My best buddy is trying to build a deck himself, I know nothing about carpentry than what I’ve seen here… is he doing all right?
Yeah my cheap contractor deck builders poured concrete into holes with pressure treated wood. I fumed at them for not doing it right. eventually they will rot out.
I'm not a deck-gal; can you explain why thays wrong, please?
Using concrete footings is the preferred method these days, especially because wood is no longer treated with the same chemicals as it used to be. Years ago it would take 15-20+ years for a post to rot, these days it could happen in 3-5. 10 if you’re super lucky. However, there are ways to do it where you mound the concrete up above the soil line so that water doesn’t pool around the base. A lot of people will dig the hole, stick the post in and only fill it half-way with concrete and then backfill with soil and that’s gonna rot pretty quick.
Ahhhh! Oh yeah.
I was envisioning one of those cardboard tubes dropped in the hole (top a foot or so above ground), post inserted and then filled with concrete.
Makes sense it's a bad deal if there is any dirt touching the wood/a hole for water to pool.
It's really bad when dirt touches your wood or a hole...