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Many owners of suburban areas, in the process of building a house or when performing work on landscaping their backyard, often need to install wooden poles in the ground. Due to the wide availability and low cost of the material, such poles are often used as a supporting structure for the installation of fences, wickets or gates, the construction of temporary or permanent wooden structures, as well as for the manufacture of garden gazebos, summer terraces and other small architectural forms.
Features of installing wooden support posts in the ground
Everyone knows that the outer top layer of soil contains a large amount of moisture, which, under the action of capillary effect, constantly rises from the lower layers of the earth, so below a depth of 50-100 mm it never completely dries out. High humidity with constant contact with air oxygen promotes the development of putrefactive bacteria, and thereby has a destructive effect on wood.
In order for each owner of his own site to be able to ensure reliable and durable installation of such structures, the reader will then be offered detailed instructions, which describe in detail various methods of protective wood treatment, and will present a simple technology for installing wooden poles.
Selection and preparation of material
The quality of installation, as well as the strength and durability of a wooden support pole installed directly in the ground, largely depends on the correct choice of wood and the proper execution of preparatory work.
In order to cope with this simple task, you must be guided by the following rules and recommendations:
- The most durable material is larch wood, since it has a dense, uniform fiber structure, and therefore is practically not subject to rotting and damage by insect pests.
- Oak and beech wood is also considered to be of no less quality, but the relatively high price of these materials makes it inappropriate to use them for such purposes.
- Treated pine logs can be considered as the best option, since its wood is impregnated with natural resin throughout its entire thickness, and it is also low in cost.
- The relative humidity of the wood before installation should not exceed 20%, and if the wood is damper, it should be dried under a shelter in the open air for several months.
Preface. In this material we will look at how to waterproof fence posts made of metal or wood with your own hands. Often wooden beams, logs, metal profiles or used tubing pipes are used for poles - all these materials require additional processing to protect them from moisture, sunlight and precipitation. To protect poles, mastics, primers, paints and antiseptics are used.
Wood is the most common material used to construct fences on a site. A beautiful wooden fence will look harmonious between the beds, around the flower beds and around the country cottage. But unprotected wooden fence posts are susceptible to rotting and quickly lose their original appearance due to constant exposure to precipitation, wind and sun.
The correct technology for installing fence posts determines the service life of the entire structure. To properly waterproof fence posts, it is necessary to take into account the material of the posts, the type of soil on the site and take into account how they are installed. Taking into account all these factors, you should choose the optimal method of waterproofing underground and external fence elements installed in the ground.
Choosing waterproofing for fence posts
Bitumen-mastic insulation
The mastic coating consists of bitumen, polymers and various additives. The insulating properties of TechnoNIKOL mastic are high, and anyone can apply the composition to the surface, which is important. Bitumen-mastic protection lasts for 10-15 years. As the temperature drops, the mastic becomes brittle and collapses over time from minor impacts of the soil during movements in the spring and autumn.
Rubber-bitumen insulation
Before applying the rubber-bitumen material, the surface of the pillars is cleaned of rust and degreased. Surface treatment requires an air temperature of +15°C and above; the material is applied with a brush or roller. Rubber-bitumen insulation consists of a primer and mastic. Fence posts and basement walls of a house protected in this way can be used in a wide temperature range.
Polymer waterproofing
Polymer insulation is most often used for gas pipelines and for waterproofing swimming pools. Installing metal fence posts with this type of protection is relatively simple and can be done independently. Among the significant disadvantages of polymer coating waterproofing is the poor resistance of this coating to mechanical damage during shear or subsidence of the soil.
Waterproofing wooden fence posts
In shaded areas and in places with high humidity, fence posts and boards will quickly lose their original appearance and become infected with fungus without proper waterproofing. Let's consider how to treat wooden fence posts so that they last for many years and retain their attractive appearance. The pillars require the use of various insulating agents for the outer part and the part in the ground.
Processing the underground part of the pillars
There are many methods on how and how to process fence posts with your own hands:
1
. coating the pillars with birch tar (the most proven method);
2
. processing of wooden poles by working in several layers;
3
. treating fence posts with bitumen or polymer mastic.
Mineral oil is an excellent water-repellent antiseptic; acid salts in the treatment kill any fungus on the surface of the wood.
You can prepare that part of the log that will be buried in the ground. The wooden pole is burned over a fire to create a charred layer several millimeters deep. Next, the surface is treated with tar or bitumen in two layers. Bitumen mastic is black in color, so treat only that part of the post that will be in the ground with the composition.
Processing the visible part of the pillar
The outer part of a wooden post also requires protection with antiseptics and paints and varnishes from the negative effects of precipitation. If it is important for you to preserve the texture of the wood, then you should pay attention to coatings such as varnish, stain, Belinka or Pinotex impregnations. If this is not important, then simple, inexpensive oil paint, as well as various paints for wood, will do.
Video. Waterproofing metal fence posts
Rate this article: (already voted 3 visitors, overall rating: 5,00 )With all the abundance of modern materials and structures, wood continues to be one of the most popular, affordable and widely used materials in country and cottage construction. Lightness, environmental friendliness, low cost - these are not all the advantages of wooden structures. Unfortunately, this material has a very significant drawback - wood is susceptible to deterioration and rotting, which is accelerated in particularly unfavorable conditions.
It is worth noting that wood of different types of wood can be divided into three groups according to its resistance to decay:
- Resistant to rotting, they remain in the ground for 20 years. Among those found in Russia, these are Siberian larch, ash and oak - from these materials our ancestors made the lower crowns and columnar foundations of their huts.
- Moderately resistant to rotting, which may not lose their structural properties for 10-15 years. This group includes pine, spruce, cedar, and fir.
- Low-resistant and unstable species rarely survive in the ground for up to 5-8 years - these are linden, birch, aspen, alder, elm and others.
Fencing an area with a fence is one of the main and very first jobs that their lucky owners do on their property. Many summer residents make fences from ordinary wood and are seriously concerned about the safety of wooden posts - they don’t really want to change them every 7-8 years.
There are quite simple ways to protect wood from rotting, but first it makes sense to understand the reasons for this process. Wood deteriorates from the constant presence of moisture and oxygen. For example, a fence post dug into the ground can be divided into three zones, which are in different conditions:
- the upper part of the column, located above the ground, surrounded by a sufficient amount of oxygen, but there is not enough moisture in it for intensive rotting; periodically it is wetted by rain, but dries very quickly;
- the lower part of the pillar, on the contrary, is located underground and in humid conditions, with a lack of oxygen, and therefore rots very slowly;
- the middle part of the post - about twenty centimeters above and below the ground - is located precisely in conditions most conducive to rotting - there is a lot of moisture from the ground and enough oxygen - therefore the posts of your favorite fence for the dacha deteriorate most in this area.
Protection of the underground part of the pillar
What can be done to protect the underground part of the pillar, especially at the boundary between earth and air.
Firstly, the pole must be installed with the butt (lower, thicker part) facing up. The fact is that the movement of juices in a growing tree occurs through the capillaries of the fibers from the roots to the crown due to osmosis. If you bury the post upside down, the fibers will not draw moisture as actively.
Secondly, the wooden post must be made of dead wood that has not begun to deteriorate. If this cannot be controlled, or the owner knows that the tree was cut down while standing, it is necessary to cut the poles to the required sizes, free them from bark, thoroughly sand the surface and put them under a shed for storage, at least for a year.
Third, the entire part of the pillar that is planned to be buried plus 50-60 cm must be soaked with an antiseptic, preferably by immersion for a couple of days in a solution of copper or iron sulfate. At the same time, so that the impregnation does not wash out through the upper end, it is necessary to provide some kind of decorative cap on it.
And finally, the most important thing is that you need to dig a hole for the post 10-15 centimeters deeper and 2-3 times wider than the diameter of the wood. After this, pour coarse crushed stone onto the bottom, install a post, fill it with the same crushed stone to the top and compact it thoroughly. This way, the lower part of the post will be provided with drainage, ventilation and no contact with wet ground. It is better to line the hole with geotextile before backfilling - then the earth will not mix with crushed stone and clog the drainage. To make it more decorative, the column can be painted with vapor-permeable paint.
The measures outlined above are simple, quite affordable, including in cost, but allow the owner to save significantly - after all, wood is much cheaper than metal or concrete. Fence posts installed using this technology will last at least 30-35 years, even if the wood species used for their manufacture is not the most rot-resistant.
Wood is one of the main building materials around the world. But it must be pre-treated in such a way that it can maintain its condition for a long period of time.
It is especially necessary to protect wooden supports and fence posts in order to effectively avoid the onslaught of bacteria, fungi and insects that feed on cellulose. Additionally, exposing wood to moisture is very harmful and can compromise its strength and durability.
Which pillars require antiseptic and impregnation?
Wooden poles - can be used in a number of industries, electrical, distribution, telecommunications, household.
Wood has high performance in terms of handling workloads. As a result, the number of wooden supports required is less than concrete ones, for example.
Due to their light weight, wooden poles are easier to install in the ground without a special foundation or grounding; no specialized fixtures or accessories are needed.
In the photo: excellent and best impregnation for wooden posts - logs and beams. Wooden supports of log houses, wooden houses made of rounded logs and various wooden fence posts using Neomid 430 eco impregnation acquire exceptional anti-rot qualities and better protection against destruction from all types of biological pests of wood! Leading experts in the field of wood protection recommend purchasing this product for impregnation and treatment of poles!
The service life of wooden poles impregnated with the protective composition Neomid 430 eco from rotting and other biological influences is longer than that of steel or concrete poles and can last 30-60 years.
Which pole protection technology is considered the best?
To avoid many destructive problems, industrial pressure impregnation of poles is the best choice for all types of construction projects. The degree of protection provided by the preservative Neomid 430 eco depends on how much of the chemical the tree has absorbed. During pressure impregnation, the protective composition penetrates deep into the wood structure.
But the wood from which fence posts or supports are made can be processed manually yourself, applying the product in 2-3 layers with a synthetic roller or brush, as well as by immersion.
Photo: Neomid 430 eco in a 5 liter concentrate package. This amount will yield 50 liters of the strongest antiseptic for impregnating wooden poles.
Environmentally friendly product Neomid 430 eco, approved by the Ministry of Environmental Protection, using the unique technology of the Neomid company, with strict compliance with European product quality standards. The class of wood treated with it is intended for use in contact with earth, water and concrete.
Enhanced protection of pillars and supports is ensured by the fact that the product chemically binds to the wood, strengthening its physical and chemical properties, pushing oxygen and water out of the pores, sealing them, and making it almost impossible for destructive fungi, mold or insects to penetrate.
Processing and drying of wooden supports and fence posts should be carried out in dry weather, at temperatures above 10 degrees or in a ventilated room. Surfaces must be cleaned of paint, grease, dirt and rot. If necessary, the pillars should be treated with NEOMID 500. It dries completely in two days.
Photo: impregnation of wooden posts and a wooden fence with the non-washable antiseptic Prosept Ultra will help you avoid infecting the wooden structure with fungi and pests. We recommend treating poles buried in the ground with this product at least three times with an interval of 2-3 hours. Such repeated impregnation will help the wooden pole to be reliably preserved from the penetration of pests into the wood structure of the pole. It is best to process the picket fence itself from boards at least 2 times. This will also create conditions for reliable conservation of fence boards.
Photo: we have repeatedly carried out real experiments on the conservation of old lumber, logs and timber from the effects of various biological pests. Real experiments have shown good indicators for the safety of wooden products and structures in unfavorable environmental conditions.
Procedure for applying impregnation
Before use, dilute Neomid 430 eco in the required proportions - since it is a concentrate. When working, use personal protective equipment.
Photo: It is best to treat the wooden surface of the pillars and the wooden fence itself using a regular high-quality paint brush.
Watch a thematic video about Neomid 430 impregnation
Watch a thematic video about Prosept Ultra impregnation
Where to buy in Moscow and the Moscow region?
Photo: high-quality and powerful impregnations for wooden structures Neomid 430 eco and Neomid 440 eco.
Photo: these effective impregnations (Prosept Ultra and Neomid 430) are best suited for treating poles before burying the ends of the poles in the ground.
You can buy this effective protective agent for impregnating wooden poles from our company from a warehouse in Moscow. Our partners are clients from the cities of Balashikha, Reutov, Zheleznodorozhny, Shchelkovo, Noginsk.
At the same time, we draw your attention to the availability in our warehouse of the best sealant for a wooden house and other wooden structures. Its price does not bite at all, unlike its American counterparts.