rlee6
Silver Member
I have 4" x8' round fence posts, pressure treated with ACQ 0.4% (ground contact). I think they are pine. Is there a chemical that I can buy and brush on the posts for extended service life? Thanks.
Chemical to extend life of pressure treated fence post?
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Soundguy
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You can dip them in copper napthenate and then burry them.. You can also buy asphalt fence paint.
The copper napthenate is pretty much for the gound contact area, and is a bright green... ( stains anything.. removes hair.. etc... kills just about all bugs and fungi... )
Asphalt paint is pretty hardy.. good vs bugs and rot. I sealed all my cresote fence posts tops with it.. It has kept them from dishing and rotting. My neighbors fence is 1yr newer than mine ( mine is now 5.5ys old ).. and his fence posts are decaying from the top due to rain...
the paint is cheap.. like 15$ for 5g.. I'm sur ethe CN is more.. probably 2x that. though works great for ground contact.
Soundguy
The copper napthenate is pretty much for the gound contact area, and is a bright green... ( stains anything.. removes hair.. etc... kills just about all bugs and fungi... )
Asphalt paint is pretty hardy.. good vs bugs and rot. I sealed all my cresote fence posts tops with it.. It has kept them from dishing and rotting. My neighbors fence is 1yr newer than mine ( mine is now 5.5ys old ).. and his fence posts are decaying from the top due to rain...
the paint is cheap.. like 15$ for 5g.. I'm sur ethe CN is more.. probably 2x that. though works great for ground contact.
Soundguy
Soundguy
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I think that's a great plan of action. I have seen the CN at hD and lowes. The asphalt paint as well, and at farm stores like TSC.. etc.
Tip.. buy some cheapy chinese throw away paint brushes for theis stuff, and some rubber gloves like are use dinthe kitchen for cleaning. You don't want the CN on you.. at all.. and the asphalt stuff is like thin tar.. just makes a mess...
Soundguy
Tip.. buy some cheapy chinese throw away paint brushes for theis stuff, and some rubber gloves like are use dinthe kitchen for cleaning. You don't want the CN on you.. at all.. and the asphalt stuff is like thin tar.. just makes a mess...
Soundguy
Tom_H
Veteran Member
I've been in the middle of doing the same thing. Everything Soundguy said is spot on.
Tom_H
Veteran Member
One other thing I forgot to mention: Lumber absorbs only a small amount of liquid through the side of the grain in contrast to what it will absorb through the end of the grain. If you ever cut open a 4" x 6" pressure treated timber, you'll see that the chemicals penetrate 12" or a bit more from the ends, but only about an inch or slightly more along the sides. Those little holes you see along the sides that look like places staples once existed are actually punched in the sides so that when the lumber is pressure treated, the chemicals can be forced deeper into the tissues. Once the posts are in the ground, virtually all the water they will absorb will come from the bottom end, directly upwards through the post. Brushing the copper solution on the ends will provide only a small fraction of the liquid that the lumber is capable of uptaking. If you have some clean pain cans, or some milk jugs that you've cut the top halves off of and kept the bottom halves, you might try pouring some of the copper solution into these containers, line them up along a wall, and place the end of a pole in each one, with the pole resting against the wall. The longer you let the posts set in the solution, the more of it they will uptake through transpiration. The longer you allow your posts soak like this the more of the preservative can be drawn up through the center.
Once these posts are in the ground, there will be times they sit in water saturated soil. The water will be drawn up through the end grains in this same manner. When the water reaches the portions of the wood that the preservative never reached, this is where rot will occur, in the very center. The more you can soak the posts in those pans, the higher the preservative will be drawn, and the greater the chance you can protect the core of the posts.
You might also think about the tops of the posts. Rain water will be transpired into the posts much more from the top end grains than from the sides of the posts. To prevent water from being able to penetrate as much from the tops, some people bevel the tops a bit so that the water will run off. Some utility companies used to put a small cap of sheet metal tin or galvanized steel over the tops of utility poles to protect the end grains. This is likely more work than you want to do (I wouldn't do it), but there are those who practice this. I think using the asphalt on the top ends would be easier on your scale.
Anyway, these are just some thoughts. How much $, time, and effort you want to expend is up to you.
Once these posts are in the ground, there will be times they sit in water saturated soil. The water will be drawn up through the end grains in this same manner. When the water reaches the portions of the wood that the preservative never reached, this is where rot will occur, in the very center. The more you can soak the posts in those pans, the higher the preservative will be drawn, and the greater the chance you can protect the core of the posts.
You might also think about the tops of the posts. Rain water will be transpired into the posts much more from the top end grains than from the sides of the posts. To prevent water from being able to penetrate as much from the tops, some people bevel the tops a bit so that the water will run off. Some utility companies used to put a small cap of sheet metal tin or galvanized steel over the tops of utility poles to protect the end grains. This is likely more work than you want to do (I wouldn't do it), but there are those who practice this. I think using the asphalt on the top ends would be easier on your scale.
Anyway, these are just some thoughts. How much $, time, and effort you want to expend is up to you.
Soundguy
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The copper napthenate I mentioned specifically is a 'dip' pail.. for exactly the reasons you mentioned.
Soundguy
Soundguy
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Depends on the gate material and size. I think a tube gate or cattle panel gate up to 12' would be fine. Even up to 20 if you put a gate wheel on it. If it's WI or other heavy material.. go up to a 'corner' post.. like a 6-8 or better.
Soundguy
Soundguy
Sully2
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Put the lower portion of the wood post in a tank..barrel..?..whtever..and soak in "Brewer Coat" ( Same stuff you treat an asphault driveway with) and also BRUSH the top end ( end grain). Posts rot at ground level normally..so you want to go about 1 ft higher up on the post than the depth you are installing them at.
4 inch for a gate post isnt really large enough..but MAY work. I use 6 inch OR telephone pole butts that I get from the phone company where a pole has been hit or ??..damaged and had to be replaced. Usually they are 8 to 10 inch diameter.
A "treated" wood post...thats been "asphaulted" ( for lack of a better term)...well..you wont live long enough to see it rot...they always get damaged somehow instead of rotting away
4 inch for a gate post isnt really large enough..but MAY work. I use 6 inch OR telephone pole butts that I get from the phone company where a pole has been hit or ??..damaged and had to be replaced. Usually they are 8 to 10 inch diameter.
A "treated" wood post...thats been "asphaulted" ( for lack of a better term)...well..you wont live long enough to see it rot...they always get damaged somehow instead of rotting away