Forest Products Laboratory

Title: Physical deterioration of preservative treated poles and pilings exposed to salt water

Author: Kirker, Grant T.; Glaeser, Jessie; Lebow, Stan T.; Green III, Frederick; Clausen, Carol A.

Date: 2011

Source: General technical report FPL-GTR-203. Madison, WI : U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory, 2011: 5 p.

Station ID: GTR-FPL-203

Description: This report details the results of laboratory analyses of wooden pilings sent to the USDA Forest Products Laboratory in March 2011. These samples were removed from coastal wooden posts, poles, piles, and deck boards. A total of 22 samples, consisting of either core borings or surface fiber samples, were removed from four installations along the South Carolina coast. Methods focusing on the physical, chemical, and biological properties of the wood determined that the 22 specimen samples consisting of core borings and surface fiber samples were physically deteriorated by salt accumulation and not biological deterioration. This report presents the findings of these analyses and discusses the cause of the documented damage.

Keywords: Defibration, salt damage, salt kill, pilings, dock fungus, non-biological damage, tracheid separation, preservation, salt, salt weathering, wood poles, piling, poles, preservatives, wood preservatives, deterioration, degradation, saline water, exposure, saltwater, marine environment

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Citation

Kirker, Grant T.; Glaeser, Jessie; Lebow, Stan T.; Green III, Frederick; Clausen, Carol A.  2011.  Physical deterioration of preservative treated poles and pilings exposed to salt water.   General technical report FPL-GTR-203. Madison, WI : U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory, 2011: 5 p..