Post Protector: POST DECAY 101: The Science of Decay, Simplified!

Post Protector answers the questions:
What Really Causes In-Ground, Wood Posts to Decay?
How can Post Decay be Prevented?

[@desktorp]

pretty scary to know that there are little blue monsters living in the dirt

[@mylerism]

I'm here for the animation

[@Mudder1310]

So…I can’t just use creosote?

[@bobsondugnutt7526]

I have also heard that the lye in concrete reacts poorly with the chemical treatments of the lumber, causing problems. Does moisture content of wood matter as long as it isn't continually introduced to microbes? Watertight plastic sleeve + treated lumber seems good. If moisture content becomes high within the sleeved portion (hard to imagine if kept dry inside the building envelope), capillary action will wick water up to the exposed portion where it will be able to dry.

[@confidentlocal8600]

Actually, I would expect high wood moisture below ground in the summer. The conditions would be much like a musty crawlspace where the wood is around 60F, below the summer dew point in many areas, so there will be condensation and high moisture in the wood. One would think that even in that case it would be lower than if it were in soil, but who knows. And would capillary transport will be fast enough to keep up? I haven't been able to find any studies actually showing whether these sleeves work over the long term.

[@JamesMontana]

I imagine this works very well. Can you say a roughly how much longer a post will last using this ?

[@SSingh-nr8qz]

Over 100 years, which is roughly the lifespan of such types of high density plastics but I would be interested in seeing more case studies.

[@JamesMontana]

@@SSingh-nr8qz 🤣🤣🤣 300 years.

[@SSingh-nr8qz]

@@JamesMontana Sorry typo: It's 100 years for High‑density Polyethylene. 50 years minimum. (I was typing while eating lunch). Again, actual case studies would be more useful on this product but this kind of plastic does hold up well for decades in similar applications.

[@MrLeebooher]

Right and it's ribbed for the company's pleasure when it rots anyway ! Bury the post 6 inches lower than the concrete for the moisture in the wood to escape with 2 inches of gravel in the bottom of the hole !

[@richardkirk5098]

😆

[@mattlawton4715]

Exactly you are right if anything that plastic will help it to rot. You can also tar the post the part underground but not the bottom and like you sead put some gravel in the bottom 👍

[@JoseGutierrez-my9zb]

Back in the day farmers used to coat posts with used engine oil and the posts lasted for decades in the ground. Then the climate people came and ruined everything. Oil comes from underground and farmers put it back in the ground where it came from

[@RodCalidge]

Oil is also very good for controlling unwanted weeds, grass, and shrubbery.

[@LitoGeorge]

As a farmer, I heard this bunch of gumpf from other tired farmers. Lets put your analogy to work. Oil coming from the ground should be able to go back into *any ground right? Well, thats like saying, this lion that comes from this latitude should be able to exist anywhere on that latitude because land is land and the climate in this case would be similar right around the world. Lets try put lions in the Amazon jungle and see what becomes of them. No. Everything has its place and if you are so keen on putting oil back in the ground, go put it back where it came from in its original form. You boys know nothing of soil composition, microbes, and what causes death and life for that portion of soil. Its a clear sign that when you put oil on weeds/grasses and they die, that the oil is not meant to go in that ground, but rather somewhere else its meant to be. Maybe in future I will come here and update the analogy when my tired farmer brain is rested.

[@WarTheory]

Does it come in a 6 x 6

[@postprotector9914]

www.homedepot.com/s/post%2520protector?NCNI-5

[@mjh5437]

@@postprotector9914 Can I get these in England anywhere?

[@postprotector9914]

MJ H We can ship to you. Call whenever convenient to discuss details. Thanks, Ken 570-624-7030. Eastern Standard Time

[@grahamgrimmer6497]

Can you get this from any outfit in the UK

[@JamesMontana]

You can get whats called a post saver. Its a bitumen sleeve that gets heat shrunk around the post. It works very well at a fraction of the price i except.

[@RodCalidge]

Just pour concrete posts. If you must use wood, just coat it in kerosene.

[@jeffgordon1027]

Business as usual.

[@key2010]

I see all types of wood need condoms

[@SSingh-nr8qz]

Well a condom with a hole at the bottom.

[@mike92505]

Stealthing…? Lmao