Wood Rot 101 and Part 1

Wood Rot 101- The question of how to prevent wood rot comes up a lot, usually as it relates to fence posts. I'm going to put up a short series of post about this subject. It will be the "Wood Rot for Dummies" short version of a complex subject. I'll try to explain the how & why wood decays & what you can do to prevent it. So stay tuned if you're interested.

 Rot part 1. Let's get started with the thing most people misunderstand- WATER DOES NOT MAKE WOOD ROT ! Now I can almost hear you screaming BULLSHIT Right now, but it's true. Wood rot, which from here on I will refer to as "decay" is not caused by wood being wet, all wood decay is caused by 1-Fungi & 2- microbial/ bacterial life. Like all life forms these require water to survive, so while water does not cause decay it is necessary that it be present for decay to occur. These decay causing life forms also require oxygen to live, but as a practical matter we cannot readily make an oxygen free fence, so we will focus on moisture. Wood is a HYDROSCOPIC Material, it "wants" water. It will always want moisture and will get it any way it can. In life a tree is about 50% water, after it has been felled it immediately begins to dry out and eventually assume the same moisture content as its surroundings- whether it gets moisture from the humidity in the air or absorbs it from the ground, it will always seek moisture. The image below is a pine beam approximately 1000 years old, note that it is not rotten. Why? Because the arid desert climate has kept it too dry for decay organisms to survive. It has assumed the moisture level of its environment. In the other images you will see a ship wreak from the 16th century, again not rotten. Though thoroughly saturated with water, the oxygen content & temperature are too low for the fungi etc to survive. So remember- moisture does not make wood decay, but it must be present for decay causing organisms to live. The easiest, cheapest & best way to preserve wood is to keep it dry. In the next post we will discuss other ways to combat decay.

-Unicoi Ludd