buried post treatment,questions

[hizoot]

Years ago, I had a pole barn built where the contractor did a little something that I thought was pretty neat.... He dug a 4ft hole for the post as usual, then he drilled a 1" hole near the bottom of the post and stuck a heavy rebar thru to help capture the pole in the cement ....by making a sort of inverted tee. He then double coated about the bottom 5 ft. of the post that would be in ground contact(encapsulated in the concrete) with fiberglass resin.... to ward off rot. Was this a good idea or wasted time? I know that posts will last longer direct buried vs surrounded by concrete...but will the fiberglass resin stave off the damaging/rotting effects of the concrete?

 

[Argosy]

I wouldn't do it for the same reason you don't set them in concrete, if they get wet they will be slow to dry. Resin by itself is very brittle and will break or crack easily, the real strength comes from the glass fiber and multiple layers.

 

[Scotty370]

Another option: Preserve Post Frame Construction Posts and Other Wood Posts From Decay - Advanced Solutions

 

[kidstrustfund]

I coated the post with tar. that was 20 years ago. Tom

 

[whistlepig]

When the floor was poured in our pole barn I had all the posts drilled for rebar and we stuck the rebar through the posts and poured the floor over it.

 

[MarkV]

I think it is a great question you ask and one that you will not find a definitive answer to. It is highly debated how wood posts should be set in the ground for longevity. Some believe setting in concrete with a crowned top above grade is the way to go. Others feel like that traps moisture and you should set a post on a concrete donut and backfill with compacted well draining material. Then there are the variations of the two systems. It sounds as if your contractor had his idea of the best variation and was willing to do that extra step. Scotty showed one of the commercially available alternatives. There are numbers of commercial products, coatings and home brews used on posts. We also have to acknowledge the group that says never put wood in the ground and mount the posts on a footings. How to properly do that should be another tread.

I think much of it has to do with where you are geographically and what has historically proven to work in your local. In my area there are so many examples of pole barns that do not show rot after decades of poles stuck in dirt that is what I do. May be altogether different for your area.

MarkV

 

[Toyboy]

Depending on the amount and size of the post, I'll spray what will be in the ground w/auto undercoating. Never had a post go bad yet.

 

[theboman]

On the never ending Iron Hill Shed Project, my poles are all in 36" holes or deepr (except the one I hit rock at 33" (close enough!). All are coated heavy with tar/block sealer stuff from Lowes. I feel in 30 years or so when the the poles begin to rot someone else can worry about it for the next 10 years. I guess I'll be close to pushing up daisies by then.

At 13-14 my dad and family (and of course a useful me) built my brother a 30X60 pole barn. 30 years later when he moved/rebuilt the barn every treated post in concrete rotted at ground level all the way through! Those just in dirt were in great shape. So, BO-DADDY knew what I was gonna do.

 

[Scotty370]

It's kind of a strange dichotomy! The Sono-Tube, with L-Brackets while keeping the wood (rot) out of the ground, also cuts your verticle stability! Then you've got the Guys that don't have to worry about the wind..(We're not in Kansas anymore..), And are more concerned with 'snow-load' and rot. I really don't think there is one 'One size fits all' stock answer! Just 2 cents, and I'll waive it to TBN Members.......~Scotty

(Like I alway tell my friends...Everyone's got a right to MY opinion:laughing

 

[MarkV]

It's kind of a strange dichotomy! The Sono-Tube, with L-Brackets while keeping the wood (rot) out of the ground, also cuts your verticle stability! Then you've got the Guys that don't have to worry about the wind..(We're not in Kansas anymore..), And are more concerned with 'snow-load' and rot. I really don't think there is one 'One size fits all' stock answer! Just 2 cents, and I'll waive it to TBN Members.......~Scotty

+1 :thumbsup:

MarkV

 

[paul dyar]

If you lived where I do you would set them in concrete.
Paul

 

[beppington]

Not to be morbid, but it seems like trying to pick the best method in burying wood in dirt/ concrete is similar to trying to pick who's gonna get cancer & who's not. Might seem to be some logic in it, but really kind of a crap shoot.

 

[Johno Geo]

Got to agree with Scotty 370 and Mark V.
Wood will eventually rot when in contact with soil, the ground.
Much depends on your climate and soil conditions and the treatment of the posts.
In the old days the Utility Companies treated their Utility Poles with Creosote.
Now, it has been decided that Creosote is a cancer causing chemical.
I like the idea of concrete set in the ground, below frost line, with the Post bearing on the concrete, above grade.
That is how we build Decks (in the Frost Belt).
Pole Barns ,even my own ,was built with treated posts, set 4ft into the ground, bearing on precast concrete "Disks" about 18" in diameter.
We will see how they hold up.
Lots of opinions.
I do not like concrete, "encapsulation" or anything that holds moisture to the Posts. Just my opinion......

 

[pat32rf]

Last one I was involved with we dug below frost, 4" layer of 3/4" crushed stone, 12" patio stone pad (just below frost level), then 6x6 pressure treated timber surrounded by fine stone. When finished we poured used engine oil in each hole around the posts.....

 

[WilliamTO-35]

I'm going to be a bit contrary here , and thank the guys who built my 300 year old house and barn . Needless to say, everything that touches the ground is rock, and not wood. I would hesitate to build any structure that is only estimated to last for a mere 30 years . I won't be around, but another owner will , and I'd like to think that he'll thank me for building a durable and potentially historic structure.

 

[Scotty370]

William- Granite pillars, are not in everyone's budget. We, or at least I, just do the best we can. ~Scotty