# Repairing rotted post bottoms.



## farmgal (Nov 12, 2005)

I am repairing 5-6x6 posts from a very large pole barn. The bottoms are rotted at ground level. It's a dirt floor. The barn has metal siding on it. One post was damaged badly when a vehicle came off the road and busted it. We started with that one. I have power jacks etc. 

This is a difficult task. Any suggestions? Also would it be ok to bring the concrete son o tube up to the post and fill it right to my post? Or do I have to splice pieces of 6x6?


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## Fishindude (May 19, 2015)

Tough job !

a. Temporarily shore up to get weight off the posts, one at a time.
b. Saw off where the good / solid wood begins.
c. Hand excavate the rotted remains of old posts and any concrete out and remove it.
d. Install a section of new treated wood post, same dimensions as existing.
e. Splice new to old with long 2x6's and lag bolts each side of posts.
f. New post needs to extend to frost depth for your area.
g. Encase bottom of repaired post in new concrete.
h. Backfill any excavated earth.
i. Remove temporary shoring after concrete sets.


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

What ever wood you put below ground needs to be pole barn grade, different than normal treated wood. Most treated wood now is ground contact, not to be used in the ground. Needs to be CCA type III to a retention level of .60 pcf, harder to find....James

They make these to protect the wood.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Post-Pro...t-Protector-Case-of-6-Pieces-6660C6/203165692

They also make these. Barn may need more bracing or put in "horizontal studs" and sheath inside with plywood.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Simpson-...gclid=CJTtvrTa9scCFQ8lgQodmAYHcA&gclsrc=aw.ds


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

Out if curiosity, could it be repaired by setting in a concrete pier with a bracket on top to bolt the remaining portion of the post to?  

I may have to deal with a similar issue in a house soon. Around here even treated lumber gets termites and the good old locust posts are impossible to find.


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## farmgal (Nov 12, 2005)

I didnt dig the rotted post out, I put bolts on it and hooked chain to it pulled it out with my tractor. They only rot where oxygen hits them with water. Bottoms are solid. 

I've done a lot of research. And it looks like I could use concrete but it should be at least 8 inch diameter. My holes 6. I thought I could get away with not digging any more cuz it's against metal siding and it losens the dirt and I don't want the dirt compromised. It's composed of large rocks compressed well in clay. 

I want to just fill the existing hole and extend it. But don't think 6 inch will do it. I'm using 5000 psi concrete. The pole barn is 40 x60 double story but no upper floor. It's a weight baring side. Also, from what I read your not to touch concrete to the post. Says concrete absorbs moisture rots the wood since it's a cut end and the preservative is compromised then. I'm also not impressed with the 6x6 they sell it don't compare to what's already in there, like James stated. 

They make a sleeve with long rods or loops on the bottom that fits the bottom of the good post and then the rods extend into the concrete below but they pricey. I think I could make them.  

The first one we did with a spliced 6x6 on top of the concrete I poured into sono tube. I dug a little of the sides off try to make it 8 inches. It's already frost deep. But I really don't care for the set up. Instead of one weak spot it has 2. Even tho I'm bracing the day lights out of it. There's nothing like that deep post in the ground. 

I think I'm going to go with the homemade metal bracket covering the bottom of my good post with long bolts or loop, depending on what I can make, drilled into the bottom that would extend into the concrete. I'll post pictures of what I've done so far. It's difficult because 3 posts in a row are sunk so I had very little lateral strength when I lifted the first post. It wanted to fall outward. I had to put a ratchet from the post to my tractor to keep it stable. I had to lift the second post to get the slice in. There was way too much weight on that post. Once I took some of the weight off by lifting the next post and bracing it up,I regained more control of the first. This is a nightmare. I want to do it right lol


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

I built some concrete posts with metal brackets. Brackets have holes punched into them and rebar welded across/imbedded. Just put them into the hole, bolt them to the remaining wood post and fill in the hole. These have a couple pieces of rebar in them. Because I needed to have a nailing surface, I shoved some pieces of plastic decking into the wet concrete. There is a similar commercial product for this purpose, but I don't have any information.


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## Fishindude (May 19, 2015)

That's a pretty slick fix. Several of the best post frame building company's are using similar pre-cast post bottoms on their new buildings. it's typically an up-charge "extra" item.
This new treated lumber is far superior to the stuff of several decades ago. I think it will last far longer than the old stuff.


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

http://products.midwestpermacolumn.com/category/perma-columns


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## brumer0 (Jan 21, 2015)

jwal10 said:


> What ever wood you put below ground needs to be pole barn grade, different than normal treated wood. Most treated wood now is ground contact, not to be used in the ground. Needs to be CCA type III to a retention level of .60 pcf, harder to find....James
> 
> They make these to protect the wood.
> 
> ...



How do the sleeves really hold up? I am doing some serious research on building a barn next year, and will probably end up using 6x6s since I dont need the double-story height of a true pole barn. I have a high water table, especially in the spring. The field fencing I have installed (very limited) I just made sure there was concrete all the way around and bottom of the post, but I know that only really goes so far and dont want to trust that when it comes to a structure. 

I used the concrete column bases on 4x6 uprights for a pergola I built. Without any walls it was very very flimsy, vs an in-ground support. I ended up adding onto it so I could set other supports into the ground which made that structure stable.


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