobill posted. Thanks to both of you. Have a great Christmas.

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