Hi,
Recently I got a Madrona log, about 34″ at the big end and 8+’ long. (attached is a picture of loading it on my truck). It is now sitting in a queue at a local sawyer to be cut into beams and planks for me.
However, the remaining section of this tree (about 6′ tall, 34 inches to ??) remains in the ground, with a porch built around it to about 4.5-5′ off the ground. The porch and house are not going to be removed for at least 6 months, probably more like a year. My question is this: with what can I treat the log end to keep it from checking excessively and rotting (or getting mold and fungus in it). I don’t want to nail a top onto it, since this may provide a nice pietre dish environment for those things to get going. Should I use oil? Or paint? Or epoxy (mind you, the trunk is still very wet)? Or??? Has anyone got any experience here or opinion on how to preserve this stump ‘on the hoof’ until they take the house down and I can retrieve it?
Thanks in advance for your help,
– David
Replies
I wonder if you could you use a roofing mastic (sp) to seal it.
Hmmm. Sounds messy, but could work. But what about sealing the moisture in?
Thanks for the suggestion, Steve.
- David
Madrone (Arbutus menziesii) is non-decay resistant, is very susceptible to fungi and staining, and has high levels of shrinkage (meaning it is very likely to check, split and warp). Unless the tree was growing straight, it is likely to have an off-centered pit and hense considerable amounts of abnormal wood which will exacerbate dimensional instability and checking.
My suggestion would be to concentrate on the lumber you will get from the log taking care to have it end coated and to sticker it with dry stickers, and if air drying, to use shade cloth. If the stump has a reasonably centered pith, my suggestion would be to try to get some bowl blanks for turning out of it. Unless you can thoroughly impregnate the stump with wood preservative chemicals, my guess is that you would likely see mushrooms in two to three years. The stump is likely to be a prime meal/vector for insect infestations (eg termites, carpenter ants and powderpost beetle).
For situations like this, I use a can of spray undercoating that you can pick up fairly cheaply at the local auto store. It makes a good moisture barrier, is not messy and the can is storable and can be reused again.
Dan B.
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