Always put a brick or piece of broken paving right at the base of the hole
so the post is on this not soil when the concrete is poured in

"andrewpreece" wrote in message
...

"bnd777" wrote in message
...
Its also recomended that you stand the base of all fence posts in a
bucket
of creosote for 48 hrs before putting them in concrete and drill a hole
above soil level at an angle downwards into which periodically you can
add
creosote and fill with a cork
"Anne Wheeldon" wrote in message
...


Interesting; I have had ideas along this line myself ( drilling a top-up
hole ) but never
tried it out. I remember seeing a neighbours old fence post which was
rotten. It split in
half when he got to grips with it, even though it looked reasonable on the
outside. The
entire inner part had rotted away, leaving only a shell about 1/10 inch
thick. It appeared
the beasties had eaten everything except the nasty tasting impregnated
wood
on the outside!
My advice is therefore to also drench any holes you may drill in a
fence post with
preservative, lest you provide rot with a way into the centre of the post,
bypassing the
preservative.


Andy.

In article ,
Gary Woods writes:
| Chris Hogg wrote:
|
| What is the best way to stop wooden fence posts rotting below ground
| level?
|
| You could also use wood which is naturally rot resistant. Mature locust is
| legendary; old farmer's joke:
|
| How do you know when a locust fencepost needs replacing?
| Well, you put a small rock on top of the post when you set it.
| When the rock rots away, you should think about another post.
|
| Now you're going to tell me it doesn't grow over there and this is a waste
| of electrons? Grows like a weed in some areas here; nasty thorny stuff,
| and hard enough that you need to have your chain saw file at hand while
| cutting it...

Robinia pseudoacacia? Yes, it is semi-naturalised here. But it
doesn't last all that well - our conditions are a LOT tougher
than yours in this respect. Also, the wood is probably rather
softer, because of our miserable summers.

The only wood that I know of that grows in the UK that is seriously
resistant to rot at the soil boundary is yew, and then only the
heartwood. Oak, locust, hawthorn etc. heartwood and yew sapwood
have some resistance, but only a few year's worth at 3" diameter.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

If you can get them then Chestnut posts will last very well

--
David Hill
Abacus nurseries
www.abacus-nurseries.co.uk

In article ,
"David Hill" writes:
| If you can get them then Chestnut posts will last very well

Not in my experience. Even soaked in creosote for a fortnight,
they lasted only a few years.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

bnd777 wrote:
Its also recomended that you stand the base of all fence posts in a bucket
of creosote for 48 hrs before putting them in concrete and drill a hole
above soil level at an angle downwards into which periodically you can add
creosote and fill with a cork

That of course is now illegal! :-)

--
Chris Green )

On Wed, 02 Jul 2003 16:47:37 -0400, Gary Woods
wrote:

Chris Hogg wrote:

What is the best way to stop wooden fence posts rotting below ground
level?

You could also use wood which is naturally rot resistant. Mature locust is
legendary; old farmer's joke:

How do you know when a locust fencepost needs replacing?
Well, you put a small rock on top of the post when you set it.
When the rock rots away, you should think about another post.

Now you're going to tell me it doesn't grow over there and this is a waste
of electrons? Grows like a weed in some areas here; nasty thorny stuff,
and hard enough that you need to have your chain saw file at hand while
cutting it...


Gary Woods AKA K2AHC- PGP key on request, or at www.albany.net/~gwoods
Zone 5/6 in upstate New York, 1200' elevation. NY WO G


Good point about the rot resistant timber. Wonder if I can get my
uncle to cut me some nice Iron Bark posts and ship em over from
Brisbane, Australia. 8-))

/me goes to find transport rates.

In article , says...

Chris Hogg wrote:


my conscience twinges when I remember that concrete is extremely
environmentally unsound.




Why? This is the first I've heard of it.
--
Jonathan Ward
Remove the 'X' when replying

"sw" wrote in message
...
Chris Hogg wrote:

What is the best way to stop wooden fence posts rotting below ground
level? My understanding is that keeping them out of contact with the
soil helps considerably (i.e. by setting them in concrete), but would
wrapping the bases in polythene make things better or worse (allowing
for some drainage at the base to let water out)?


My go! My go!
Having just put up a fence here are some tips that I got:
- Soak the bottom of the posts for a day or two in a mixture of old engine
oil and creosote.
- Put a collar around the concrete.
- Put concrete posts in the ground and bolt the wooden posts to them-
probably yhe best way and not all that obstrusive.
- Plant a good defensive hedge (holly, hawthorne etc) along the fence so
when it does eventually go the hedge will have taken its place

In article ,
(Dave Liquorice) wrote:

I believe the problem isn't actually underground but at the point
where soil, post, air and the elements meet.

Yep. A fairly narrow band where the oxygen and moisture levels are
just right for the rot to live.

No. it breaks there because of the mechanics. The point where the post
enters the socket is where it would break if flexed even if no rot had
taken place.

Steve Harris - Cheltenham - Real address steve AT netservs DOT com

In article , (Steve Harris) writes:
| In article ,
| (Dave Liquorice) wrote:
|
| I believe the problem isn't actually underground but at the point
| where soil, post, air and the elements meet.
|
| Yep. A fairly narrow band where the oxygen and moisture levels are
| just right for the rot to live.
|
| No. it breaks there because of the mechanics. The point where the post
| enters the socket is where it would break if flexed even if no rot had
| taken place.

That is true, but the rotting statement is also true. If you dig
or pull up a post, you will usually find a very distinct waist
just below the soil boundary.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

In article , (Steve Harris) writes:
| In article ,
| (Dave Liquorice) wrote:
|
| I believe the problem isn't actually underground but at the point
| where soil, post, air and the elements meet.
|
| Yep. A fairly narrow band where the oxygen and moisture levels are
| just right for the rot to live.
|
| No. it breaks there because of the mechanics. The point where the post
| enters the socket is where it would break if flexed even if no rot had
| taken place.

That is true, but the rotting statement is also true. If you dig
or pull up a post, you will usually find a very distinct waist
just below the soil boundary.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

"Nick Maclaren" wrote in message
...

In article ,
(Steve Harris) writes:
| In article ,
| (Dave Liquorice) wrote:
|
| I believe the problem isn't actually underground but at the point
| where soil, post, air and the elements meet.
|
| Yep. A fairly narrow band where the oxygen and moisture levels are
| just right for the rot to live.
|
| No. it breaks there because of the mechanics. The point where the post
| enters the socket is where it would break if flexed even if no rot had
| taken place.

That is true, but the rotting statement is also true. If you dig
or pull up a post, you will usually find a very distinct waist
just below the soil boundary.


I haven't been following this thread so sorry if this has been said, but the
problem is often water pooling on top of the in-ground concrete and the post
at that point thereby sitting in a semiperemant puddle. This can be avoided
by sloping the concrete away from the post to encourage run off and futher
helped by placing gravel around the base of the post. In moist ground some
contractors will dip the in ground section of post in pitch &/or extent the
conrete to surface level.

pk

In article ,
"Paul Kelly" writes:
|
| I haven't been following this thread so sorry if this has been said, but the
| problem is often water pooling on top of the in-ground concrete and the post
| at that point thereby sitting in a semiperemant puddle. This can be avoided
| by sloping the concrete away from the post to encourage run off and futher
| helped by placing gravel around the base of the post. In moist ground some
| contractors will dip the in ground section of post in pitch &/or extent the
| conrete to surface level.

I was talking about plain wooden posts - no concrete.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

On Fri, 4 Jul 2003 12:40:29 +0100, (sw) wrote:

Jonathan Ward wrote:

In article , says...

Chris Hogg wrote:


my conscience twinges when I remember that concrete is extremely
environmentally unsound.




Why? This is the first I've heard of it.

As I understand the matter, it's because cement requires relatively
large amounts of energy to burn the lime/chalk and again to transport
the result, especially if it's bought as ready-mix (I doubt concrete
post manufacturers do this, though).
Wood is better :-)

because it's cut down in 3rd world rain forests? ;-)
--
martin

On Sat, 5 Jul 2003 11:35:39 +0100, (sw) wrote:

martin wrote:

On Fri, 4 Jul 2003 12:40:29 +0100, (sw) wrote:

Jonathan Ward wrote:

In article ,
says...

Chris Hogg wrote:


my conscience twinges when I remember that concrete is extremely
environmentally unsound.

Why? This is the first I've heard of it.

As I understand the matter, it's because cement requires relatively
large amounts of energy to burn the lime/chalk and again to transport
the result, especially if it's bought as ready-mix (I doubt concrete
post manufacturers do this, though).
Wood is better :-)

because it's cut down in 3rd world rain forests? ;-)

Our fence posts were/are nice native larch, cut down in its prime to
permit the (some) broadleave reforestation of all those welsh
hillsides... :-)

I expected that :-)

and it walked all the way to your garden :-)
--
martin