wood fence posts

I was just thinking, since wood fence posts tend to rot right at the soil line, what would happen if you painted on one of those rubber-in-a-can products, maybe a band a foot wide just below and above ground level.

Would it seal the post at a vulnerable location and would the post last longer? Does that stuff stick to wood?

Oh, flex-seal is the one on TV but I think I saw other brands at my local hardware.


Bill

It might, probably wouldn't hurt...

How much damage is from rot and how much from insects? It probably would have little effect on insect damage.

My concern is you are trying to prevent something that will be happening many years into the future. What would be left of the product by then? But it still could extend the life somewhat.

I have seen some of the wood utility poles set in expanding foam. Not sure why, could be to isolate them from ground contact. That might be worth a shot.

Put couple or three wraps of roofing
paper around the post.

Water and warm are the two killers of any wood. The prevention of water absorbing into the wood (even above the ground) is a
major deal. The type of wood matters more than any other single element. Locust, Western red cedar, and others can last 50
years. Second growth common cedar not even 10 years in Minnesota. Factor in these and choose the options that give you value and
service. Putting posts in concrete (though rigid) assures their destruction. Ground contact treated posts are about as good as
you can get coating them might be less expensive than a really long lasting, but exotic to the area post. Jim

I've been using shrink wrap.

If you are in an area that has Hedge (Osage Orange) then use that....WAY better than Locust or cedar

If you seal the ends it will just cause the wood to hold water and make it rot faster. You are better off using pressure treated posts and back fill the hole with gravel.

The flex seal product they advertise on tv is one of the most falsely advertised product I've ever used. I bought one can of it to try it out and it cracked and split open faster than any sealant I've ever used before.

Keep in mind that whatever you use in an attempt to keep water out will probably also keep water
in. Water will seep down from the top and up from the bottom inside of anything you put around the
post at the ground line and trap moisture against the wood. I'd think this would cause more harm
than good.

I sure agree with the poster who mentioned using osage orange - there are untreated hedge posts
around our area of Kansas that have been in the ground for decades that are still good and solid.

The Boss had me dip his yard fence posts in a bucket of tar before they went in the ground. Three years later they had all rotted off at ground level.

I knew a guy who saved used motor oil in a large drum and soaked his posts in it. He claimed it worked well cause the oil actually soaked in and wasn't nearly a external layer that trapped moisture. I have not tried it myself, I cut my own juniper posts and they last alot of years untreated

I agree with the hedge. Dad and I cut hedge posts and set them in 1960. They are still as good as the day we
set them. The treated posts we put along the road rotted off over 30 years ago.

While on the subject I think it should be noted there is treated wood and pressure treated wood and the two are completely different. What they are suppose to be doing with treated wood is put it in a tank and submerging it in the chemical under pressure so the chemical goes all the way through the wood. What some unscrupulous companies will do is dunk the wood in an open tank to give it the green color. When you buy it the treated wood looks like any other unless you cut it and find the green only goes in about 1/8". On fence posts the outer 1/8" will remain fine while the rest of the post in the center will rot away. Before installing very many fence posts I would recommend cutting the ends off a few to check the treatment. The biggest offender I've found doing the dunk treatment is Yellawood.

The power company is aware of where the poles rot so they hire contractors every few years to check the poles at ground level and if damage is present
(I forget the technical name) they shave the damaged area off, apply some kind of goo and wrap in some kind of wrapper. When finished they nail a tag
on the post containing the date and the company number doing the work. Seems to work. Poles in my yard are over 40 years old and still doing their
job.

Thats the perfect name for them if theyre doing that. You can cut a V on the top of the post to make it shed rainwater.

Those poles were (likely) pressure treated with creosote that was processed allowing PCB and other nasty toxicns in its juice. They are very resistant, but the formula is not allowed any more. Jim

Yup, in the good old days we soaked wood destined for ground contact in creosote. Worked great. Of course, like most stuff that actually works, it's not available anymore.

Grandad charred the ends of the barn poles, most
have lasted since the 40's.

You need several things for wood to rot; wood, moisture, oxygen, decaying organisms, and warm temperature.
The soil line is just where all these things come together for most locations.
Here where we get a lot of rain a post will rot at the top before it will at the soil line.
We cap all our post to prevent this rot.

The idea of pressure treating wood is not to keep the moisture out.
Really no way to do that.
What pressure treating wood does is provide a environment where they decaying organism can not live.
The better the treatment the longer it will fend off the decaying organisms.

Do not believe these guys when they tell you old school ways of treating wood are no longer available.
Yes creosote is now band in the states but CCA treated wood is still available if you know where to look.
CCA treated wood has been band for residential use only but is still available for commercial use.
This is what the power company uses to treat poles today.
It is also what is used to treat wood that will be used for marine pilings.
If it can stand up to being stuck in salt water for years it will out last your kids in your environment.
I would imagine living close to the coast will make it easier to find.
CCA pressure treated lumber

Actually John, wood lasts much better in salt water than in fresh water.