4" gate posts

[the snooper]

Have some 4" gate posts to concrete in, what have people done to stop the lower buried section filling with water and rotting ?, Was thinking of filling with concrete to just above ground level and drilling a drain hole

 

[8ob]

Cap the top and bottom and give the buried section of post a coat of bitumastic paint before you concrete them in.

Bob

 

[Blobber]

Soak the bottom bit in a tub of creosote for a few days so they get a chance to suck it up?

 

[Wozzaaah]

Use Postsaver sleeves, the only bit that rots is the couple of inches at the ground line.

 

[gaz1]

old method for oak posts

diped in cresote and left to soak for ages in it then a coat of bitumen over the creosoted posts

if the creosote leaks out of the wood the bitumen stops you losing the creosote

its why bt posts leak creosote out of them

 

[nickk]

Are these steel?

 

[8ob]

Are these steel?

Its the way I read it which is why I said cap them both ends and paint .

Bob

 

[RWD3M]

Soak the bottom bit in a tub of creosote for a few days so they get a chance to suck it up?

+1

No question. And none of that creosoke, creocote blah blah, they don't work. Needs to be coal tar creosote.

 

[RWD3M]

Are these steel?

Ooh, that's a good question! Not a lot of point covering them with creosote if they are!

Nonetheless, if they're steel, Galv.

 

[RWD3M]

Its the way I read it which is why I said cap them both ends and paint .

Bob

Reading that again I think you're right 8ob.

 

[nickk]

If steel and not galvanised,then they’re going to condensate inside,so I would fill with waste oil,then paint ,the steel 4” each side of ground level is where they’ll rot thru,hence determining life span,rest is just cosmetic.

 

[the snooper]

Its the way I read it which is why I said cap them both ends and paint .

Bob

Correct, be impossible to fill with concrete and drill a hole if they were timber

 

[the snooper]

Are these steel?

Yeah, steel

 

[the snooper]

Cap the top and bottom and give the buried section of post a coat of bitumastic paint before you concrete them in.

Bob

I was thinking of coating the buried section, it's the void I was more interested in, filling with condensation and filling up

 

[MattF]

I was thinking of coating the buried section, it's the void I was more interested in, filling with condensation and filling up

Why not just put a load of shingle underneath the post, so that it has a soakaway?

 

[TechnicAl]

I painted them in bitumen and then put them in a thick plastic sack.......That was 2006....theyre still standing
The second bitumen answer Ive given today

 

[Wozzaaah]

Yeah, steel

Ah, don't bother with Postsavers then.

 

[jgr2015]

I made some house gates a while back with galvanised 4 inch SHS gateposts.

Bitumen paint on the part of the post going into concrete and for an inch or two above ground which seems to be a real rot point - a splash zone.

Then filled them with concrete up to the level of the top hinge bolt. That left about 6 inches void at the top. Gave this a coat of Dinitrol and drilled a small drain hole just above the concrete fill level. Then a cap to close off the top.

Ironically, if anything is going to rust, I think it's going to be the edges of the drain hole!

The concrete fill should stop water filling the post and also according to what I read gives it some extra strength - it's used I think for some traffic bollards.

 

[waddycall]

If they’re sealed top and bottom how can they fill up with condensation???

 

[RWD3M]

Yeah, steel

Then I say again, Galv.