Andrew Gabriel wrote:

Also, posts outdoors don't rot in the wet ground, or in the air. They
rot only at the bounday where they have both moisture and air exposure.
Having watched workman last week replacing several snapped-off posts
of my neighbour's fence, the soaking wet stumps were just as solid as
the surviving tops of the posts - it was only a 2" length at the soil
boundary that rotted.

Absolutely correct. We have several hundred metres of electric fence
supported by hammered in round wooden posts. The fence has been in
place for 16 or 17 years now. The occasional post fails (one did in
the recent Katie storm) and they always break at the air/ground
boundary.

Of course the stress is probably greatest at that point too but the
left over bit of post in the ground is always pretty sound, I pull
them out by driving a long screw into them and lifting with the
hydraulic lift on our mini-tractor. The screws always drive in quite
well and hold without problems.

--
Chris Green
·