4x4 Fence Post Socket Design For Protection...

Years ago I had an idea about how to protect the bottom of a fence post from rot, but years went by before we built a fence. The main idea was to protect the post from not water but microbes which cause dry rot. The other secondary idea was to protect the post from water and bugs like ants and termites. So how to do that? Yes, you could smear some super toxic stuff on there and hope for the best, but toxic stuff like tar is not sustainable so that is not even a remote option. With cedar posts in the range of $44 each a solution was needed. Fir was about $10 each so there was about $34 per post at stake. $34 per post, wow! The cheapest idea was to use Smart Zero VOC caulk around post just above the dirt level and them put the post in a plastic bag (like a bread bag) and zip tie the top of the bag at the caulking level. That would work but for how long?

"There are ways to extend the life of a post in the ground so we decided to socket it to it..."

Years ago I had an idea about how to protect the bottom of a fence post from rot, but years went by before we built a fence. The main idea was to protect the post from not water but microbes. The other secondary idea was to protect the post from water and bugs. So how to do that? Ya you could smear some super toxic stuff on there and hope for the best, but toxic stuff like tar is not sustainable so that is not even a remote option. With cedar posts in the range of $44 each a solution was needed. Fir was about $10 each so there was about $34 per post at stake. $34 per post, wow! The cheapest idea was to use Smart Zero VOC caulk around post just above the dirt level and then put the post in a plastic bag and zip tie the top of the bag at the caulking level. That would work, but for how long?

Another idea was to encase the post in something stronger. Using vinyl post covers seemed like the best solution at the time we had to ponder the project. So we choose vinyl post covers and caps. we still used Smart ZERO VOC for a sealer.

Everyone I asked said classically posts rot off where they enter the dirt, that is the main problem to try to overcome. So to keep the dirt from touching the wood seemed the best bet. Our socket desgn did the trick. We used little shims to keep the post from rocking although we are not sure this was needed or not needed. We caulked the cap on to seal it and keep it attached. We also caulked around the to top of the cover to seal dirt, water and bugs out. The caps were pyramid caps. We made a small berm (not shown) to raise the dirt within about 1" of the top of the socket. This was an exciting project and some fun brain storming...

Links:

1SMARTTM Zero VOC 1408-1-61 elastomeric caulk & sealant on Amazon.

2Vinyl Fence on Amazon.

3Vinyl Cap at DoItBest.

4Vinyl Sleeve at DoItBest.