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