Lean-to: perservative for wood poles?

[Worldpowerlabs]

Hello all,

I have an existing lean-to on one side of my shop. One side of the structure is supported by the side wall of the shop, while the other is held up by 3 old, repurposed utility poles.

The lean-to is at least 40 years old, and those three poles are showing their age a bit -- but they still have some life left in them.

I'm looking for suggestions of what to use as a preservative on those poles to help prevent rot, termite attack, excessive weathering, etc.

I do not know what the original preservative was -- could have been cresote, maybe penta? Doesn't look like a metal-salt based one, though.

Thanks,
Ben

 

[larry_g]

I can't tell you what to put in them, but look around the pole and see if you can find some plugged holes. The ones here are ~1" diameter. The power company was around this summer and they were removing the plugs in the power poles and putting in some preservative. They said they do this every so many years to preserve the poles.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[JDMopar]

They will only rot at ground level. Hit them with a hammer, right at ground level with a hammer. If you hear a solid thud, they are fine. If it sounds like you hit a pumpkin...they're probably rotten. You can also probe just below ground level with a screwdriver to see if they are rotted. What the power company probably uses are boron rods. They drill holes, insert the rods, and then drive a wooden peg in the hole. I would think you could just paint what's above ground level, unless they're still gooey with creosote.

 

[Scsmith42]

Copper napthanate (CuNap) is a good wood preservative that is available to the public.


Scott

 

[Worldpowerlabs]

Thank you to everyone who commented -- every reply is helpful. I'll check the poles using the hammer method, and if they pass the test, I'll treat with CuNap.


Ben

 

[Lippyp]

I still use good old creosote, a farmer neighbour of mine has a massive business selling railway sleeprs, roadside crash barrier, fencing and all sorts of agricultural timber. He has massive tanks of creosote that fence posts etc get soaked in and he just draws me off 5 gallons ata a time. All the fencing I've done recently has had a soak or a coat of the stuff. Its the proper stuff not the substitute. Still works pretty well.

 

[Scsmith42]

Thank you to everyone who commented -- every reply is helpful. I'll check the poles using the hammer method, and if they pass the test, I'll treat with CuNap.





Ben

Ben, typically you mix the concentrated CuNap with a thinner such as mineral spirits before applying.


Scott