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I know, with the prices of material today we all need to sign up on the program. I keep a sharp eye out for anything that can be used, especially when it comes to an outbuilding like a polebarn or shed. On many construction sites I've worked in the past, I'll ask permission to grab anything I can use, and have neatly stored these goods for future use, without making a scrapyard out of my place. I've gotten some useful items as well, a dozen sections of regular pipe scaffold and braces, some odd sized scaffold, all kinds of lumber, useful scrap, things that are well worth grabbing, even hardware like high strength bolts, always finding hoards of those when steel goes up, and I've used them quite a bit, some are holding my tractor together, wheels and loader frame.
I have a flatbed dump to retrieve materials as well, just having a truck at the right time is a good thing in itself. Trusses I found at a farm owned by one of our employees, said they wanted to get rid of them, and I said no problem with that !
I see building materials in the local want ad as well, reasonable, buildings for sale to be re-located etc. etc., even at that with some careful craftmanship you can take a used structure, apply your labor, save a few bucks on material and still make something look nice. I think it's a fun challenge to make something from nothing, I see so much waste, it just amazes me. By all means I prefer new, but for some darn reason, it's a lot of fun and an interesting challenge to pursue alternate means for home projects. Seems with the power company work on our land and their easement that bisects it, I was able to negotiate use of the subcontractors rented hoe and expedite the sitework I've been contemplating for a long time. One of the driving factors here is budgetary considerations and some industry experience, I'm no longer a company man, on my own now, so I've got to be cost conscious whereas before not so much, and still try and get things done. But back to the wood preserving, again, a good one to ask here I thought, one of those things everyone has their own ideas about, I was thinking along those lines something Bituminous like you mention, mastic, tar, just wonder if that would trap moisture if it were to get in. Nothing lasts forever, and in these soil conditions, seems like as long as I use something on the below grade part of the post, maybe extend the overhang a bit more to keep the soil drier, even with the age of these timbers it ought to last.
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