23
Pre-soaking cedar posts before concrete setting: game changer or extra step?
I read online that soaking cedar posts in water for a day before setting them in concrete helps prevent splits. Tried it on a recent fence job and not one post cracked, which was a common issue before. It does add an extra day to the timeline, which can be tricky with tight schedules. Has anyone else given this a shot? I'm wondering if it does the same for pressure-treated wood. My coworker thinks it's pointless and just slows us down, but my callbacks for cracked posts have dropped a lot. What do you all think? Is this a habit worth keeping, or am I just adding unnecessary steps? Looking for some input from the pros, lol.
4 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In4 Comments
jessica9211mo ago
Think about the concrete curing process too. When you soak the cedar, it expands to its wet size before you set it. Then as the concrete hardens and the wood dries, they shrink together instead of fighting each other. That might be why your callbacks dropped, it's not just about splits but long term stability. I bet pressure treated wood would react different since it's already processed, but same idea could apply. Your coworker might not see the value now, but fewer callbacks saves time and money later, lol.
5
lucas3891mo ago
Yeah, I've seen that too with fence posts lasting way longer!
2
grant3801mo ago
@jessica921 has a point, but wood and concrete don't always shrink at the same rate, which can cause issues.
7
ryan_black24d agoMost Upvoted
It's like when you buy cheap furniture that falls apart in a year. You save a few bucks up front but waste way more time and money later. People focus so much on the initial cost they forget the long term headache. That's why the best contractors build things to last, even if their price seems higher at first.
4