The wooden poles did not rot in the ground. How to install and protect wooden fence posts from rotting. Common mistakes when installing wooden poles

Wooden poles in suburban areas are still very popular. If we are talking about a capital monster fence, made of a metal profile with a claim “for centuries”, which should intimidate a potential intruder with its appearance, of course it is better to use concrete or metal poles-pipes. But when it is necessary to enclose a front garden with flowers, to protect the garden from the penetration of domestic animals, and in general, only to designate a decorative fence, it is better to use cheap wooden poles. But wooden poles, unfortunately, have a very low durability, since the tree rots very quickly when in contact with constantly wet ground. Even oak and larch, which in water, without contact with atmospheric oxygen, stand for centuries, being buried in the ground will not last even two decades. But there are fairly simple ways to protect wooden poles from decay.

First of all, consider the causes of decay. Wood rots in the constant presence of moisture and oxygen. Such conditions are created at the border of earth and air, in the place where the pillar sticks out of the ground. In this place, decay occurs most intensively. Above this place, the wood is well ventilated and does not rot so intensively. Below - on the contrary, oxygen is not enough for active decay and decay there also slows down. This means that we need to take some measures to protect the tree at the point where the wooden post leaves the ground.

The second point is the typical mistakes of summer residents when using wooden poles and supports. Firstly, in most cases they bury the pole on the wrong side. Wood raises its juices along the trunk due to osmosis. Osmosis is the upward movement of fluid through the finest capillaries. And if you bury a log in the same way as it grew (butt below), then it will continue to draw moisture from the ground into the trunk. If you bury it upside down, the suction of moisture along the trunk will decrease significantly.

Secondly, to protect the tree, its underground part is often smeared with molten bitumen, wrapped with roofing material. In this case, a kind of "glass" is formed. Moisture, having got into it once, can no longer leave it, and the tree constantly has its own supply of moisture.

Thirdly, completely unprepared raw wood is used for temporary use, cheap, “replace at any time”. But there is nothing more permanent than temporary buildings. Over time, they are overgrown with infrastructure, they get used to them, and sometimes it’s not all of a sudden to get close to a rotten pole, let alone replace it. And the props and pegs begin to go. The fence takes on a dilapidated appearance.

Meanwhile, it is enough to carry out simple preparatory activities that will take a little time and your fence will be like new for many, many years, even with wooden posts. These rules are quite simple.

1. Initially use only healthy wood, dried, with no signs of rot. If this is not edged lumber, but a log - a pod, be sure to sand it and let it weather a little. And it is better in general - to dry out under a canopy for a year.

2. Soak the part that is planned for deepening, plus 30-50 cm above (remember that this is the apical part, not the butt), soak with a penetrating antiseptic. Better - by immersion for a day - two. Copper or iron vitriol has proven itself perfectly. A tree impregnated with a 5-7% solution of vitriol does not rot in the ground for 15-20 years.

3. So that the impregnation does not wash out, put on some kind of cap on the upper end of the column, nail a tin cover. Moisture is very intensively absorbed into the butt of the tree. And the cover not only protects the tree from moisture, but can also serve as a decorative decoration.

4. When installing the post, dig (drill) a hole 2-3 times wider than the diameter of the post. First, throw some large gravel at the bottom of the hole. Then, having installed a post, fill the hole with large gravel as well, and not with earth. Thus, you will ensure excellent drainage of the underground part of the column and its relative ventilation. It will be even better if you first insert a "glass" without a bottom into the hole made of non-woven material such as "Agrotex", "Geotextile", etc. It will not allow the drainage to become clogged with earth.

5. Be sure to paint the column itself. This will not only improve its appearance, but also protect it from moisture. But it is recommended to paint only well-dried wood.

6. If you want to really solve the issue with the columns completely, then you can use metal sleeves - pipe trimmings. They are buried in the ground so that they rise 10-15 cm above the ground. And wooden posts are inserted into them. So you can save a lot on columns, because. wood is much cheaper than metal, and one post will only take about 1/3 of the pipe you would have to use, make the posts all metal. Yes, and the wooden posts look prettier. So that the column does not fall into the sleeve, the diameter of the latter is taken somewhat smaller than the size of the column, and the column itself is hemmed to the required size.

As you can see, the activities are not at all complicated, but they will make your wooden posts practically “eternal”.

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The basis of any fence is high-quality and reliable supporting pillars. Most often, wooden or brick supports are used to install most types of fences. The most affordable and popular option among ordinary citizens is wood poles. They can be in the form of typical straight supports, carved pillars, and even in the form of exquisite figures.

The main disadvantage of wood when used as supports is not a very long service life. However, the age of the pillars can be significantly extended if the material is properly processed using special tools.

Additional Information! An important role in the durability of the pillars is played by the type of wood. Experts recommend choosing those types of wood that have good density. The ideal solution would be supports made of larch, oak, aspen or acacia.

Processing fence posts - a guarantee of the durability of the supports

Before installing the fence, the supporting posts should be treated properly. The support itself can be conditionally divided into two parts: internal (located under the soil) and outer (located above the ground). Since the underground and aboveground parts of the pole are in different conditions, their processing methods and coating materials will also be different.

Important! Treatment of fence support structures should not be carried out in the rain or in damp, foggy weather. In order for the tree to be well saturated and dry quickly, it is necessary to wait for a sunny day or carry out processing in a dry and warm outbuilding.

Processing wooden supports

The underground part of the pillar: technical aspects of processing

This part of the support will be in the soil, sometimes even in the water. As a result of active and aggressive exposure to moisture and earth, the tree quickly collapses. Rotting is a process that proceeds at high speed, poles can rot in less than a year. In addition, no one has canceled the "active attacks" of insects and all kinds of bugs. Before proceeding with the coating of wood with special compounds, the material must be dried well in a natural way.

Additional Information! The moisture content of wood suitable for the manufacture of supporting pillars should not exceed 15%. It is this tree that absorbs the processing compounds as well as possible and is impregnated with high quality.

Means for processing:

Bituminous impregnation . It is applied to the pillars before instillation. Allows you to increase the resistance of the material to the effects of moisture, acids and alkalis in the soil. The coating is applied in 2 layers. After applying the first coat, wait 24 hours before applying the second coat.

Wood that has been pre-treated absorbs less of the treatment agent, so the posts can be hewn with a planer before applying the impregnation.

Additional Information! To further extend the service life of wooden supports, the lower part is tightly wrapped with roofing felt before immersing in the ground.

Copper or iron sulphate . Excellent penetrating antiseptics that prevent wood decay processes. Before installing the supports, the lower part should be placed in a 5-7% solution of vitriol for 24-48 hours. The result will exceed your expectations: the poles will last at least 15-20 years.

Waste car oil (working out) . One of the cheapest and most affordable ways to protect a tree. Slightly warmed oil is applied in several layers to the bottom of the wooden support. The used mixture is ninety percent water-repellent antiseptic that kills fungi, destroys salts and acids.

Burning. The underground part of the wooden posts before installation is burned on a fire or with a gas burner and treated with molten bitumen.

Synthetic mastics and pastes. Universal waterproofing mixtures that are applied to wood in several layers and covered with additional protection - film or fiberglass. The compositions protect wood from the negative effects of environmental factors (sudden changes in temperature, humidity, ultraviolet radiation, etc.) and extend the service life of supports up to 10-15 years. At the same time, they are relatively inexpensive.

Additional Information! Most often, the supports rot at the point of contact with the ground. Therefore, the "joints" should be given special attention and do not forget to periodically repeat the processing.

Ground processing

Despite the fact that the top of the support is above the ground and does not come into contact with the ground, it is also subject to negative impact and needs special protection. Antiseptics and protective varnishes and paints will come to the rescue here.

It should immediately be noted that the means for covering the outer part of the pillars can be of 2 types:

forming a protective film over wood;
absorbed into the structure of the tree and penetrating deep into the fibers.

Before choosing a tool, you should decide what is your priority. Do you want to preserve and emphasize the natural structure of wood? Opt for coatings such as Pinotex or Biotex. High-quality varnishes or drying oil are also suitable.

If you want to protect the posts and at the same time paint them in the desired color, then give preference to colored oil paints based on zinc white - the country of origin does not play a role, you can buy both domestic and imported paint.

Important! Before painting wood, it must always be treated with a primer.

Do not forget that paint is a coating that requires periodic updating. Therefore, every 3-5 years the fence posts will have to be painted again.

There are other dual-action products on the market that protect the wood from rot and insects at the same time.

Processing brick pillars

Fences with supports made of brick look more beautiful, durable, reliable and expensive. Such a fence serves an order of magnitude longer than a wooden one. Brick supports are perfectly combined with different materials: metal forging, mesh, corrugated board.

To make the brick support more durable, a pipe is installed in the middle, which is cemented in the ground. Before concreting, the underground part of the pipe is covered with a special anti-corrosion agent. The stores offer a wide range of impregnations for every taste, color and wallet.

If the pillars are made of red brick or brick for cladding, then they can also be coated with a special compound for treating brick surfaces. Such products form an imperceptible film on the surface of the brick, which protects the material from premature destruction and salt protrusion. Seams can be coated with water repellents.

Any fence posts lose their original strength and attractiveness over time. To avoid problems and premature damage to the supports, all available methods and compositions should be used to protect both the outer part and the one that is in the ground.

There is no more traditional material for building a fence than a wooden beam. And even today, in the time of new building materials and construction methods, every third fence is built on wooden poles and slats. There are many reasons for such popularity, first of all, a very attractive appearance and relatively easy to process and install material. Wooden fence posts allow you to reduce the time of erecting a fence and at the same time make it much cheaper, which is important for owners of summer cottages and suburban areas.

Advantages and disadvantages of a fence on wooden poles

In a series of building materials, wood stands apart, is in a privileged position:

The use of special mastics and protective impregnations allows you to show a beautiful texture of wood;
Wooden posts, with the right choice of the cross section of the supports and the installation performed, are able to provide high strength of the fence at a relatively low cost;
Wooden poles are easily assembled with metal, corrugated board, wooden lath and any other material for facing the fence.

Wooden poles, unlike concrete or steel poles, are quite capable of being installed by hand, while the light weight and good machinability of the tree make it possible to manufacture and process the poles practically at home.

Important! Racks made of wood are extremely sensitive to excess moisture and putrefactive microflora, therefore, how long the pillars will stand in the ground depends on the quality of the processing of the material.

There are a lot of ways to process the material, but not all recipes give a stable and lasting effect, so the method of applying a protective coating must be selected in accordance with the composition of the soil and the type of wood.

How to protect wooden fence posts from rotting

The durability of a wooden support depends primarily on the type of wood. The wood of larch, oak, walnut is considered the most resistant to rotting. Pine, spruce, and fir withstand the putrefactive environment worse. Poplar, birch, aspen are considered unsuitable for use as poles. Experts recommend, before installing the pillars, to provide protection against the development of putrefactive microflora by the following means:

Impregnation in two or three doses with antiseptics based on organic solvents;
Treatment with salts of iron, copper, chromium, nickel, lead, creosote;
Coating with protective waterproof compounds, for example, epoxy or pentaphthalic varnishes.

Advice! Processing is carried out, as a rule, in several steps, with drying of each layer. To install wooden poles in the most aggressive peaty soils, the bottom of the pole can be wrapped in sealed plastic bags.

All kinds of drying oils, organic oils, impregnation with used engine oil, kerosene, diesel fuel are considered ineffective for protection.

Installation of wooden fence posts

Any construction of wooden fences begins with the installation of supporting elements. For fencing up to 2 meters high, a square or round beam with a maximum transverse dimension of 90-100 mm is used. Higher fences of 2.5-3.0 m must be installed with concreting of the base, the cross section of supporting elements for blind fences should be proportionally increased by 25-30%.

To fence a summer house or a country house, the following pole installation schemes are most often used:

Concreting in a well drilled with an auger drill to the installation depth;
Fixing wooden poles by backfilling the well with crushed stone, rubble, broken bricks, gravel screenings;
Hammering a wooden support into the ground. Such schemes are often used as temporary, with subsequent replacement with metal or concrete supports;
By installing a wooden beam inside a steel cup or a piece of pipe hammered into the ground.

For your information! The small specific gravity of wood makes it relatively easy to install wooden poles even alone, it is much more difficult to solve the question of how to align the supports in one plane without resorting to the help of neighbors.

We install wooden poles for the fence in concrete with our own hands

If you have to install wooden supports with your own hands, without assistants, then the easiest way would be concreting or backfilling with rubble stone. This method makes it easy to align the posts with a marking cord and a pair of building levels.

According to the marked contour of the fence, it will be necessary to drill the required number of wells, with a diameter of 10-15 cm more than the maximum size in the cross section of the support. The easiest way is to use a garden auger drill with a diameter of 15-20 cm. Before drilling, a steel or paper non-stretching rope or twine is pulled, pegs 20-25 cm high are hammered. After drilling, the bottom of the well is covered with fine gravel screenings, the layer thickness is 5-7 cm. The screenings must be well tamped and leveled to get a flat bottom. Next, install the corner or extreme fence posts.

Before concreting the well, the extreme supports must be carefully aligned, since all the other pillars of the wooden fence will have to be placed along them. To align the position of the support, three main parameters are used:

The distance from the marking cord to the head of the pole, so that there are no errors in height, the stretched thread must be leveled horizontally using the building level;
Indications of two building levels in mutually perpendicular planes.

If possible, it is better to use the device shown in the photo. In its absence, you can take two building levels and fix them on the planes of a square bar with an elastic band. After leveling the pillars, the position is fixed with wooden spacers or pieces of building material. Concrete is poured into the well in small portions so that the mass does not hit the wooden beam of the support.

In the same way, leveling is performed when using a layer of gravel or rubble material instead of concrete. The fixing mass is poured and rammed in small portions, 5-6 kg each.

How to hammer and level a wooden post

For low wooden fences, it is easier to hammer the supports into the ground than to fool around with drilling and concreting. When using oak beams, you only need to sharpen the lower end with a symmetrical bevel, and you can hammer. In order not to break or split the top of the support, it is necessary to strengthen a board made of soft wood, linden or poplar on the head.

As the timber is hammered and settled, the position of the support must be periodically monitored using the building level. As long as the fence post is not buried in the ground by more than a third, the slope can be corrected by simply knocking out the side surface, at the end the soil around the post is rammed with sledgehammer blows.

Wooden poles made of larch cannot be hammered directly, like oak, due to the high tendency of the wood to chip. In this case, a steel pipe or scrap is pre-hammered into the ground, and thus a thin guide hole is obtained, after which it is possible to install and hammer a larch fence post.

Conclusion

For heavy and dense loamy soils, before drilling or driving wooden supports, the soil has to be artificially “soaked”. In this case, a hole is punched to a depth of 30-40 cm and periodically filled with water. After about a day, you can drill a well with your hands or hammer wooden bars in the order described above.

In the construction of the main structure of the fence, the pillars play an important role, as they serve as a support. Their choice depends on the following factors: the material of the fence, the characteristics of the site (relief, type of soil), the design, length and height of the structure, and many others.

For the construction of different types of fences, poles have become popular: wooden, metal, concrete, brick. Today we will tell you about wooden poles and their features, advantages and disadvantages, as well as how to make and install wooden fence poles.

Features of wooden fence posts

Wooden poles serve support to support a fence made of any material (metal picket fence, corrugated board, metal tile). Wooden poles must be of high quality, made of dry wood without defects, chips, cracks and other damage. They are not cheap, and their service life with proper processing is 15-20 years. To ensure durability, their base is impregnated with antiseptics, opened with bitumen, wood stain, and the lower part is wrapped with waterproofing. For impregnation, a solution of copper sulphate is used.

You should know that the thickness of the column depends on the height of the fence. If the fence is higher than one and a half meters, then column thickness should be at least 15 × 15 cm. Fence posts are best taken from solid wood when the bark is simply removed from them. Wooden fence posts are not recommended as the fibers are on the outside and cannot be protected. The service life of poles made of timber is much shorter.

Wooden poles must not come into contact with earth. It is necessary to install the post with the thicker side up, which reduces the absorption of moisture into the wood. A cap must be made on the upper end of the column, which will not allow the impregnation to be washed out. Do not forget that wooden poles need to be touched up every year.

Advantages and disadvantages of wooden poles

Wooden poles used to build a fence have their advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages of wooden poles:

low price, in comparison with other materials used for their manufacture;
ease of installation. Wooden poles can be installed independently, without outside help;
availability this material for self-manufacturing of pillars;
environmental friendliness and aesthetics. Wood is an environmentally friendly material, and high-quality poles made from it have a rather beautiful appearance.

Disadvantages of wooden poles:

sensitive to the effects of precipitation;
shorter service life compared to other types;
limiting options for fences mounted on wooden poles.

How to make wooden fence posts

Of great importance is breed wood used in the manufacture of wooden poles for the construction of the fence. The most reliable and durable fence posts are made of oak. You can also use wood species such as beech, hazel, birch, larch. Coniferous and fruit-bearing trees are not used, since coniferous trees are soft and dry quickly, and fruit-bearing trees have a soft core.

For the fence can be made decorative poles, as well as threaded poles, which must be treated with special antiseptic agents.

How to install wooden fence posts

Before you install wooden poles for building a fence, you need to handle special antiseptic agents and they should dry well. The installation of wooden poles is carried out in the following order:

Spend markup for the future fence, mark the places where the poles will be installed, taking into account the required interval between them (2 - 3 meters).
They dig a hole with a shovel or drill a hole of the required depth with a drill for pillars, which depends on the type of soil.
Install the pole in the dug hole.
Fasten pillar by backfilling or concreting.

Pillars are set strictly vertically in a straight line with a certain distance to ensure a straight, strong fence. It is also necessary that the posts are dug to the same depth. The depth of the pit for pillars with a height of 1.2 m is 50 cm, for higher ones - 90 cm. To fill the base of the pillar with rubble, remove a layer of soil 15 cm.

A wooden pole is installed in a dug hole on brick. The verticality of the installation of the pillar is checked with a building level from all sides and it is fixed with wooden blocks.

Then cooked solution(1 part of Portland cement and 4 parts of crushed stone) are laid out around the post and also rammed. So that rainwater does not linger near the pole, the solution is laid out with a cone.

The fixing of vertically exposed pillars can be done by backfilling, which can be carried out on heaving lands. Crushed stone, broken brick (red), fine gravel, sand are used as backfill. Fall asleep at the bottom of the pit sand, then install the pole and fix it with wedges. The space around the post is covered with rubble and carefully rammed. Concreting pillars on such lands Not recommended.

The easiest and most reliable way anchoring wooden fence posts - a piece of metal pipe. Its walls should be 3-4 mm, and the diameter should be slightly less than the diameter of the column or the same. The pipe is buried in the ground, leaving it 15 cm above ground level. The column is adjusted to the diameter of the pipe and installed in it.

Fastening wooden fence posts can be done using metal fence spikes or concrete spurs that keep the posts from touching the ground, preventing them from rotting. To protect from the weather, it is necessary to cut off the upper part of the pole obliquely to one side so that the water can drain well, or a cap must be nailed onto the pole. It is necessary to process the poles to protect them from moisture, direct sunlight, not only before their installation, but throughout the entire operational period.

From the above, it can be concluded that operational the life of wooden poles, as well as country fence, depends on the material from which it is made, the correct installation and care of them. If the norms for these three points are met, then the wooden poles will last for a long time.

1. Initially use only healthy wood, dried, with no signs of rot. If this is not edged lumber, but a log - a pod, be sure to sand it and let it weather a little. And it’s better in general - to dry out under a canopy for a year.

5. Be sure to paint the column itself. This will not only improve its appearance, but also protect it from moisture. But it is recommended to paint only well-dried wood.

As you can see, the activities are not at all complicated, but they will make your wooden posts practically “eternal”.

Konstantin Timoshenko