3 ms·
Same thought. Where I grew up...if water didn't kill it, tornados would. The only barns that stood the test of time were made from the now nearly extinct ches
by silisili 5y ago
Same thought. Where I grew up...if water didn't kill it, tornados would. The only barns that stood the test of time were made from the now nearly extinct chestnut. They turn grey and get knotty and twisty as they age but are nearly indestructible. Everything else rots away in the humidity.
One rather interesting memory...I remember my father rebuilding an old barnish structure with railroad ties for the frame. Apparently they soak those suckers in tar...out in the sun each day they'd start sweating some black tar stuff again that's nearly impossible to get off your hands. Those haven't aged a day in 20ish years. Makes me curious why more structural wood isn't treated this way.
- geeio 5y agoPressure treated wood is kinda like that (it uses something other than tar). [1]: https://www.homedepot.com/c/ab/types-of-pressure-treated-wood/9ba683603be9fa5395fab9052c50759 https://www.homedepot.com/c/ab/types-of-pressure-treated-woo...
- jacquesm 5y agoMostly because it is quite polluting if it gets into the groundwater or in your well.
- silisili 5y agoSo I had some experience similar to this with an awful substance called cosmoline. Russians used it to store old guns, and they did the same thing really by sweating some chemical every time they heat up. After some reading and thinking, I decided just to bake the thing at 250. It sweated tons of that awful red jelly out, then never again. Don't get me wrong, I'm definitely not for polluting the groundwater, but seems it can be mitigated with proper heat treating prior.
- jacquesm 5y agoThat probably won't work for railroad ties because they are usually in/on the ground and without that tar the bugs would eat them in a few years.
- silisili 5y agoWell, the idea is to just heat them past any temperature they'd experience naturally such that they don't bleed anymore. The wood itself would still be saturated in awful chemicals. For railroad ties specifically, I imagine it would be deemed way too much cost. But for say, house framing lumber... guaranteed termite free forever, I think people would pay for it.
- iSnow 5y agoUsually, tar-like substances still sweat out a range of volatile aromatic compounds which aren't good for your health. Yes, heat-treating them would get rid of 99% or more, but that's not good enough for housing.
- samstave 5y agoI think this is one of the saddest aspects of the progression of our current expression of Civilization as we forge through time: The lost knowledge and, even more importantly, the fundamental resource depletion/extinction caused by our activities which result in both the knowledge of *how* to do/accomplish/build/mend/heal, as well as the actual natural resources required to execute that knowledge in a meaningful or impactful way on your life... --- However the Chestnut appears to be largely wiped out by two separate blights https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2019/04/29/what-it-takes-bring-back-near-mythical-american-chestnut-trees https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2019/04/29/what-it-takes-bri...
- silisili 5y agoCorrect. They've had some success crossbreeding them with a Chinese variant, but the jury is seemingly still out if they'll actually repopulate and how good the wood will be. The wood from American Chestnuts is legendary, and I can personally attest to that. So much so that old barnwood can be sold for good money. Shame nothing else has replaced it properly.