I read that the original split rail fences in New England used cedar posts that could last over 100 years.

Found it in an old book about historic farmsteads at my local library. It said they used Eastern Red Cedar because it's naturally rot-resistant, and some original posts from the 1800s are still standing today. Has anyone here ever worked with that type of wood on a modern job?

3 comments

3 Comments

anthonyrivera20d ago

You sure that book wasn't talking about locust posts? I've seen old cedar rot out in wet ground way before a century. The heartwood resists, but the sapwood doesn't, and most posts have both.

jamesc7920d ago

Reminds me of my buddy's cedar fence rotting in five years.

caseywalker19d ago

Lol, sounds like that book was written by someone who's never actually had to dig out a rotten post. A hundred years my ass.