logan632•26d agoMost Upvoted

I used to think iron posts were always better than wood. A 30 year fence guy changed my mind.

Met an old timer named Mike up in Oregon last week. He told me he's seen iron posts rot out from the inside after 15 years because water gets in through the top cap. Said a good treated wood post in dry ground can go 25 years easy if you set it right. Has anyone else seen iron posts fail before wood?

2 comments

2 Comments

shane75126d ago

Huh, I mean I get what @the_john is saying but is it really that big of a deal? I've seen plenty of iron posts going strong way past 15 years. My neighbor has had the same ones holding up his mailbox for like 20 years and they still look fine. Maybe that Oregon guy was selling wood posts or just had bad luck with a cheap batch of iron. If water gets in, just drill a tiny weep hole at the bottom and it drains out. I'm not ready to switch teams just because one old timer said his caps cracked.

the_john26d ago

Have you ever seen the inside of an iron post that's been capped? That sealant always cracks eventually, and then water just sits in there like a cup.