What are the options for fencing posts now?

johnspeehs · Mar 22, 2023

Sorry if this is covered somewhere already but I couldn't find anything. So with creosote posts going off the market what are the options now? Is there anything out there that will last more than 4 or 5 years ? or will metal be the future?

tepapa · Mar 22, 2023

Your options are going to be natural timber, oak, red larch or robinia if you can get a supplier over with you.

Or a variation of the copper based tanalith treatment.

The 4-5yr posts are just poorly treated with tanalith. They do have potential to last upto maybe 10-12yrs if it's decent timber, pine not spruce, and treated properly and in the right ground.

McVeigh parker are importing Dura post into UK which is same chemical but dried properly and double treated. Should last longer than most but nowhere near creo.

The new "saviour" for ag timber is oil based copper treatment. Production is not up to speed yet, it'll be dearer then creo and in my opinion will last just as long as the current tanalised posts do.

You've got incised posts which yet again use the same copper chemical but are incised to get at least 6mm penetration, which is the minimum requirement for the British standard. I'm not sure how that worked before they began incising, they obviously didn't meet the standard.

So basically they're all based on the same chemical that's proven to last maybe 5years.

Or there's metal.

S J H · Mar 22, 2023

Is it confirmed that its going?

tepapa · Mar 22, 2023

S J H said:
Is it confirmed that its going?

Yes In Ireland. Does the ban affect NI the same though?

Bury the Trash · Mar 22, 2023

wood preservatives need some serious research and development that's for sure

shumungus · Mar 22, 2023

Problem is they aren't banned in GB or NI but the ban from the 1st of April is whole of Europe, where they are made, so no manufacturers are prepared to make them for such as small market.

tepapa · Mar 22, 2023

There's at least three creo treatment plants in the UK. I'd be wary of any treatment plants producing stuff in the EU.

ollie989898 · Mar 23, 2023

Bury the Trash said:
wood preservatives need some serious research and development that's for sure

Yes, the environmental effect of shed loads of timber rotting prematurely and being disposed of (ground into dust and burned in power-stations no doubt) is probably worse than a bit of copper, chrome and arsenic in the environment here and there.

shumungus · Mar 23, 2023

tepapa said:
There's at least three creo treatment plants in the UK. I'd be wary of any treatment plants producing stuff in the EU.

Octopost are the market leader here and they are manufactured in Sweden.

Derrick Hughes · Mar 23, 2023

tepapa said:
Yes In Ireland. Does the ban affect NI the same though?

July I was told in UK , by someone who sells a lot

daveydiesel1 · Mar 23, 2023

shumungus said:
Octopost are the market leader here and they are manufactured in Sweden.

Afaik they cant be got any longer. Wev used them a good while now and theyr hard to beat. Last fence we done with concrete and theyr better than i first imagined but not sure theyd stick the battering in stoney ground without cracking. @yin ewe will know more

Vader · Mar 23, 2023

Traditional Creosote - Creosote Sales

www.creosotesales.co.uk

Simply dip any posts you buy your self maybe..?

DaveGrohl · Mar 23, 2023

Vader said:
Traditional Creosote - Creosote Sales

www.creosotesales.co.uk

Simply dip any posts you buy your self maybe..?

How long does a pack of Norwegian pine posts need to be immersed for?

S J H · Mar 23, 2023

tepapa said:
Yes In Ireland. Does the ban affect NI the same though?

Sorry, I didn’t look at the location. I wouldn‘t know, I just can’t see it being banned here, there must be enough pressure from suppliers.

Vader · Mar 23, 2023

DaveGrohl said:
How long does a pack of Norwegian pine posts need to be immersed for?

Depends how dry they are?
I found most posts you get are not fully dried. So always buy and leave 6 months in a shed. Then stand in a tank that would be deeper than ground depth. Normally after a week the level stops dropping so they can not soak in any more.
Be surprised how much gets soaked into so called tantalized posts as well!

Pennine Ploughing · Mar 23, 2023

I sometimes wonder, if chard or burnt posts would be the answer.
If you could buy pealed blank posts, stored dry, then point them yourself, and use the point off cuts to have a fire, then lay the post bottom half end on fire, rotating once after 20 minutes, then remove after 20 minutes and dip in water for 5 minutes.
Chard Wood is meant to last 50 plus years,

Any thoughts ?

2wheels · Mar 23, 2023

remember when you used to use a pinch bar to make a hole then knock them in with a mell hammer? i know the timber is a bit rubbish now adays but how much does driving them in with a post knocker contribute to a short life? not that i would like/be able to do the manual way. i have garden fence posts which are 14yrs old into dug out holes and some of them have been replaced already.

Paddington · Mar 23, 2023

I was told the possibility of a ban had been extended to October 2023, why not stock up now ?

Vader · Mar 23, 2023

2wheels said:
remember when you used to use a pinch bar to make a hole then knock them in with a mell hammer? i know the timber is a bit rubbish now adays but how much does driving them in with a post knocker contribute to a short life? not that i would like/be able to do the manual way. i have garden fence posts which are 14yrs old into dug out holes and some of them have been replaced already.

Probably a lot..
I noticed the tantalized stuff, it's only 5mm deep most times as wiid not been dried right. So as you knock in, good chance hit a stone, scrape through the 5mm layer and then easy rot.
Square posts we cut a point on before dipping so knocks in easier and also allows the creosote to soak well into the post.

Farma Parma · Mar 23, 2023

Vader said:
Depends how dry they are?
I found most posts you get are not fully dried. So always buy and leave 6 months in a shed. Then stand in a tank that would be deeper than ground depth. Normally after a week the level stops dropping so they can not soak in any more.
Be surprised how much gets soaked into so called tantalized posts as well!

Thats what ive been doing for a while now.
2months is about long enough to dip the lower 2ft or so of them imported 3-4" tanalized posts i use.
The creosote does draw in a fair way but as folk are saying dont try to dip wet posts its a waste of time.
some iam doing have been drying for over a year.
the bit above ground doesnt rot.
Plenty IBCs is the answer never touch a drop of Creosote if you know what your doing.
and when you handle the dipped posts none of it gets on you neither.

What are the options for fencing posts now?

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