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Heard a homeowner say cedar lasts forever and wondered if I'm wrong pushing steel
I was at a supply yard last Thursday and overheard a guy telling his buddy that cedar fence posts will outlast anything if you set them right. He claimed his parents had the same cedar fence for 35 years near Springfield and it was still solid. On the other hand, I've had customers swear by steel posts after a bad run with rot and insects. Around here with all the wet springs we get, I've seen cedar go soft in under 10 years. What do you all think about cedar vs steel for posts in damp climates?
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the_kevin23h ago
That thing about his parents' cedar lasting 35 years near Springfield is the kind of story that gets people in trouble. I bet they had some unusually dry years or the posts were sunk into real good gravel. Around here with all the wet springs you're talking about, cedar just doesn't hold up. I've pulled out too many rotted posts after 8 or 9 years to trust that stuff. Steel is more work to set right, but once it's in the ground, it's not gonna turn into mush like wood does. People remember the one time cedar worked, not the dozens of times it failed.
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jasons6320h ago
Yeah @the_kevin nailed it with "people remember the one time cedar worked" - that's basically how everyone picks a contractor too.
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