Most of us in real estate, inspectors or agents, know that wood to soil contact will, over time, lead to the wood decaying. While pressure-treated lumber is more suitable than ordinary lumber when wood is in contact with soil, it too will decay. With pressure-treated lumber, if you really want it to last a really long time, then get rid of the soil contact. The photo below was typical of something you find when the soil is dug out from around wood. When I reported the wood to soil contact, initially, I said that the soil should be removed and, when that was done, if decay was found then replace the material. Take a look at the post below and you will see the rot. That is often what is found when the soil is graded back from wood. Thanks for stopping by, Steven L. Smith
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Having a wet hose hanging in the area doesn't help the matter any either!
I can see from the topic of this post that you are not a fan of wood rot on posts...
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Pressure treated wood can resist rot for a long time when in contact with the soil depending on the quality. Untreated wood including cedar will rot in no time at all.
If people don't do that, whatever will the termites eat?
Glen,
The typical treated wood around here is variable. I have seen it last as little as 8 years and I have seen it last so long that I do not even know how long it will last.
If the bottom of the post has been cut, it will rot nearly as fast as untreated wood. All cuts should be treated with end-cut solution. This is not as good as additional pressure treating but will help the wood last longer. In my experience, very few contractors worry about treating cut ends.
Yep,
Pretty clever comments from a cat.
Pretty clever cats!