Shoutout to the guy who said to soak cedar posts in used motor oil

I heard this tip at a supply yard in Bend about five years ago and thought it was total nonsense, maybe even harmful. Everyone I knew used pressure-treated pine for anything needing ground contact, and cedar was just for looks above the rails. But this old guy swore that soaking the bottom two feet of a cedar post in used oil for a day would make it last decades. I was so sure it would kill the wood or make it a mess. I tried it on a small garden fence at my own place as a test, just to prove it wrong. Three years later, I dug one up to move it, and the soaked section was rock solid while the untreated cedar I used for a gate nearby was already starting to soften. I've done it on three jobs since with zero callbacks. What's the weirdest preservation trick you've seen that actually worked?

2 comments

2 Comments

jamie7945d ago

Wait, you dug it up after three years? That's the part that gets me, I would've just assumed it worked and left it forever. Actually checking takes a level of commitment I don't have. I guess you had to see it for yourself, and honestly that's pretty wild proof. Makes me wonder what else we're doing the hard way for no good reason.

casey_lane735d ago

Seems like a lot of effort for a small payoff. Most things we do the hard way are just habits, not some big secret waste. I doubt there's a huge list of life hacks we're all missing.