Logs/trees for pilings - Small Cabin Forum

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Small Cabin Forum / Cabin Construction / Logs/trees for pilings


Author	Message
Eddy G Member	# Posted: 20 Apr 2020 11:17 - Edited by: Eddy G Reply Hey, just wondering if anyoneâ€™s ever used Logs or trees as posts or pilings to build a shed? Iâ€™m guessing it could be done but wrought out in time... I donâ€™t have any cedar or wrought resistant trees on site that I know of...Mostly pine and hemlock some maple beech and birch I could just carry in some posts but thought if it worked It would save me a trip to the Home Depot and a few bucks

ICC Member	# Posted: 20 Apr 2020 11:48 - Edited by: ICC Reply Almost all woods will rot out when touching the ground. And it does not take long. I don't even store firewood on the ground for any length of time.

SE Ohio Member	# Posted: 20 Apr 2020 14:07 Reply Some woods do better than others in ground. Locust and hawthorn come to mind, the latter having been used for my houseâ€™s fence posts back when it was a farm, 40 years +? Posts look farm-made, May have been soaked in something.

toyota_mdt_tech Member	# Posted: 20 Apr 2020 14:41 Reply Spray it down with Jasco wood preserve or you can buy it in a can. Growing up as a kid, dad put in a fence with true 4X4 post and he soaked the end on creosote then wrapped the post with a creosote soaked rags, well over 20 years, we moved, still standing. I tried to buy some creosote a while back, no can do.

Brettny Member	# Posted: 20 Apr 2020 19:53 Reply All that may work for fence posts but I doubt they have held the weight of a shed/building. Usually I'm all about real foundations but not on a shed. Just put concrete blocks on the ground and use thick wood PT runners.

Eddy G Member	# Posted: 21 Apr 2020 15:34 Reply Quoting: Brettny Usually I'm all about real foundations but not on a shed. Just put concrete blocks on the ground and use thick wood PT runners. Yeah, I think that's the way I'll go...I was able to pull some rough sawn true 2 x 8's out of an old mill being torn down...I'm pretty sure they where used as flooring and was told the mill was originally a wagon and buggy factory...