Treating Lumber for Fence Post

[Anonymous]

Howdy all, What can i use, or, how can I treat some 4x6's so i can use them for fence posts. My brother gets a lot of these, they are used as "stingers" for the loads he hauls (flat bed driver). I just don't' want them to rot off to quick.

Thanks all

Alex Fullingim Circle A Ranch Red Bluff, CA

 

[Anonymous]

Wood preservative will work for a while if it is pressure impregnated. If you could soak the posts long enough to get good penetration. Hardly worth the effort. Soft wood won't last long. Allot of those stringers are cut out of Hemlock and they will rot off about as fast as you can dig the hole to put them in. I would find something to do with them, but I wouldn't stick them in the ground. If I could give you a little advise from an old wire stretcher. Build your fence with the best material out their, and do an overkill job. If you go cheap, it will be the most expensive fence you ever built. Good luck!
> Rod

> Howdy all, What can i use, or, how
> can I treat some 4x6's so i can
> use them for fence posts. My
> brother gets a lot of these, they
> are used as "stingers"
> for the loads he hauls (flat bed
> driver). I just don't' want them
> to rot off to quick.

> Thanks all

> Alex Fullingim Circle A Ranch Red
> Bluff, CA

 

[Anonymous]

Another 2 cents worth...lol. In years past I have installed treated (CCA) posts and timbers, cedar timbers, and related in landscaping jobs and greenhouse construction. My experience has been that even the pressure-treated CCA posts and timbers will rot and breakdown in several years. Plain cedar rots pretty fast. Cypress would probably be best "natural" wet location wood--but availability? and cost?

Otherwise, would recommend using steel posts set in concrete--about 1/3 length of post. Used oil well pipe, 2-5/8 or 2-7/8" diameter makes excellent corner and gate posts IF welded to another post about 8' away, PLUS a "stinger" put about another 8' away sticking out of ground about 12". Do your corner and brace and gate posts VERY secure and the rest will take care of itself. It's no fun trying to repair a fallen fence when cattle are in the pen.

P.S. would also advise against using the "chain-link" fence type thin-walled galvanized posts--those are not very sturdy items for livestock purposes. Still another option is to use posts cut off of used utility line poles--utility company may have some they have taken up and are for sale.

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[Anonymous]

>Worked for a wood presv. co out of school treating util poles. and now pay for the farm contracting fences. If you're in the desert untreated posts might work

 

[Anonymous]

If the lumber is CCA treated you need at least .40 for any type of burial. The .20 is fine for weather exposure but will not hold up when in the ground. Regular juniper cedar is the most common type of wood post, around here anyway, because it's stronger/cheaper/longer lasting. Bodark (Osage-Orange) is the best, and will last for decades. But any wood post will burn in a grass fire and they will all eventually rot.

There's nothing like iron. I would patch and rig until you can get the money up to do it right. Don't forget to see if your neighbors will go in with you on outside fences they share with you.

Craig

 

[Anonymous]

> Still another option is to use
> posts cut off of used utility line
> poles--utility company may have
> some they have taken up and are
> for sale.

Used power poles will rot quickly. Trust me. My place is full of them, they are lying all over the place!

New poles last longer, but are also pricey.

 

[Anonymous]

Hey Jena! Thanks for your clarification. Guess I didn't think about "used" vs. "used". Around here, the utility companies have quite a few "used posts" that still have heavy creosote impregnation left in them. Mostly the poles that get bent a little and they replace them with straighter ones. Agree...a pole that looks grey is NOT a good choice...but, as long as they are still black with lots of creosote in them, they tend to hold up...we're in annual rainfall area of about 22-25". P.S. We only use pipe for fencing where we do brace, corner, and gate posts. But, in any event, pipe lasts longer by any stretch of the imagination. Bill.

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[Anonymous]

> Hey Jena! Thanks for your
> clarification. Guess I didn't
> think about "used" vs.
> "used". Around here, the
> utility companies have quite a few
> "used posts" that still
> have heavy creosote impregnation
> left in them. Mostly the poles
> that get bent a little and they
> replace them with straighter ones.
> Agree...a pole that looks grey is
> NOT a good choice...but, as long
> as they are still black with lots
> of creosote in them, they tend to
> hold up...we're in annual rainfall
> area of about 22-25". P.S. We
> only use pipe for fencing where we
> do brace, corner, and gate posts.
> But, in any event, pipe lasts
> longer by any stretch of the
> imagination. Bill.

Have any of you tried landscape timbers for fence posts and if so, are they any good?

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[Anonymous]

> Have any of you tried landscape
> timbers for fence posts and if so,
> are they any good?

Sorry, don't know about landscape timbers, Has anyone mentioned railroad tie's? They hold up pretty good for corner posts and gate posts.

 

[Anonymous]

> Have any of you tried landscape
> timbers for fence posts and if so,
> are they any good? I work at a cca treating plant and I can tell you that you do not want to use landscape timbers. They are not dried before treatment and therefore do not take chemical well. They are also very bad to warp and bow as they dry out.

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[Anonymous]

> RR ties are 3 time as much as a CCA post new and used they don't last all that long. the thing I don't like about ties are; they are heavy, to long, to thick, (try drilling one for a thru bolt gate pin), are larger in end area and harder to drive, often split and soft on the end (the driver busts them or mushrooms the top). After laying in the ballast for years there is often gravel imbedded and will chew up chain saw chains.