Serious question, I saw a fence in Denver that made me think about using pressure treated posts for everything.

I was working near a new build in the Highlands last week and saw a crew setting all their cedar fence posts in concrete sleeves, no pressure treatment at all. They said it was for a cleaner look and that the concrete would keep water away. I've always been taught that in our climate, you need that treated wood in the ground, sleeves or not, or you're asking for rot in a few years. Am I just being old school, or is skipping the treatment on ground-contact posts a real mistake?

3 comments

3 Comments

sarah8185d ago

Honestly, that "cleaner look" thing is a real gamble here. Tbh, concrete sleeves can trap moisture against the wood, which is worse than just dirt. Seen too many cedar posts rot out at the base in like five years.

the_kim5d ago

My last cedar post project turned into a termite buffet in three years flat.

drewgonzalez5d ago

So you're saying the cedar itself didn't hold up? Did you treat the post or the ground around it at all? Sarah818's point about trapped moisture with sleeves is a big worry for me too, because that seems like a sure way to speed up rot. I'm trying to figure out if it's the material or the install method that fails first.