how to treat home sawed lumber for ground contact?

aardvark · Mar 6, 2005

What can I use to treat some large pine posts to keep them from rotting? I have about 10 posts ranging in sizes from 6x6 through 12x12. All about 8-10 feet long. I want to place them in the ground around the yard basically as markers. A couple for power outlets, one for a hose spigot, one for a corner of the shed so I can hang a gate, etc. Each would stick about 3 or 4 feet out of the ground, except the gate which would be higher.

Is there anything I can treat them with to keep them from rotting? I was thinking I could paint them with polyeurethane or boiled linseed oil or something, but there must be something better. Thanks.

GRUMPA · Mar 6, 2005

Well when I was young we used to have our old motor oil handy in 5gal buckets. With the top off we would stand the posts (normally 4x4) in the bucket and let the wood soak up the oil. It's amazing how much oil a post will suck up. When I left Ca. back in 90 an drove by our old house. You know after 20yrs those things were still there without any visible signs of damage at all. /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

beenthere · Mar 6, 2005

You could check around and try to find some Penta (pentachlorophenol) that used to be available for 'home' treating lumber and posts. EPA got involved and with some hype it was taken off the market.
If me, I wouldn't bother with the pine, but go to some white oak or live oak instead. You must have to treat for rot as well as termites in your area.

bugstruck · Mar 6, 2005

The oil and preservative treatments might work but FYI that is absolutely the worst of the popular woods for ground contact. Thought about it myself for about 1 minute. I have a small forrest of white pines. My pine borers would have that to dust in 5 years, no matter how good the ground treatment. Depends where you are I guess.

rdln · Mar 6, 2005

I built my little pheasant pen on the cheap, nailed miscelaneous 2x4s together to make 4x4 posts and doused them in asphalt roof coating. I would say its better than nothing, maybe.

EddieWalker · Mar 7, 2005

I don't know what you can do to treat them, but I've been wondering about another way to protect native trees to use as posts.

I've been wondering about putting them in heavy duty garbage bags and sliding them into the ground. The only issue I come up with is sealing the bags around the post so water doesn't get in.

I'll never do it, but it's something I've been wondering about.

Neuropel · Mar 7, 2005

Home Depot-type places sell a brown solution used for painting the ends of freshly cut treated lumber. Perhaps this is the Penta mentioned earlier (I don't know for sure), but I believe it's copper based. I've heard that works as well as anything else you can get your hands on for home treatment, but none of it will work all that great for in-ground use.

Todd K.

Soundguy · Mar 7, 2005

I'd get a pial of copper napthenate. (green) and stand them in that as a post dip.

Don't get any on ya. It's a decent treatment against pest and rot.

Next choice would be dip them into asphalt fence paint.. etc.

Soundguy

slydog · Mar 7, 2005

I put up a split rail fence about 20 years ago along my yard. They were the round treated pine rails. I also bought some of that copper, green colored preservative and and dipped the post ends in it. They have all rotted off, and probably needed to be replaced about 6 years ago. Whatever you treat the pine with, short of penta or creosote soaked logs, I'm gonna estimate you will need to replace them in 10-12 years. Just my thoughts, no science involved.

Soundguy · Mar 7, 2005

14 ys is good for just a dipped post... I don't think they owed you anything. If they hadn't been dipped.. I doubt they would have made 10.

Cresote IMHO is about as good as you can get.. however.. it sounds like this guy needs to retro some already owned lumber or home milled.. etc.

Soundguy

aardvark · Mar 7, 2005

Thanks for the info everyone. I've written everything down on a list and will start looking around. The posts in questions are Florida pine variety, and were cut about three months ago. I stacked them in a pile and they have been sitting since then, as I have had other projects that are more important. I figured I would use the logs as posts because I can chainsaw mill them into large square sections. Also, I'd like really sturdy posts to protect the plumbing spigots for the hose, electrical plugs, etc, in case I accidentally hit them with the tractor while mowing, etc. I already have the posts so I figured I'd recycle them. If I cut the logs up into firewood to give my co-workers, etc, it's really not a big loss. If the logs have been sitting for three months, will it affect the ability to soak up the chemical? I have not sawed them square yet, and they still have most of the bark on them. I plan on sawing this weekend or next and moving the pile to a better location in the yard.

I may try the boiled linseed oil on a one of them just to see how it works. We used to paint boiled linseed oil on the bottom of our cars when I lived in NY, it would harden up and protect the underbody from the salt and sand blasting while driving during the winter.

ThistleKop · Mar 7, 2005

<font color="blue">If the logs have been sitting for three months, will it affect the ability to soak up the chemical? </font>

The more the logs have dried, the more preservative they will absorb which is a good thing.

TK

TruChaos · Mar 7, 2005

I've found that Cuprinol works wonders. Easy to use and lasts a long time.

I've treated wood with cuprinol then buried it in the ground only to dig it up years later and find it's completely free from rot.

The last time a bought it was at Home Depot. But to be honest, that was several years ago.

http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/decoder_cuprinolgreen.asp

Soundguy · Mar 8, 2005

Cuprinol contains the same chemical I mentioned earlier.. Copper napthenate. And yes.. Copper napthenate is great stuff.

Soundguy

Darren · Mar 8, 2005

If you're not far from a treatment plant, you can take them in for pressure treatment. I had some oak treated several years ago that I've been using for long term supports under some bridge steel. I haven't seen a bit of rot.

You might luck out and find a place nearby that does the CCA treatment. There's quite a few of those in the South that treat southern yellow pine. If so price the marine spec. (2.5#) treatment. Treated to that spec, you should get an easy 50 years of service.

daedong · Mar 8, 2005

Sump oil and creosote, paint on or soak the post as many time as you can to the point the timber will not take it up anymore. they will last for year and years.

slowrev · Mar 9, 2005

Isn't Creosote a banned substance now ? I have a friend that dipped some pine 4X4's in a 5 gal bucket of used hydraulic oil for about a month. Going on 10 years now and no problems so far.
whatever you use the lumber should be very dry so it will soak up the preservative good.
Ben

AutoUnionTypeC · Mar 9, 2005

I heard that if you char a fence post at its base it will prevent rot. Can anyone confirm or deny this? Intuitively it makes a bit of sense, yet still.................... /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif
Regards, J