treating post and rail fencing

fits

I got someone to put up a small amount of post and rail fencing recently. I just asked him to do it and let him off.

He bought untreated timber fencing. What can I use to treat it now? I believe creosote isnt available anymore and is difficult to apply anyway. Any ideas?

Muckit

Rip it all down and use the timber for something else.

Next to useless if it's untreated softwood. It's always going to look a half a*sed job and will rot in next to no time. A 2.5 litre tin of good wood preservative is the guts of €50 and it'I cover nothing! And painted on preservative is just a lick and a promise job. After a few showers, you're back to square one.

Buy pressure treated larch and get someone who gives a sh*t to erect it.

barryoc1

The cresote now is a cresote substitute. Main difference i found is it doesnt burn the skin when applyin and doesnt smell really strong. Looks fine and lasts fine colour wise for a year anyway. I add about one third burnt oil to it to make it go a bit further. A gallon will do a good bit all the same, cant remember exactly how far but i think about 50 meters, front back and posts. 3 rails. I replaced a timber fence last year that had been put down 20 years previous and had been untreated initially but got a coat of cresote every year. Only real problem with the fence i took down is alot of the posts had rotten where they were in the ground. Apart from that it was fine. So no i dont agree that your fence is useless.

reilig

barryoc1 wrote: »

The cresote now is a cresote substitute. Main difference i found is it doesnt burn the skin when applyin and doesnt smell really strong. Looks fine and lasts fine colour wise for a year anyway. I add about one third burnt oil to it to make it go a bit further. A gallon will do a good bit all the same, cant remember exactly how far but i think about 50 meters, front back and posts. 3 rails. I replaced a timber fence last year that had been put down 20 years previous and had been untreated initially but got a coat of cresote every year. Only real problem with the fence i took down is alot of the posts had rotten where they were in the ground. Apart from that it was fine. So no i dont agree that your fence is useless.

The biggest problem that I find with burned oil is that it is dirty. It never dries and if you brush up against it (which you inevitably will), you will be destroyed.

Muckit

fits wrote: »

I just asked him to do it and let him off

Burnt oil or cresote will do fine

charityboy

fits wrote: »

I got someone to put up a small amount of post and rail fencing recently. I just asked him to do it and let him off.

He bought untreated timber fencing. What can I use to treat it now? I believe creosote isnt available anymore and is difficult to apply anyway. Any ideas?

lashings of creosote and burned oil and even with this im afraid you wont get much longer than three years out of this fence ,posts will rot at ground level ,life span of tanalised treated post is not that great either as the wood is too fresh when treating , pdm posts is the only way to go ,in my opinion they are the cheapest posts on the market as they will probably last for 30 to 40 years and beyond

Rovi

Bear in mind that burnt oil is nasty stuff; toxic to soil and water organisms, very bad for unprotected skin, and even carcinogenic according to some studies.
Not really the sort of thing to be casually lashing about the place.

pakalasa

I remember putting down Oak stakes about 30 years ago. They are still perfect to this day. I remember it was next to impossible to drive stables in them, they were that hard. Don't know if they were treated.
We have other soft stakes, that were put down only 5 years ago, break at ground level when hit by cattle, even 9" ones.
Well worth going to the expense of using the right timber.

Those soft stakes you get at the local COOP are a complete waste of time.

blackstairsboy

The next time you are getting a fence done get him to leave you the posts a few days before driving them. Have half a barrell filled with waste oil and mix in 2 or 3 gallons of cresote substitute. Let the pointed ends of the posts stand in this for a couple of hours so it will obsorb in. Only do the pointed ends otherwise they are far to messy to handle you can use what is left in the half barrel to paint the rest of the post and the rails when they are driven. You have to treat them before they go in other wise you are really wasting your time they will rot at the bottom.

pakalasa

Like above, I leave all bought in posts steeped in a barrel of waste engine oil. I take them out and let them dry before using. It will take a few weeks for them to dry.

richie123

fits wrote: »

I got someone to put up a small amount of post and rail fencing recently. I just asked him to do it and let him off.

He bought untreated timber fencing. What can I use to treat it now? I believe creosote isnt available anymore and is difficult to apply anyway. Any ideas?

unless you treat timber in a vacuum you are wasting your time with painting on cresote or dipping in burnt oil etc etc...dry or wet ..hardwood better than any treatment out there.

Fat Cant

Yeah pdm is the only way if you want it to last very expensive on the day but cheap in the long run,the creosote it is boiled into the posts .
The others that u get in co op are only dirt they will all snap at the butt in 3 to 4 years time.

lakill Farm

The brother in law put up 80 meters of 4 rail stud fencing around my place last May. Its pdm, he is a fencing contractor and does real good work.
But pdm losses its colour and i painted it 50% burnt oil, 50% crerete

Pharaoh1

Used the PDM myself recently 6" x 3" posts with the 4" x 2" rail.
Pricey but as others have said the green treated stuff will only last a few years.
PDM delivered as well which was handy.
The fence is really drying out now so I was thinking of putting something on it. The local paint shop recommends Creocote which is available in a couple of different colours.
Anyone have any experience of it?

fits

I went to the fencing supplier to check and it turns out it was pressure treated fencing. It just looked untreated to my eye.

fencing job was still mixed enough in quality, but i'm learning as I go along

Not sure I like the idea of using black oil, but thanks for all the info on the thread. I was going to buy creocote, and might use that on the fence next year.

lakill Farm

I also know a lad who sprays the stud railing on the big horse farms. Its great stuff (he did my dads front fence) but not sure if you can buy it off him.

Call them, Tim Moorehead paints, Bunbrosna, Mullingar, Co Westmeath" - Not affliated at all.