does anybody have any recommendations which material is cheaper/better
in teh long run? plastic, wooden or vinyl posts? any stories to share?
thanks
dp

"dp" wrote in message
om...
does anybody have any recommendations which material is cheaper/better
in teh long run? plastic, wooden or vinyl posts? any stories to share?
thanks
dp

Treated wood will last longer than plastic or vinyl if your talking about
ground contact outside use. Plastic and vinyl breakdown under UV.

In article ,
(dp) wrote:

does anybody have any recommendations which material is cheaper/better
in teh long run? plastic, wooden or vinyl posts? any stories to share?
thanks
dp

Depends on the application. I usually use wooden, but for a railing going
into a creek I used plastic so it wouldn't rot. Usually the plastic is
too flexible for my needs but was not an issue in this case.

--
Free men own guns - slaves don't
http://www.geocities.com/nickhull99

Don Staples wrote:

"dp" wrote in message
om..
does anybody have any recommendations which material is cheaper/better
in teh long run? plastic, wooden or vinyl posts? any stories to share?
thanks
dp

Treated wood will last longer than plastic or vinyl if your talking about
ground contact outside use. Plastic and vinyl breakdown under UV.

Plastic barriers last indefinitely if covered. If you prefer untreated
wood, just lay a strip of heavy polyethylene first.

"dp" wrote in message
om...
: does anybody have any recommendations which material is cheaper/better
: in teh long run? plastic, wooden or vinyl posts? any stories to share?
: thanks
: dp

ummmmmmmm, the only plastic/vinyl posts that i am familiar with, slip *over*
treated 4x4 posts... the vinyl is not the support...but im sure some use it
soley for the post, then wonder why its so flimsy

On Tue, 11 Feb 2003 08:03:16 -0800, dp wrote:

does anybody have any recommendations which material is cheaper/better
in teh long run? plastic, wooden or vinyl posts? any stories to share?
thanks
dp

Vinyl is final but not very strong. Not fimilar with plastic. Wood is good
but it doesn't have a long life span when incontact with dirt/water. Trex
( http://trex.com/ ) is a composit plastic/wood material used alot for
decking. They are making it in more sizes now. I use the 1/2 inch by 4inch
benderboards for edging alot. The dealer quoted me 20 years in the ground.
I hear that their are making 4x4's now, but I've havn't seen one yet.

We're still using lots of 20 - 30 year old wood posts that were hand
peeled by my father-in-law and then soaked in creosote. Go with a good
wood post.

Randy

http://ruralroute2.com

does anybody have any recommendations which material is cheaper/better
in teh long run? plastic, wooden or vinyl posts? any stories to share?
thanks
dp

MacTech wrote:

We're still using lots of 20 - 30 year old wood posts that were hand
peeled by my father-in-law and then soaked in creosote. Go with a good
wood post.

Randy

http://ruralroute2.com

does anybody have any recommendations which material is cheaper/better
in teh long run? plastic, wooden or vinyl posts? any stories to share?
thanks
dp

I think Creosote is a no-no these days, but I have some of the "green"
treated 4x4 posts going on 20 years in the ground with no signs of
rotting. I have pulled a few to move fences, etc. and was amazed at the
lack of decay. Creosote is probably better in terms of preservation,
though...my property is adjacent to an abandoned railroad right-of-way.
The tracks were removed about 50 years ago, and a lot of the ties were
used locally for fence posts, etc. The railroads used "date tacks" to
indicate when ties were installed. A date tack is basically a nail
similar to a roofing nail, with a 2-digit number on the head to indicate
the year the tie was first laid down.

I pulled a tie out 2 years ago that was being used for a gatepost. It
had some decay around the spike holes that were underground, but was in
pretty good shape otherwise. It also had a date tack in it.
"27"....that's 1927! I'm still using it as a stop for my wife's car, so
she doesn't run over the barbecue when she parks.

I am leery of vinyl due to the UV issues. I have seen enough lawn chairs
and kids' toys disintegrate due to exposure. Of course, I wouldn't give
a kid a treated 4x4 to play with, either...

Will

"MacTech" wrote

We're still using lots of 20 - 30 year old wood posts that were hand
peeled by my father-in-law and then soaked in creosote. Go with a good
wood post.


Even if creosote were still available for private use there is "wood" and
then there is "wood." :-)

What you say is probably true for locust, Osage orange, chestnut and some
types of cedar posts under ideal soil conditions, but I'm lucky if I can get
6-8 years out of untreated peeled tamarack, and maybe 10-12 years out of
untreated peeled lodgepole pine fence posts.

I will continue to use wood posts as I can cut them right here on the place.
If I had to buy posts, at the very least I would look for commercially
treated wood. Even then I'm not at all sure they would be the most
economical over the long run in a damp climate.

Skip


Skip & Christy Hensler
THE ROCK GARDEN
Newport, WA
http://www.povn.com/rock/

Get a 55 gallon drum, put a few posts in it, and store your
crankcase oil in the drum. Leave the posts in there a few months.
It's what a lot of old-timers did, especially for corner posts. And
after the soak, it was into a dry drum for several days to drain a
bit then a quick dip into water to clear the superficial residue.
Not saying anything about environmental considerations, just
mentioning something that was very effective.

The Rock Garden wrote in message
...
"MacTech" wrote

We're still using lots of 20 - 30 year old wood posts that were hand
peeled by my father-in-law and then soaked in creosote. Go with a good
wood post.


Even if creosote were still available for private use there is "wood" and
then there is "wood." :-)

What you say is probably true for locust, Osage orange, chestnut and some
types of cedar posts under ideal soil conditions, but I'm lucky if I can
get
6-8 years out of untreated peeled tamarack, and maybe 10-12 years out of
untreated peeled lodgepole pine fence posts.

I will continue to use wood posts as I can cut them right here on the
place.
If I had to buy posts, at the very least I would look for commercially
treated wood. Even then I'm not at all sure they would be the most
economical over the long run in a damp climate.

Skip


Skip & Christy Hensler
THE ROCK GARDEN
Newport, WA
http://www.povn.com/rock/

"Michael Baugh" wrote

Get a 55 gallon drum, put a few posts in it, and store your
crankcase oil in the drum. Leave the posts in there a few months.
It's what a lot of old-timers did, especially for corner posts. And
after the soak, it was into a dry drum for several days to drain a
bit then a quick dip into water to clear the superficial residue.
Not saying anything about environmental considerations, just
mentioning something that was very effective.



Been there, tried that. I could not detect any difference in useful life
between this and plain peeled lodgepole and tamarack posts under our
conditions.

Skip


Skip & Christy Hensler
THE ROCK GARDEN
Newport, WA
http://www.povn.com/rock/

There are now on the market pressure-treated rot-resistant woods that do
not have arsenic & copper & are environmentally safe. The only part of a
fence that will rot is what comes in contact with the ground, so the more
expensive rot-resistant wood need only be posts, the rest can be
inexpensive fence boards or pickets or whatever.

Wood as a backdrop has a natural beauty & gardens look excellent against
natural unpainted wood; some people hasten the "weathered" look by
slapping on a coat of vinegar which darkens wood nicely. If the rustic
look doesn't appeal, protective whitewashes still reveal woodgrain beauty.
Plastic just never duplicates the beauty of wood, plain or whitewashed.

Vines cling well to wood, not so well to plastic.

However, if it's your plan to paint the whole fence with thick coats of
paint it's going to look the same as a plastic fence anyway. In that case
might as well go with the plastic lumber, as that'd be environmentally
friendly in helping to use up some recycled plastic milkbottles.

-paghat the ratgirl

--
"Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher.
"Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature.
-from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers"
See the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com/

Norway has several ancient spruce churches, some up to 1100 years old.
Secret is excellent drainage, steep roof slope, and yearly treatments
with creosote.

MacTech wrote:

We're still using lots of 20 - 30 year old wood posts that were hand
peeled by my father-in-law and then soaked in creosote. Go with a good
wood post.

Randy

http://ruralroute2.com

does anybody have any recommendations which material is cheaper/better
in teh long run? plastic, wooden or vinyl posts? any stories to share?
thanks
dp

On Fri, 14 Feb 2003 09:49:14 -0600, Bob Adkins wrote:
On Wed, 12 Feb 2003 10:43:03 -0700, (paghat)
wrote:

There are now on the market pressure-treated rot-resistant woods that do
not have arsenic & copper & are environmentally safe. The only part of a

What do they treat them with? Garlic maybe?

Boron. Sodium tetraborate/pentaborate/octaborate but the wood must be
kept away from water. It's good against termites and fungi where the
wood can be kept dry ( as in structural members of a house ). It should
not be kept in contact with soil.

Everything else that I see has at least copper in it (but no arsenic )
except for the stuff they put on utility poles. That's pentachlorophenol
and it is disolved in an oil before being pressed into the wood.

In misc.rural dp wrote:
: does anybody have any recommendations which material is cheaper/better
: in teh long run? plastic, wooden or vinyl posts? any stories to share?
: thanks

Actually vinyl is a type of plastic. Advantages of vinyl are that
it never needs painting and will never rot. Vinyl is an isulator so
electric fencing needs no additional insulators when attached to it. Newer
vinyl is highly resistant to UV. Disadvantages are that it may cost more
than wood, it's harder to fasten wire fencing to it, and a grass/range fire
will melt or burn it. Vinyl posts are usually hollow.

Pressure treated wood has the advantage of lower cost (usually) and is
widely available. It's easy to nail or staple fencing to it, and it's more
resistant to grass fires than vinyl/plastic. Longevity is many years, but
eventually it will rot or disintegrate. CCA (chromated copper arsenate;
it's green) is being phased-out as a preservative because of environmental
concerns; replacement will probably be borate. Although wood it a good
insulator when dry, it holds moisture when wet, so electric fencing needs
insulator when strung along wood. If you want white, you'll have to paint
it periodically.

Composite recycled plastic posts are generally expensive and not available
everywhere. They're usually solid, and you can nail/staple fencing directly
to them. They do not rot and are highly resistant to UV and don't need
painting if you like white. They're good insulators, but will probably fare
poorly in a grass fire

Of course there are other types of posts like steel pipe, T-posts,
concrete, and usenet which all have their advantages and disadvantages.

Mike