Cedar or treated. Pros and Cons.

TY

Cedar last a hell of a lot longer than treated. Most treated last just a few years before rotting. I have had some cedar post more than 20 years in the ground.

I'll second that. If cost is an issue, I've done treated but always do my corners and Hs out of cedar or steel though.

I'm doing the corners 5.5" steel and the rest cedars. I don't want to do this again in my lifetime.

I've used both but use mostly pressure treated post now. Properly pressure treated post last longer in my experience. You need UC4B treated wood or higher not the UC4A big box stores sell. People dish pressure treated wood because they buy the cheap stuff and wonder why it didn't last. If cedar, make sure it has a lot of heart wood.

Why wood and not steel T-posts?

OK question from a city boy who loves to read this stuff by the country guys he admires ... does anyone pressure treat cedar and make a super post?

I like the look of cedar for my house yard. Now the farm will have t-post. I hope I survive!

Wearer of the Ring said:

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OK question from a city boy who loves to read this stuff by the country guys he admires ... does anyone pressure treat cedar and make a super post?

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It's called mountain cedar.

Go with cedar - for sure.

Thread reminded me of this posted on OB not too long ago. Figured I'd repost it; great read

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.texasmonthly.com/the-culture/cedar-choppers-once-ruled-texas-hill-country/amp/

Cedar for the win IF you debark it. Treated posts, now that we cannot use creosote, will be gone within 3-10 years. Cedar posts with bark left on will usually not even last that long because the bark holds moisture.

But, if cedar posts are prepped right by removing the bark they can last many decades. I have dug up debarked posts in a 70 year old fence I was moving and re-used them. Virtually every one was still very sound. Debarking used to be hard and was done with machetes. Now a 3500psi pressure washer will strip one in minutes.

Two other tips: Do not set a cedar post (even debarked) in concrete as it traps the moisture and sets up rot. Also, look for cedar posts that have the most heart (dark inner area). Good ones are harder to find these days but posts that are mostly lighter sapwood do not last as long.

txrancher69 said:

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Cedar for the win IF you debark it. Treated posts, now that we cannot use creosote, will be gone within 3-10 years. Cedar posts with bark left on will usually not even last that long because the bark holds moisture.

But, if cedar posts are prepped right by removing the bark they can last many decades. I have dug up debarked posts in a 70 year old fence I was moving and re-used them. Virtually every one was still very sound. Debarking used to be hard and was done with machetes. Now a 3500psi pressure washer will strip one in minutes.

Two other tips: Do not set a cedar post (even debarked) in concrete as it traps the moisture and sets up rot. Also, look for cedar posts that have the most heart (dark inner area). Good ones are harder to find these days but posts that are mostly lighter sapwood do not last as long.

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I can't find it now but I remember reading that you can still find fences with the original cedar posts from Goodnight ranches which I assumed would make them almost 100 years old. I'm curious if this is remotely possible or if this was a tall tale.

Not on Goodnight's land, but close to it. I pulled up some posts that were probably from the 1930s. Some were good, some were good to ground level, at which point they were about 20% of the above-ground diameter.

CanyonAg77 said:

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Not on Goodnight's land, but close to it. I pulled up some posts that were probably from the 1930s. Some were good, some were good to ground level, at which point they were about 20% of the above-ground diameter.

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Thx. I figured there would be someone on here who knows. Pretty wild to me that a wood post could possibly last that long.

Martin Cash said:

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ldg397 said:

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Bodark or Osage Orange posts.

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Are you talking about Bois D'Arc?

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All the same thing. Bodark, horseapple, Osage orange, hedge, and Bois D'Arc but I am not French.

ElephantRider said:

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ldg397 said:

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Bodark or Osage Orange posts.

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Like the kind you could hang a pipe rail gate from?

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I posted a post about Bodark or Osage orange posts! Is that not clear enough?

Fishing Fools said:

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Cedar or treated. Pros and Cons.

TY

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Cedar will last longer, but will cost a hell of a lot more than treated. Cedar prices are on the rise, and sounds like it will continue to rise at least for the rest of the year.

I have used both and back when I used concrete around them, they both rotted off at the ground. Then, I had to dig out the subsurface part of the post and the concrete.

Then, I started filing the hole with pea gravel. If you want to be real diligent, mix a little sharp sand with it. Most pea gravel has enough sand in it that adding sand it not required. Fill the hole up entirely with pea gravel. I never added back any dirt, just pea gravel.Then bang on the pole a couple of times with a sledge hammer. This shakes the gravel down the hole and makes a tight fit. You can pull on that post immediately. No waiting for the concrete to harden. When it rains, the water moves through the pea gravel and does not gather around the post. No rot.

When I rebuilt my corrals, I used pea gravel. Everyone of my neighbors told me the cattle would push it over. Not so. Never had another post rot off at the ground.

rootube said:

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txrancher69 said:

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Cedar for the win IF you debark it. Treated posts, now that we cannot use creosote, will be gone within 3-10 years. Cedar posts with bark left on will usually not even last that long because the bark holds moisture.

But, if cedar posts are prepped right by removing the bark they can last many decades. I have dug up debarked posts in a 70 year old fence I was moving and re-used them. Virtually every one was still very sound. Debarking used to be hard and was done with machetes. Now a 3500psi pressure washer will strip one in minutes.

Two other tips: Do not set a cedar post (even debarked) in concrete as it traps the moisture and sets up rot. Also, look for cedar posts that have the most heart (dark inner area). Good ones are harder to find these days but posts that are mostly lighter sapwood do not last as long.

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I can't find it now but I remember reading that you can still find fences with the original cedar posts from Goodnight ranches which I assumed would make them almost 100 years old. I'm curious if this is remotely possible or if this was a tall tale.

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In surveying, I have found many cedar posts that were set for fence posts more than 100 yrs old in south and west Texas and they still feel solid and look good. I have some on my ranch that my grandfather set as corner posts more than 70 years ago. They have outlasted multiple treated and creosote posts.

ElephantRider said:

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ldg397 said:

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Bodark or Osage Orange posts.

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Like the kind you could hang a pipe rail gate from?

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I have a need to do some sister twisting

Great song

i just got through replacing a 1770 ft cedar post fence. It had approximately 130 cedar posts that I removed. About 20 of them had rotted off so I really removed about 110. Most of them were fairly rotten underground. All of the larger ones (over 6" diameter or so) were still in great shape, even underground.

That fence was built before I was born and I am 66. I am guessing it was probably 75 years old. I know the family that built it, and I am related to them. They talked about how they actually cut the posts out of cedar and mesquite to build their fences.

I think i removed all of the remaining mesquite posts a few years ago. They were just shells, hollowed out by rot, but they lasted a very long time.... just not as long as cedar.

These are fantastic stories.

BTHO Arkansas!