| Sheep
How long will a new timber fence last?
Progressive farmer Richard Thomas is trialling proven Postsaver ground line barrier sleeves to avoids the costly pitfalls
of premature rot in timber fence posts.
H
e has fenced a 10-acre field at
his East Midlands farm using
400 posts fitted with Postsaver
barrier sleeves, which are
specially designed to keep
timber preservatives in and
decay out.
Richard, who is chairman of the Notts branch
of the Country Land and Business Association
(CLA), hopes the exercise will prove useful,
particularly as he plans to expand on the range
of conservation schemes at his 2,500-acre farm
in Blidworth.
“These ‘greener’ preservatives are proving
to be less effective and mean perfectly
good fences are being scrapped because
timber posts have rotted through at ground
level within a few years”
Alongside his well-established business of
rearing pigs and growing spring wheat, sugar
beet and vegetables such as carrots,
asparagus and spinach, Richard aims to create
more areas for grazing, which will require a
substantial investment in fencing in the near
future.
“I have had a few problems where animals
have pushed over posts that have rotted
26 | Farming Monthly | July 2018
prematurely so a low-cost product that can help
extend the life of timber posts to 20 years or
more could prove to be very beneficial,”said
Richard.
Fencing supplier and timber treatment
specialist Jon Walker of Calverton
recommended the application of Postsaver
barrier sleeves as an added layer of protection
for the chestnut poles he has provided for the
exercise.
“These sleeves involve only a very small
extra cost and they are a good combination
with posts that have been treated with the
correct strength of preservative solution
required for ground contact timbers,”
commented Jon, who has 25 years’ experience
in the industry and whose business treats 150
tonnes of timber a week.
Designed to protect the most vulnerable part
of a fence post from rotting organisms,
Postsaver is a tough, double layer polythene
and bituminous sleeve developed in
1994,since then millions of sleeves have been
sold worldwide without failure which has been
backed up by 20 years of independent testing
so Postsaver really does work.
“Many farmers and landowners are unaware
of the growing problem of premature fence
failure associated with the environmental
restrictions placed on traditional but effective
wood preservatives leading to the use of more
environmentaly-friendly options.
“These ‘greener’ preservatives are proving to
be less effective and mean perfectly good
fences are being scrapped because timber
posts have rotted through at ground level within
a few years,” explained Allan Poole Postsavers
sales manager.
Postsaver sleeves are produced in a range of
sizes to fit all popular round and square post
sizes. They are easily applied using a simple
hand-held gas blow torch in under a minute
and Postsaver sleeved posts are installed in the
normal way including power driving.
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