Anyone care to venture a view of fence or shed preservation? I've made do with creosote substitute (creocote) for few years, but it's not a patch on the real stuff, which is now only available in large quantities and (officially) only to commercial users.
I'm not sure that the water-based preservatives, like Fencelife and Ducksback are any better, but would be interested to hear of any practical experience...
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Treat the car to an oil change and use the waste oil to treat the fence.
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I mix used car oil with creosote substitute and soak the bottom part of the post in it - in a large bucket kept for that purpose for 24 hours. Then leave for a week to dry. I paint the top with a brush.
Warning:
It is HIGHLY toxic.. and will kill plants and worms within 20cms of it. Wear large chemical proof gloves.
Some of my fence posts last 20 odd years..
I treat my beehives with a mix of (hot) beeswax and vegetable oil which makes them waterproof but has to be renewed every 2-3 years.
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Beat me to it, madf! The wax and oil solution sounds a bit like, er, waxoyl, which is probably a good wood preserver in its own right. Interesting.
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I have got plenty of old oil, as it happens, but as it's also for a garden gate, I'd quite like the end result to be reasonably clean and dry. I realise that probably rules out proper creosote, too! Interested to know if any of the newer treatments are any good, or if they're all basically the same. I've used a B&Q one in the past, but it looked pretty revolting and didn't last.
I've heard of people mixing creosote and engine oil, which may well be both the best and messiest solution...
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Treatment for fences and sheds are basically cosmetic. Have you ever seen a rotten fence?
The part that rots is the part that is is in contact with the ground and the posts. Use a decent oak post or something like a metpost and make sure that the of bottom of the fence is not in contact with the ground, use a gravel board you won't have any trouble whether you treat the fence or not. Use poor quality posts and heap earth against the fence and it will rot whatever gunge you coat it with.
The same goes for sheds. Make sure the roofing is in good condition and it is standing on a decent base on some treated timbers to allow air to flow underneath. I have never treated mine since I bought it and it is 30 years old and in perfect condition.
I use a decent branded water based treatment where I want the fence to look good. Needs re-doing every three years or so. Easy to put on and non toxic which is more than can be said for a mix of old engine oil and creosote.
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"decent branded water based treatment"
Such as? I'm trying to find out which ones are any good.. :-)
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I use Cuprinol Ducksback for rough wood - for planed wood you need a different product.
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>> Treatment for fences and sheds are basically cosmetic. Have you ever seen a rotten fence?
Yes. But if the fence or other wood is treated then as you say it should not rot. Assuming it has been pressure treated etc. But the chemicals used for that are probably not as good as they used to be either.
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>>Assuming it has been pressure treated etc. But the chemicals used for that are probably not as good as they used to be either.
>>
Correct. However, neither is the wood as farmers are finding out with posts rotting out in less than ten years.
As an aside it seems that the major paint manufacturers are having huge problems with their products since the powers that be judged that some of the VOC's (Volatile organic Compounds) whatever they may be, had to be reduced.
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"VOC's"
Agreed. I usually look for the product with the highest content!
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I used this on my shed www.cuprinol.co.uk/products/ultimate_garden_wood_protector.jsp
I could have got away without using anything as the shed is new & pressure treated, but its a nice shed, cost me over £500, and it now looks pretty (like me!)
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Pretty like you? The Ridgeback is pretty.>:)
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>>The Ridgeback is pretty.>:)<<
AND he knows it Dutchie, he's not like other dogs, he may be an animal but he's certainly not dumb (like me) :)
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It is possible to treat wood so that a post lasts 50 years in the ground, but only telegraph poles are now properly vacuum-treated with the genuine original creosote.
Anything above ground is cosmetic - it makes you feel virtuous doing it, but serves no other purpose.
The critical point is a few inches either side of ground level, ie where there is damp, very poor ventilation, but not total air exclusion as in the actual soil.
Metposts are the best option for a domestic fence, but even they have a short life because they are only mild steel. If galvanised metposts existed they would be perfect.
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Agree with what you say - you can however get galvanised Metposts.
www.click4garden.co.uk/Metpost-Post-Spikes-c/
I have used oak posts from a local timber yard and they will outlast most of us!
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Thanks CG, I didn't know that.
But it doesn't say "hot dipped", which makes me suspicious that they may only be zinc plated.
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I've got metpost one side of the garden mild steel for a six foot fence.They have been in the soil for about fifteen years still ok.
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wrap the bottom of the post in DPM, damp proof membrane....and use tannalised timber posts, should last longer than the panels in my estimate
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Yes, slapping preservative on above ground wood is a waste of money - all you are doing is making it look better.
We inherited the shiplap boarded shed at the bottom of the garden when we bought the house. It looked pale and worn but the wood was in fine condition - clearly it had been there some time. 20 years later I "converted" it to a couple of fence panels - still fine.
The 4 inch square oak gate posts are approaching twenty years old and, apart from a small bit of rot just above the point where they disappear into the concrete at ground level, they too are fine.
Last edited by: Dulwich Estate on Wed 11 Jul 12 at 14:25
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if you look at a house you will see that the damp proof course ( the blue bricks or the DPC damp proof course) is approx 6 inches above FFL finished floor level....this is to stop any rain water splashage breaching the barrier, apparently rain drops cant bounce that high
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I treated the post with red lead and put plenty of engine grease inside the post and the timber what goes in the post.Backfence is concrete post no worry about rotting.The original fence on one side of the garden has wooden post in concrete that has been standing for 28 years.Like Norwich mentioned keep wooden post clear of soil.
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I use a pump sprayer, cuprinol I think, and wood preserver, most important thing with fencing panels is to have a shamfered top, so water runs off and away, rather than down, and also so the panels aren't touching soil at the base. Spray the preserver on every few years, takes minutes per panel. I would also like to add, don't buy the rubbish panels from B&Q or Homebase. They charge 20+ per panel and the stuff is rubbish. I found a local place to me who made panels to order, 6x6' for less than 20 pound, they are vertically lapped, and set on 2x2" batons.. they weighed a tonne and were treated. Thinking I won't have to worry about rot for a longtime, and they were cheaper than the garden centers.
Last edited by: VxFan on Sun 1 Feb 15 at 18:36
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>> I use a pump sprayer, cuprinol I think, and wood preserver, most important thing
>>
The word 'wood' is highlighted in blue in this message, but it's not a clickable link, what's all that about?
When I click 'reply to this message' and then 'quote original message', in the message that is displayed, the word 'wood' has got psvinternational dot com in front of it. Can anyone explain, please?
Last edited by: VxFan on Sun 1 Feb 15 at 18:36
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Unfamiliar poster reviving a long-forgotten thread can indicate an underhand (commercial or even criminal) motive. This may be innocent but best to ignore.
Last edited by: WillDeBeest on Sun 1 Feb 15 at 09:36
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>> Unfamiliar poster reviving a long-forgotten thread can indicate an underhand (commercial or even criminal) motive.
Its not, the poster is not new, has no history of doing this, and was merely trying to be helpful by adding a link for a source of preserver.
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Yes, you're right in this case, Z, and my apologies to Addison for a hasty reaction.
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I think you apologise too quickly...
This rings a bell. I've seen it before, probably here. I'm pretty sure its a flat out advert.
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It is - the link goes to some snake oil site..I checked it.
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My usual approach if I smell a rat is to Google a sentence or so of the email, and see if it crops up elsewhere. In this case an identical posting turns up over on a gardening site:-
tinyurl.com/n2qzjl9l
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>> My usual approach if I smell a rat is to Google a sentence or so
>> of the email, and see if it crops up elsewhere. In this case an identical
>> posting turns up over on a gardening site:-
>>
>> tinyurl.com/n2qzjl9l
>>
That link doesn't work for me.
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try:-
tinyurl.com/kb4nshf
posting from 'brummieben'
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>> Its not, the poster is not new, has no history of doing this, and was
>> merely trying to be helpful by adding a link for a source of preserver.
Well I've just googled the email address he used to register his account and it's coming back telling me he's a spammer.
I've disabled the account and removed the link he was trying to promote. If Addison can verify he's not a spammer, then he's welcome to email me at my moderators address.
Last edited by: VxFan on Sun 1 Feb 15 at 18:39
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Someone who can't spell centre properly is up to no good.
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>> Someone who can't spell centre properly is up to no good.
>>
... or chamfer
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>> >> Someone who can't spell centre properly is up to no good.
>> >>
>>
>> ... or chamfer
www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22403731
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>> Well I've just googled the email address he used to register his account and it's
>> coming back telling me he's a spammer.
Well its an elaborate and time consuming spam, registered a while ago, put up some posts with no spam in to throw everyone off the scent, with a final payload that is really of no commercial value.
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>> Well its an elaborate and time consuming spam
Yes, not one of our usual ones I must admit.
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I've no idea of Dave the Detectives methods but the identical link posted above fro the gardening forum is by Brummieben and he has a long history of non-spam posts on that site. I wonder if a conclusion has been jumped to prematurely.
www.gardenersworld.com/members/brummieben/chat/
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>> I've no idea of Dave the Detectives methods
>> I wonder if a conclusion has been jumped to prematurely.
If I'm wrong, then I'll put my hands up Smokie. Have you tried googling his email address though to see what comes up?
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The wood frame on the three wheeler has both parts shielded by metal panels or inside the car, and some bits exposed on the outside. Although over half the metal work is original, I had to totally replace the frame.
So I applied two generous coats of Cuprinol 5 star, let it dry/soak in and then painted with black International Ranch Paint. Good paint for a vintage look as it's midway between gloss and silk. All the materials were obtained before the VOC rules were tightened, so I will have killed some ozones... Except of course, because the materials I used are more durable, ten years on, there is not any sign of any repeat treatment or paint needed.
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>> When I click 'reply to this message' and then 'quote original message', in the
>> message that is displayed, the word 'wood' has got psvinternational dot com in front of
>> it. Can anyone explain, please?
Yes the poster tried to include the HTML command for a web link. This forum does not allow the use of such commands (by crudely using the swear filter process) so the link was not clickable, however the link was left in blue
Last edited by: Zero on Sun 1 Feb 15 at 09:44
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I'll check out the link now.....not deleting it.
Edit: It is a link to a company website.
Last edited by: R.P. on Sun 1 Feb 15 at 10:23
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Odd though 'cos it's a company without any obvious links to UK.
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"Preserving wood" - Page 3 ? ;-)
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>> Yes the poster tried to include the HTML command for a web link. This forum
>> does not allow the use of such commands (by crudely using the swear filter process)
I had to add the HTML command "href"to the swear filter because any clickable links created by it took people away from this site instead of opening the link in a separate browser window unless the HMTL command target="_blank" was also used.
e.g.
Without the target="_blank" command. Google
With the target="_blank" command. Google
Last edited by: VxFan on Mon 2 Feb 15 at 16:03
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.
Last edited by: No FM2R on Mon 2 Feb 15 at 16:13
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Has your keyboard run out of ink again?
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Just messing around and then got distracted by a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon.
Last edited by: No FM2R on Mon 2 Feb 15 at 19:43
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That happens here, too.. :-)
I looked up 'psvinternational' and they appear to supply vitamins. Hmm.
Appreciated the GW link, though. Someone there is surprisingly tetchy about using old motor oil, I notice!
Last edited by: J Bonington Jagworth on Wed 4 Feb 15 at 16:07
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Preserving wood - Iffy
