Sealing Cracks in Old Railroad Ties ?

Hello:

Have a bunch of railroad ties that are used for defining the boundary of some garden plots. They are black, which I assume is due to Creosole. About 25 yrs of age.

They are cracking and de-laminating pretty badly, and would be a real pain to replace them all.

Is there anything I can pour into the cracks to seal them up ?

I realize epoxy would probably work, but it would take an awful lot of mixing, and a lot of epoxy, to do it.

Anything simpler available with a chance of doing the job ?

Thanks, Bob

Reply to
Robert11
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I can't think of anything that you could apply that would do a better job than the Creosote that is already in the wood.. The Creosoting process involves impregnating the wood with a tar/asphalt mixture, under very high heat and pressure. It's not just a surface coating.

You might try some of the deck sealants., or maybe roofing tar.

Reply to
Bob Vaughan

Bob see if you can source some liquid bitumen, as they sometimes use for bitumen{Asphalt} repairs to seal around the edge of road repairs.

If you heat this up, to make it runny, pour that in; when set will be firm with some flexibility..& of course its waterproof. I have a can from when I worked for Shell, but guess is available at merchants{Lumber Yards}. You could also try bitumen mastic as used for fixing roof felt/shingles; guess easier to obtain that road bitumen.

When I use that I heat up with paint stripper gun{Gas or electric}; be aware that it may flame up, but only temporarily, till you remove heat. And of course it sets instantly.

So have some sand around to smother if you have to.

Reply to
Main Man

If the cracks are large, clean them out and fill them with concrete and then coat it with tar. Chances are, if they are 25 years old, they are starting to rot on the bottom.

Reply to
Bob

i searched google for creosote and cdc and found that you don't want it in the garden at all.

"How can creosote affect my health? Breathing vapors of the creosotes, coal tar, coal tar pitch, or coal tar pitch volatiles can cause irritation of the respiratory tract. Eating large amounts of creosote (any form) may cause a burning in the mouth and throat and stomach pains. Eating large amounts of herbal remedies containing creosote bush leaves may cause liver damage, while large amounts of coal tar creosote may result in severe skin irritation, eye burns, convulsions, unconsciousness, and even death." so says

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Reply to
buffalobill

You might as well bite the bullet and replace them. If they have been in the ground 25 years, they are on their last legs. I dug up a batch of mine that were about that long in the ground and almost none of them were worth saving. They rot from the inside out as the creosote does not penetrate all the way into the middle. They are also a great place for ant nests. Most of mine looked good on the outside but once I started digging they came out in pieces they were so rotten. Same thing with a batch of #1 ties I used for fence posts way back when. I removed the fence last summer. Of 8 ties, only 4 were salvageable.

Harry K

Reply to
Harry K

But it smells so good!

Reply to
Steve Kraus

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