Ohioguy wrote:
I was planning on building a bunch of shelves in my basement, and
bought a whole bunch of reclaimed 2x4's. Then my parents gave us a
heavy duty plastic shelf, which impressed me, and I decided to use
those down there instead.

This leaves me with a bunch of old 2x4's. They were very
inexpensive - about 90 cents each, and are in good shape.

One project that I've been wanting to do is make some square shaped
borders around a couple of fruit trees, and around the blueberry
hedge I just planted. I have the lumber, but my previous experiences
of:
1) painting
2) staining
3) Thompson's Water Seal
4) polyurethaning

None of these will preserve timber that is in contact with the soil. For a
start they have no preservative effect (they don't kill microbes that attack
timber) and they are only shield the surface which will soon crack allowing
water and bugs inside.



did not turn out that well. I am tempted to try using boiled linseed
oil on the wood, and see how well that works as a preservative. The
other times I've tried it in the past, the wood has always cracked and
warped within a couple of years.

This isn't going to work either. To preserve a vulnerable type of timber
(eg radiata pine) in contact with the soil takes some heavy duty poison and
that is usually pushed into the timber by pressure treatmnent. You cannot
do this at home.

Considering how cheaply I can get
these, I'd be happy if they just lasted 6 years laying out there in
the yard.

Can any of you recommend a widely available method for treating
these boards so that they will last a bit better when used as borders
for beds and for mulch around fruit trees? I'd like to get on this
project within a few days, to make my yard look neater, so I thought
I'd check on here to see what the experienced folks had to say.

Thanks!



You have left out a key item. What kind of timber are these posts? This
will determine how long they last, if they are timber that is not suitable
for external use (and many are in that class) then there is no chance of it
lasting long in contact with soil.

David