New British Pine Gate & Fence posts

Overview

Grade: New UK softwood wooden posts. Generally square cut and straight with very occasional waney edges. 
Colour: Light natural golden pine colour, that bleaches silver grey in the sun after 6 months or so as they season and dry out. This natural cycle of seasoning can take 4 - 12 months, depending on the amount of sunlight & the location of the railway sleepers. If you fancy a different bolder colour, there is always the easy option of staining these wooden posts with a multitude of colours that can be applied by brush, and are available in most DIY stores.
Weight: They are pretty light. Approximately 15 kilos for a 2.4m x 100mm x 100mm length, 23 kilos for a 2.4m x 125mm x 125mm length,  and 35 kilos for a 2.4m x 150mm x 150mm length.
Treatment: Eco-friendly Tanalith treatment (Non-creosote treated). A good choice for domestic landscaping, raised beds, steps, retaining walls, growing vegetables, children's play areas, schools, public areas or places where people may brush against on the wooden posts or come into skin contact with them. If you cut any of the wooden posts you will need to treat the cut end with a wood preservative (SEE HERE). See further information on EXTRA INFO tab above.
Description: These new British eco friendly railway wooden posts are from approved well managed forests and are generally square edged, straight, light to handle and so easy to stack, cut or drill. See pictures above. New softwood posts are sometimes described as being 'green' timber because they have been freshly cut in the last 6 months, and are not kiln dried, air dried or seasoned. They may naturally have splits, knots, blemishes or waney edges. They are stored outside so they may sometimes be wet. If they are not firmly fixed they may start to move or bow as they season and fully dry out. 
Cutting: Fairly easy. You can use a circular saw, chainsaw or even a handsaw to cut them. As with any project, it makes sense to try and limit the amount of cuts you need to do. Try and plan a design that fits with the size of our posts! As mentioned above, if you cut any of the wooden posts you will need to treat the cut ends with a wood preservative (SEE HERE)
Attaching / Fixing: Timberlok will probably screw through these posts without a pilot hole, so long as the drill is reasonably powerful. So no need to pre-drill, and connecting to these posts should be pretty quick and straightforward. See Fixing railway sleepers together.
Sizes: IMPORTANT. All sizes are approximate. That means that although a wooden post may be described as approximately 2400mm in length by 150mm x 150mm it may in fact be several millimetres longer or shorter.  As it happens, most landscaping projects have an element of flexibility or tolerance in them and can cope with this. If your project needs exact accuracy in length, width or depth, then you may need to cut the post to your precise specifications yourself.

Our Comment
These good value eco friendly wooden posts are immensely popular in gardens and landscaping. Frequently used for those wanting a crisp clean neat look, with the option of staining or changing colour. Great for gardening, as they are very simple to stack and construct with, not to mention lifting, drilling and cutting. Can look very architectural and stylish, whether for fencing, pergolas and shelters, landscaping, decorative features, jungle gyms, structural support, decks and porches, farm fencing, vegetable gardens and chicken coops, to name but a few...!

PROJECT INSPIRATION! 
You may know exactly what you are going to build with your wooden posts. The great wall of China. The Taj Mahal. A perfect plan written in stone after hours of sleepless nights and youtube visits. However you may be more uncertain and in need of moral and practical support, especially if your nearest and dearest is sowing seeds of doubt, as they question your undeniable abilities to landscape the garden. In this case you need inspiration. A boost to your self esteem that will replace uncertainty with optimism. A visit to our projects section! Thousands of projects and photos that will fill you with confidence and excitement, and cement the guaranteed adoration of your once doubting loved one as you triumphantly complete your landscaping masterpiece. VISIT NOW!!   

EXTRA TREATMENT INFORMATION
TANALITH PRESSURE TREATMENT-THE FACTS

Our new eco friendly treated softwood posts have been treated with Tanalith, a much more environmentally friendly, 'greener' alternative to creosote, and is suitable for many kinds of landscaping. It is a water based preservative treatment that helps protect against decay and fungal and insect attack.
~ The railway sleepers are treated using vacuum & pressure impregnation. 
~ When impregnated into the wooden posts the chemical components become fixed within the wood structure and are leach resistant.
~ Usually specified for general construction and landscaping
~ Can be used in many residential, commercial and industrial applications
~ Easily painted or stained

It is so far the most environmentally friendly form of pressure treatment available and has replaced the original CCA treatment. It does not contain arsenic or chromium and have a very low potential for human toxicity. An eco treatment will not leak out in the summer, and is particularly suitable for schools, play areas, children, animals, growing food and indoors, where creosote is unsuitable.

For more technical information please have a look at the Tanalith website or contact the technical guys at Tanalith.
http://www.arxada.com/en/wood-protection/eu/products/tanalith-family/tanalith-e

HOW LONG DOES IT LAST?
NO GUARANTEE!
Believe it or not, the treatment manufacturers (and hence us!) offer no guarantee as to the durability of the treatment and the longevity of wooden posts. They argue that because: 
a) timber is used and constructed in so many different applications and settings (above ground, under ground, in water etc...), and because
b) timber naturally splits and moves after treatment, which can expose untreated wood... and because
c) customers cut and drill into the treatment on the timber, leaving bare wood...
- they cannot guarantee or predict how long the wooden posts will last and how long the treatment will be effective.
To add to that, the sawmill states: We treat the wooden posts to the Use Class 4 cycle, with a 10-15 year ‘desired service life’. As we don’t kiln dry the timber before treatment and we cannot control the ground conditions on site, we cannot guarantee that performance.

SITTING ON THE FENCE
In reality, like many companies, treatment companies and sawmills are frightened about people making claims against them, and so they choose to offer no guarantee, rather than risk someone wanting their wooden posts to be replaced after 10 years, if it starts to rot.

Recently we were told of an old traditional timber company that had once rashly offered a lifetime guarantee on their oak posts. About a year ago an 80 year old lady came into their office brandishing a yellow discoloured receipt from 1959, and stating that several of her fence posts were now rotten! All credit to them, they went out and replaced them!    
And the moral is... be careful what you promise! 

CONCLUSION
Although we all know that pressure treated wooden posts will last considerably longer than 2 days (!) we are unable to say or guarantee how long it will last. Sorry. It's all very unsatisfactory, but it's the way of the world !

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Extra Info