Will my 6X6's on my pole barn rot like this?

Anonymous-0 · May 5, 2009

I built a 40X60 pole barn a couple of years ago using .40 below ground pine 6X6's on 10' centers.I dug all of my holes and stood up and braced off the 6X6's and had a concrete truck come in and pour them all the way to the top of the hole and did not put any fill over the concrete.So the concrete is showing and above the ground slightly around the 6X6's.It is a top only building so all the rain water comes off roof and gets posts wet very often.Should i have stoped the concrete off 6" or so from the top of the ground and backfilled with dirt or other material?If i messed up how could i correct?

Gun guru · May 5, 2009

I have been told that a post that is sunk in the ground for a deck should sit on a concrete pad at the bottom of the hole and the hole should be backfilled with pea gravel.
However-------I have seen posts that were done the way you did yours and they didnt rot as long as water was not up against the post.

Here is what you should do in my opinion....
Make sure that posts at the bottom are dry and coat them with tar or roof mastic and or put a small concrete dome around each post at the bottom for better drainage also put gutter on the roof too. (the key is to have positive pitch drainage away from the barn posts)

37 chief · May 5, 2009

I think a good dose of diesel oil and used motor oil every 6 months will prevent any rotting. I know this is going to upset the tree huggers, but it may work. Or put more cement mounded up around the poles, and when it dries seal the area around the cement. Stan

Anonymous-0 · May 5, 2009

Sounds like my shop, and my posts are rotting. I have heard that ANY wood with concrete poured around it will rot, and come to think of it all I have saw is rotting.

I've gotta go back in and build walls inside to try to save mine.

Michael Soldan · May 5, 2009

..exactly...my builder dug holes and poured a concrete base in each hole and let it set up for a few days. he then set the poles in the holes and backfilled. These were treated poles and he said they would likely last fifty plus years...I was 58 so that will take me to 108 at which point I or my issue will let you know if they lasted that long....but definitely set posts on a cement pad, not covered in it.

Mark - IN. · May 5, 2009

Diesel? I've used motor oil. Something else could try, although I don't have a clue how expensive. Lineseed oil. Used to build boats decades ago and all wood trim was dunked or wiped down with a dripping rag of a healthy dose of lineseed oil. Water proofed and made hard like a rock. Had to be redone every couple of years, but then again boats and boat wood takes a beating that a barn wouldn't see. Pretty much turned mohogany into granite.

Good to hear from you Stan. Hope all is well.

Mark

oliver power · May 5, 2009

Yes, set post on pad/big flat rock. Never in cement. water runs between cement and post. Will rot pole every time. I agree with others. Pour in old motor oil. Try to seal gap between post and cement.

Philip Doolittle · May 5, 2009

I have used "OLD" motor oil from tractors and vehicles mixed with creasote when I was able to get it on creasoted posts installed directly in the ground in 1950. NO rot or damage to date. That said as creasote is no longer available the public I have been using a product available from ACE Hardware(may have to have them order it for you) Made by JASCO called TERMIN-8 for the last 11 years with good sucess. It claims to kill termites,prevents rot,controls warping & swelling and can be used above or below ground.$~20.00/Gal. If putting new poles in ground MORTON and FBI bldg's use concrete mix dumped in bottom of hole (concrete 80# bag/ hole) and lets post set for several days then backfill with sand. Keep water away with gutters and slopping soil from bldg.Mixing withold oil will hold itin the soil longer but as with any chemical keep it away from animals and your water supply.

MarkB_MI · May 5, 2009

If your posts are properly treated, they will not rot. However, a lot of posts are poorly treated and what you did could encourage rot. The proper way to set a post is to pour a pad at the bottom of the hole, set the post in that and fill the first few inches of the hole with pea gravel. That ensures drainage around the post. What you do above the pea gravel doesn't matter much.

Commentator · May 6, 2009

For buried posts, the treatment retention should be .6 or greater.

Will my 6X6's on my pole barn rot like this?

Anonymous-0

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Gun guru

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37 chief

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Anonymous-0

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Michael Soldan

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Mark - IN.

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oliver power

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Philip Doolittle

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MarkB_MI

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