A neighbor has wood steps that are very dark and look almost new. He said they are not pressure treated and are more than a decade old.
They've been in the ground this whole time and haven't aged a bit.
He pours his old motor oil on them whenever he changes his oil. I could see where he did in that some wide steps were stained darker.
Does motor oil prevent bacteria and mold and insects from eating the wood?
I know of people doing similar things and the wood lasted for years. Of course, depending on how much he is pouring and where it goes, he may be contaminating the ground water.
It will soak into the wood. Farmers have used it for fencing.
Troll, troll, troll your boat...
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Spray it on my flatbed trailer every year (spruce tubasix bed), no signs of rust or rot.
Why are wood steps in the ground? I guess if they are not part of a structure, maybe steps down a landscape grade, I can see it.
Probably, but it must make a hell of a mess that you have to walk over. Which gets back to the question of where these actually are.
We used to sprey the old driving shed with engine oil mixed with something else - can't remember if it was diesel or linseed or what, but it kept the wood from rotting or being eaten by bugs (or porcupines)
I imagine it would have flared and smoked pretty good if it had caught fire!!
On Wed, 05 May 2021 22:31:52 -0400, Clare Snyder posted for all of us to digest...
Probably linseed oil, that was the good ol wood protectant. It spontaneously combusts if left in piled rags. If the shed caught fire it would have been a grand sight.
I live in a small town and about 55 years go there was a fire that wiped out a city block. The buildings were old and many had wood floors and about 3 stories tall. Those floors probably had many layers of some kind of oil on them. The buildings were brick on the outside.
In New England at least once a year one of the old mills would go up like that as the wood floors were oil soaked. Most every town has a mill building of some size.
I use boiled linseed on my garden tool and ax handles and I'm careful with any rags I use. I haven't done any fine woodworking in a long time but linseed and turpentine was always my favorite finish. It develops a nice patina. Last I looked you might have to take out a loan to buy real turpentine.
I've not bought turps for years but a quick check is $22 to $45 a gallon. Amazon has a glass bottle of 8 oz. for $20
On Fri, 7 May 2021 18:16:24 -0400, Ralph Mowery posted for all of us to digest...
That's probably because they didn't have a proper firewall between units. The house I grew up in didn't have one. It was a brick twin with the wall separating the units only coming up to the eaves. The space under the roof trusses was open, one could climb into the neighbors if industrious enough. IIRC I don't recall what was used as a separation in the attic. My father had put plywood down to use as a floor & storage for stuff... Knob & tube wiring.
All solvents are out of sight. There isn't any more $1.49 a gallon paint thinner.
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