LESLIE: Sam in Idaho, you’ve got The Money Pit. What can we do for you today?
SAM: I have a [life of] (ph) cedar fencing someone gave me. I’m going to plan it. It’s 10 or 12 years old, never been in the ground. I’m just curious if you would recommend treating the post.
TOM: Well, you can treat the posts if you want to put like a wood life on it. And make sure you get it into the end grain. It’ll help a little bit.
But the best way to stop that post from rotting is more about the installation. And what I would recommend is this: I would use a post-hole digger to dig it – the hole – just slightly wider than the post itself. I would put about 4 inches of gray gravel stone in the bottom of the hole, set the post on top of that stone and then use the rest of the stone to fill around the post and tamp it down.
Now, you can use a tamping iron or if you don’t have a tamping iron, you can use the butt end of a 2×4 to do the same thing. But do not concrete those posts into the ground, because the concrete will hold a lot of water against the post. It will cause rapid deterioration. If you just put the stone in, it’ll be really, really strong and it’ll drain well. So, that’s the best way to preserve it.
SAM: OK, guys. Thank you.
TOM: You’re very welcome. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
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