Pressure treated posts

[hareball]

I have a friend in the fence biz and he offered me 500 pressure treated oak 6x6 posts. I was wondering if they are safe to burn, especially in a residential area. I would have no problem mixing a piece or 2 in with splits but dont want to be unsafe.

 

[wood-fan-atic]

It is my understanding that you NEVER , EVER , under any circumstances , burn pressure treated lumber. It will ruin your woodstove , but ,more importantly, burning PT wood emits poisonous gasses that can cause cancer and KILL you!! You shouldnt even breathe in the sawdust when cutting it! So, the, short answer is - ABSOLUTELY NOT

 

[John_M]

wood-fan-atic +1

 

[hareball]

Thanks guys! Always a reason behind free wood!
I'm gonna ask him to bring a truckload and use them to make some racks.

 

[wood-fan-atic]

Now that is a good use of PT lumber. Just dont eat any of the sawdust. ;-)

 

[gzecc]

I would be surprised if oak would be pressure treated. Usually its all pine. Sure their not locust?

 

[hareball]

I asked him to load me up 50 of whatever is easier for him to bring. I'm thinking pine but will post some pics here when he brings them during the week.

Now the question I have 30'Lx4'H of splits up on some 4" Oak limbs sitting on dirt and wont be using that until winter 2011. Do i tear down the wall and do it over with the pt posts?

 

[LLigetfa]

I would use the PT posts to make racks for the 2012 and beyond wood and leave the 2011 where it sits.

 

[hareball]

I would use the PT posts to make racks for the 2012 and beyond wood and leave the 2011 where it sits.

Heres the deal with that, That wood I split about a year ago, is all oak and was green. I recently found a guy that has 30 cord of oaks that were dead standing and have been fell and seasoned 2 years now. I'm thinking now that that 1 year oak should be able to get a good 3 years in a rack before I need it. not sure how those limbs they are on will hold though.

 

[wood-fan-atic]

That seems entirely up to you - do you want to spend the time to push the stack over and re-stack on the PT? Is limited space an issue for you? I hate extra work, but I would hate it more if rot and insects ruined my oak stock.

 

[hareball]

very limited space.

 

[LLigetfa]

Before I built my shed I dragged deadfall Poplars out of the bush to use as a base for my good wood. Considering they were dead and laying on the ground already, I figured they wouldn't last but years later after I built my shed I was wondering what I was going to do with all that dead punky Poplar that lasted longer than I expected. I bucked it up and used it for the outside row in the shed thinking that it would protect the adjacent rows from driving rain. After a few years, I came to the realization that driving rain is not an issue and that the outside row of Poplar was just taking taking up space that my good wood could use. I burned it in the shoulder season.

Anyway... the point I'm trying to make is that those branches will probably hold up much longer than you'd expect. If you see your stacks starting to get unstable, you could always restack on the new PT posts.

 

[Kenster]

I recently found a guy that has 30 cord of oaks that were dead standing and have been fell and seasoned 2 years now.

Has that wood been bucked, split and stacked, or is it still in logs? If it hasn't been split, it's not seasoning.

 

[billb3]

I asked him to load me up 50 of whatever is easier for him to bring. I'm thinking pine but will post some pics here when he brings them during the week.

Now the question I have 30'Lx4'H of splits up on some 4" Oak limbs sitting on dirt and wont be using that until winter 2011. Do i tear down the wall and do it over with the pt posts?

Why ?

At worst they'll keep some termites busy for 12 months.
throw some granules on the ground around them if you even have termite problems.

oak doesn't rot that fast, you could probably use them over several times, or cut them up when they are exposed again, let them sit for a year and burn them.


Careful with hardware on PT. some metals don't react favorably with the copper salts.

 

[hareball]

Kenster, They may not be seasoned but they are well on the way more-so than the wood I usually have. This is all log and nothing over 14" round. With limited space I am behind the 8 ball so that stuff is a blessing.

Thanks guys, I'm gonna let that wall stay the way it is and maybe come summer will rotate it and stick some pt posts under.
I have a few spots left I can put some racks, just have to keep it neat to keep the neighbors happy.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I asked him to load me up 50 of whatever is easier for him to bring. I'm thinking pine but will post some pics here when he brings them during the week.

Now the question I have 30'Lx4'H of splits up on some 4" Oak limbs sitting on dirt and wont be using that until winter 2011. Do i tear down the wall and do it over with the pt posts?
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That wood I split about a year ago, is all oak and was green. I recently found a guy that has 30 cord of oaks that were dead standing and have been fell and seasoned 2 years now. I’m thinking now that that 1 year oak should be able to get a good 3 years in a rack before I need it. not sure how those limbs they are on will hold though.

Looks like the question of burning has been taken care of and that is good. Probably these others have been taken care of too but I'll still add my 2 cents worth.

For sure I would take the whole lot of them but then, I have the space to store them. Those things could come in handy for many projects. Concerning the oak that is already split and stacked and is on some 4" oak limbs, leave that go. That is how I stack almost all of my wood and it works like a charm so why go to the trouble of restacking? Extra work that you probably don't need to do.

Concerning the 30 cord of oak that were dead standing. They've been felled and "seasoned 2 years? Not if they have not been cut to length and split! They probably would have been better if left standing but you take what you can get. No doubt they are not as full of moisture than a freshly cut oak but I'd guess they still need 2 years to season properly.

Good luck on that oak and it can make you some great burning wood. If you have too many posts, just send them my way. Okay, send some oak too.

 

[ansehnlich1]

I asked him to load me up 50 of whatever is easier for him to bring. I'm thinking pine but will post some pics here when he brings them during the week.

Now the question I have 30'Lx4'H of splits up on some 4" Oak limbs sitting on dirt and wont be using that until winter 2011. Do i tear down the wall and do it over with the pt posts?

Ain't no way I'd move that pile. You'll be able to buck up those oak limbs in a year. I stacked stuff on regular old 2x4's and they lasted 2+ years. I have oak pallets on the ground that have been there 2 years going on 3 and that oak is still stacked on 'em.

 

[hareball]

Have a fishing trip Monday so the 50 wll come Tuesday.

Dennis, yeah the logs were never bucked, just piled up in tree length. I'd say about 80% of the bark was left behind in the forest. The 30 cord came from a state forest and were culled. At $60/ cord I cant refuse!! He does sell rounds as well but of course at a higher price.

 

[firefighterjake]

Already answered . . . but I like to feel somewhat useful so I'll answer as well.

No.
Good idea.
Don't bother.
Have a good trip.

 

[hareball]

Already answered . . . but I like to feel somewhat useful so I'll answer as well.

No.
Good idea.
Don't bother.
Have a good trip.

Thanks man!!
No posts today, with rain coming he had no time today for free favors but no biggie, I'm in no rush.
Fishing trip went good but we had no wind so anchoring on a wreck was rough. Ended up using the wreck anchor and finished the day with 9 keeper Tautog and 1 Cod.