07-07-2003, 10:33 PM
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Fence Posts
(Nick Maclaren) wrote:
Hello Nick
Even sawn untreated softwood, which rots fastest of all
(opposed to round, split or half-round) lasts longer than 5
years. Round untreated softwood posts I put in ~15 years
ago are still standing soundly (At Greenaway house estate -
to replace fences completely smashed after the '87 storms).
I know they're untreated because we cut them ourselves from
local Douglas Fir, Scots Pine and Larch.
NM I can witness the same, leading to weakening to the point of
NM just snapping in under 2 years. Not once, but many times.
Eek. I guess concrete and metal posts are popular around your way
then? And what do BT and the local eleco's use for overhead apparatus?
NM The reason is that it isn't the water that causes the
NM trouble, but the fungi. There are MANY more wood destroying
NM fungi in the richer soils, and they thrive MUCH better.
NM Peat is a very effective preservative, but even poor, acid
NM soils aren't too bad. Absolutely the worst for fungal
NM attack are the rich, slightly alkaline loams.
Gotya, and I understand now. I have removed posts from moorland bogs
to find them more solid underground than above - it's quite weird to
see a post that's 4" across at the bottom and 2" for most of its
length.
True, Yew is an exceptional tree. The only one (AFAIK) that
doesn't rot at all, hence the excessive age of some of 'em.
Tad tricky to get it in enough volume to be commercially
considered though.
NM It rots, too - even the heartwood. Just very slowly.
Very, /very/ slowly. Long enough so that you'd never have to replace
your own work.
--
Simon Avery, Dartmoor, UK Ý http://www.digdilem.org/
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