Creosote. And spraying

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fireball

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This is boaty. Honestly it is!! The longer I take over this job the less time I have on the boat!!

I've got 8 or so fence panels to coat and was wondering if I can just get some normal dark creosote and a garden sprayer for application. I thought it might ba a little quicker than brushing??
 
It may well have been banned but it is still excellent protection for wood.

The jet soon clogged up when I tried spraying it so I resorted to a broom with a long handle. Cover your plants or you WILL be in bother with SWMBO.

If you are starting from scratch with new fence posts, a trick we did was to burn the bit of the post that transits the ground. I have absolutely no idea why but is attenuates the rotting process that always starts in that area.

73s de

Johnth
 
JohnTH said:
If you are starting from scratch with new fence posts, a trick we did was to burn the bit of the post that transits the ground. I have absolutely no idea why but is attenuates the rotting process that always starts in that area.

73s de

Johnth
Click to expand...

Seemingly, that's what the Romans did. Some old Roman fortifications still have remains of posts stuck into the ground, showing signs of having been charred to protect them.
 
Burning wood

There are (very expensive) wood cladding panels made for high spec. buildings which are preservative treated by baking. More common on the continent than Uk, it claims a very long life with no surface treatment, so there must be something in the heat treatment idea.
You can still get 'Creocote' which is a creosote substitute and smells almost as strong, in light or dark shades. I have used it, its oily and absorbs well in softwoods but it seems to weather off a lot faster than Cuprinol.
 
My understanding is that true creosote can still be purhased by professionals but it is not available to the DIY market. I wouldn't consider spraying it, it is distinctly unpleasant being composed predominantly of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), some of which are recognised carcinogens. Safe spraying would require the operator to have a protective suit and and an independent air supply to an enclosed face shield. Spray would almost certainly damage adjacent plants and p*ss of the neigbours big time.
Spraying the water based products sold in you local hardware shops is certainly an option but again you do get a fair amount of collateral coverage so it is best to cover up adjacent areas or avoid spraying near panel edges.
 
Sprayed my fences with the waterbased preservative/stain after struggling and making a mess with a brush. My spray is the same as that used for insecticide and weedkiller on the patio, with a built-in pump. No mess, and halved the time of the job, better still, it was easy to wash and clean afterwards, being the waterbased job,
Fence still looks good too.

ianat182
 
Its great fun to recreate Tom Sawyer on a spring morning with a bucket, a big brush and a boiler suit. I worry a bit about the penetration of water based preservatives on external timber and think it is worth looking for a long period of low humidity. Since the posts will be gone where they contact the ground you should make sure they are dry and stand them up in a deep bucket of stuff for as long as you can. If they are already vacuum pressure treated (Celcure, Tanalith etc. ) the coating will not penetrate as deep as the treatment so you are only decorating. We grow a lot of larch around here which is durable and cheap ex. forest for rails etc. but I always use vacuum treated posts or galv metal bases.
 
Not done it myself but neighbours used to use their old engine oil to stain their fence.
Reckon the same could work by soaking the post end in an oil drum with diesel or old oil as a preservative.
In past years when using the metal spikes with a 'box' on the top ,the post still rotted from that end.
The water (and oil based treatments) always work better on rough sawn surfaced timber,
and fence panels, and helps hold the liquid in the pores.

ianat182
 
The post rot is caused by organisms that exist at the earth surface, they are more of them in topsoil than over say concrete and they only reach about 50-75mm from the surface so your stubs need to extend by that much. You can combat the problem by lashing a brush with a preservative or poison around the bottom of the posts every spring. Our neighbour, British Waterways, paint everything at least once a year or oftener with either white or black paint, they seem to get about three to four years out of ground posts, though I am told they are planning to switch from Leyland to Sadolin so maybe it will increase.
 
Real creosote will dissolve a normal garden sprayer,guess how i know. Stand the panels on opened out black bin liners and use a pasting brush.
If it is real creosote add one pint of used engine oil and a dash of diesel for flavor.
 
Thanks for all the responses - Homebases complete lack of cheapo garden sprayer meant that i bought the curpinol one (I'm sure it's pretty much the same as the garden one) and 2 bottles of the spray on stuff which covered more than the paint on stuff at the same price ...
Not many plants in the way atm - just some decking to cover up first ...
 
Just been re reading this post (was that a pun?) and had a little smile to myself.

Given that modern water based preservative and application techniques just have to be better (in the eyes of some) than old fashioned methods, how come there are remains of Roman foundations (that have used old fashioned preserving techniques) still being found, after how long in the ground?

Best practice, once established, will have and still will stand the test of time.

This, I believe, is true of most things including some of the adverse comments, on another thread, regarding soldering and modern methods.

What, who me, cynical ! ?

73s de

Johnth
 
Last edited:
fireball said:
Thanks for all the responses - Homebases complete lack of cheapo garden sprayer meant that i bought the curpinol one (I'm sure it's pretty much the same as the garden one) and 2 bottles of the spray on stuff which covered more than the paint on stuff at the same price ...
Not many plants in the way atm - just some decking to cover up first ...
Click to expand...

Its really good antifouling too - especially when the keel wobbles:D
 
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