Hobby carpenter
· Stockholm
· 31 posts
Lived in the house for about 1.5 years. Last summer, I painted the posts and deck railing. Already then, I saw that there were some cracks at the bottom of the posts but thought the paint would fill them. Now I discovered that the paint was very cracked. I scraped it off, and underneath there was 40% moisture even though the sun had been shining for several weeks. I used the Dremel to see how deep the rot went. Now the moisture level is below 10%.
I assume there's no way to save these posts. Or is there? If I replace them now, I want it done properly. I think the person who built the house was careless with oiling/painting the end grain. Is there more to consider when replacing them? Can I put some protection at the bottom, or does it just make it easier for moisture to stay there? How should I relieve the weight from the roof when the posts are being replaced? Should I buy the same glulam beams that are there today, or is it worth buying pressure-treated?
Grateful for any tips I can get!
The fundamental problem is probably that the posts have been painted with diffusion-tight paint (e.g., acrylic paint) on all sides. You need to replace them and use a diffusion-open paint, such as linoljefärg or alkydoljefärg.