Fact or fiction?

[ohlongarm]

Keep hearing talk about red oak going bad quickly when laying on the ground any length of time,here's some rounds that have been sitting in 100% damp shade for about 18 months.They sunk in the mud an inch or two and have the white fungi things growing. But check out the inside.

 

[cuttingedge]

Keep hearing talk about red oak going bad quickly when laying on the ground any length of time,here's some rounds that have been sitting in 100% damp shade for about 18 months.They sunk in the mud an inch or two and have the white fungi things growing. But check out the inside.
View attachment 185817

I pulled a piece out of our pond this spring that had been sitting in the water for a year or two and the inside was still good.

 

[Hasufel]

Keep hearing talk about red oak going bad quickly when laying on the ground any length of time,here's some rounds that have been sitting in 100% damp shade for about 18 months.They sunk in the mud an inch or two and have the white fungi things growing. But check out the inside.
View attachment 185817

I rediscovered some that had been buried under wet leaves for at least two years. There was an inch or less of punk around the outside but the core was still solid as a rock. Love the stuff!

 

[FaithfulWoodsman]

Well there's a reason only white oak typically is used for exterior construction. Red doesn't rot like soft maple per say, but sapwood goes quick and heartwood starts after a couple years, especially on the ground (in my experience). Your pic shows beginning signs, although still plenty good. White has years and years before going and even then heartwood can looks pristine. Cut up a red last winter that was dead standing for a year or so and heartwood was already showing softening. No snobbery here, love red, just find they don't compete with white for me.

 

[CheapBassTurd]

As scrounging is my fuel nearly all is Asplundh drops from the last few years.
The rounds are nearly all embedded into the ground somewhat making a perfect wick.
Some reds have been a mess with the bark falling off to expose a thousand random bug species'.
With or without the accompanying slime, it's never been deep and 90+% of the round is quality
even at what looks like 1-2 years on the ground.
Once below freezing the stuff splits great too.

 

[kennyp2339]

If the whole log is submerged in water is will be preserved, there are many logging companies that specifically does under water logging, mainly looking for old growth logs that saw mills from many, many years ago lost. Also a by product of a submerged logs is a silt stain that penetrates the wood, *talking top dollar folks.

 

[gerry100]

Just as wood dries
Slowly it absorbs water slowly

 

[woodhog73]

I've got red oak that's been on the ground over a year it's not showing any signs of rot.

I've taken standing dead red oaks and usually find some of the center rotted but not always. A few were dead for many years and still solid in side.

 

[FaithfulWoodsman]

Two variables probably affect your perspective on this. 1) different types of red oak probably have different rot resistant qualities as well as local conditions can factor how fast a tree will last. 2) perception can differ relative to the rot resistance of other trees. Of course red lasts as long or longer than soft maple or ash, but compared to white oak it doesn't even compare. Which is why it isn't used in exterior applications. Most of the reds I've gotten are pin or scarlet, maybe that makes a difference. I just have found that for a couple years their fine, but after that it drops off quick.

 

[KenLockett]

Keep hearing talk about red oak going bad quickly when laying on the ground any length of time,here's some rounds that have been sitting in 100% damp shade for about 18 months.They sunk in the mud an inch or two and have the white fungi things growing. But check out the inside.
View attachment 185817

In the process of splitting some Red Oak that's been on the ground for almost five years and the rounds look just about the same as above.

 

[KenLockett]

In the process of splitting some Red Oak that's been on the ground for almost five years and the rounds look just about the same as above.

Same punky on the outside slightly but perfectly fine on the inside.

 

[BigFir]

If the whole log is submerged in water is will be preserved, there are many logging companies that specifically does under water logging, mainly looking for old growth logs that saw mills from many, many years ago lost. Also a by product of a submerged logs is a silt stain that penetrates the wood, *talking top dollar folks.

Huge money in this industry, the value of the wood is crazy, makes very nice floors. Several outfits here in BC taking advantage of logs sunk from booms and Flooding valleys with reservoirs.