>From: Pete Smith <n4zr@contesting.com>
>To: towertalk@contesting.com
>Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Wood posts
To: <towertalk@contesting.com>
>Date: Thu, 26 Jul 2001 11:40:59 -0400
>
>
>At 08:58 AM 7/26/01 -0400, W8JI wrote:
> >
> >I'm planning on using pressure treated 2x4's to support some
> >Beverages. I'll just poke some holes in the ground with my tractor's
> >post hole digger attachment, and drop the 2x4's in.
> >
> >Does anyone have any tips on making the wood last longer, or will
> >it be OK in direct contact with soil?? Will it last ten years or so?
>
>Can't say for sure about your soil, but I recently pulled some 4X4 PT (CCA)
>fence posts that had been in the ground here for 8-9 years, and they showed
>no visible deterioration. I understand that some PT wood now uses a
>non-CCA treatment, and I don't know if it is comparably durable.
>
>A much more serious problem is what happens above ground. I have had some
>8' 4X4s that warped over almost a 30 degree arc in 6 months. There seems
>to be a correlation between the presence of knots and the propensity to
>warp, perhaps because of differential absorption of the waterproofing
>compound.
>
>73, Pete N4ZR
>
Very true, Pete. I now remember my father in-law who is a farmer commenting
on how treated lumber is much more likely to warp. He too attributed it to
how it is daily sprayed in a somewhat haphazard manner. Not all treated
wood is the same. I'm surprised yours lasted that long in the ground. It
depends somewhat on the soil.
Bill k1xt
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