What to use instead of creosote

[AlanC]

Hi all,

The windy weather has only just started and one of my fence posts has blown down. It has rotted at ground level. I have dug out the remaining wood in preperation for the new post. The post was hammered into one of these metal post spikes which was then encased in concrete. This was one of my first attempts at putting up fence posts and pannels about 8 years ago. I had planned just to use the spike, but the piece of concrete that held the original post in place was so big, that when I eventually managed to remove it, there was a huge hole, so I ended up putting some new concrete in along with the post spike to keep it in place. I also ended up putting it too deep and the top of the post spike is a gound level.

The good thing is that its a lot easier getting this rotten post out than it was with the previous one and in theory all I need to do is hammer a new post into the post spike. I will be loweing the ground level around the post a bit to try and reduce the rot, but was also wondering what kind of wood treatment I should use on the post now that we cannot get creosote anymore.

Anyone have any good recommendations?

Thanks

Alan

[TMC]

Concrete posts either full height or the shorter ones with holes in that you can bolt a wooden fence post to

[Andy Hall]

I agree. I've recently had two sections of fence replaced using concrete posts with slots (I'm not into heavy digging).

From experience, it doesn't matter if wooden posts are treated with creosote or even pressure treated and dipped as well, their lifespan is limited.

I also bought some much better than typical quality panels £20+ rather than around £10. Apart from being much more substantial, they are properly pressure treated rather than just being dipped.

We'll see the result in a few years, but a section that I had done 15 years ago is still in very good condition.

[Pete C]

Hi,

See (posts 14 and 15):

#

To ensure the posts are dry before treating I'd look up the time needed to air dry them according to their size and the outdoor temperature.

When treating them I'd wrap the ends of the posts in thick polythene eg DPC sheet. I'd then soak them until at least the recommended amount of preserver has been taken up, preferably a lot more.

By measuring the amount of preserver used and then left over it's easy to work out how much has gone into the wood.

cheers, Pete.

[usenet]

Therein lies part of the problem, don't encase it in concrete/cement.

[Frank Erskine]

[AlanC]

I had an idea last night. I currently have a metal spike encased in concrete which is below ground level. The spike is designed to take a standard wooden post. If I use one of the short metal repair spikes that are designed to be hammered directly into concrete blocks, saving you the effort of digging out the old concrete, that would bring the base of the post above ground level and prevent it from rotting. I have used the repair spikes a couple of times before and they seem to work OK, but I havent put a repair spike into an existing metal spike before. In theory it should fit, as the spike part of the repair spike is meant to fit into a hole in the concrete block that is the same size as a wooden post. I could also put some concrete into the hold just to be on the safe side.

The downside to this idea is that if it doesnt work then I will HAVE to dig out the old concrete block, whereas at the moment I could just stick another post in the hole and leave it for 10 years.

Alan

[dennis]

Can you weld a repair socket to the existing spike? I couldn't without a lot of practise first. 8-(

IMHO its best to fit wooden posts and fit spurs when they rot after about 20 years. My feather edged board is now 25 years old and never had any preservative on it other than the brown muck it was coated in for the first 20 years. Then next door decided it would look nice in red cedar and painted his side of *my* fence.. needless to say I had to paint my side then.. grr!

If he had used creosote it would have had to come down as I am not having that stuff anywhere near me as it gives me a rash amongst other effects.