Plastic fence posts for post and rail???

[HorseMaid]

I'm going to need to put a post and rail fence around the hardstanding where my stables are going to be built soon. Everything I've read about "modern" wooden posts leads me to think they'll be rotten within 5 years due to changes in the way they are treated. I've seen there are now recycled plastic posts available and am considering it despite the added cost if it means they'll last a long time - has anybody here got any experience of using them please?

 

[Esmae]

I looked into these for the same reasons that you are considering them. what I didn't take into account is that they warp and bend in the heat and don't really go back to where they were. At the price they are I decided against them because of that and soaked wooden ones in creosote instead.

 

[HorseMaid]

Thank you, hadn't considered what they'd be like when it's hot!

 

[meleeka]

The cost alone put me off. I try and soak posts in old engine oil for a couple of days prior to putting in.

 

[Muddy unicorn]

You can still get creosoted posts - not for much longer but they’re still available in the UK now

 

[PeterNatt]

Unfortunately plastic is effected by the ultra violet rays of sunlight and they becomes brittle. We buy pressure treated wooden posts but paint the base with bitumin before puttting them in to the ground so as to make them more water resistant. This makes them last longer. Some of our posts have been in the ground for 25 years.

 

[DSB]

Steel posts and cattle rail,a bit more expensive but last forever,some of our yards have been there for over 30 years and still look good.