Hi my name is Don and I have a question about stopping wood checking/cracking. I have 8x8 treated wood posts for my porch. This is a new build and they have been installed for 10 months. I am see some large cracks and I would like to know if there are any additional ideas other than wood filler or glue to stop them. In my past I have drilled holes in metal to stop the propagation of the cracks. Would this work?
Wood checking/cracking
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You can't stop it. It's a natural aspect of that particular post to crack as the wood shrinks in the drying process. It may not have been seasoned properly or if it's pressure treated takes a very long time to season after being treated. The best thing you can do is let it sit until it stops cracking and cut a pie shaped strip of wood and insert it in the crack with some exterior glue. The shave off what sticks out and finish it.
Outdoors under open shelter, wood dries down to a balance with the air (equilibrium) at a rate of about 1" per year.
So, an 8" x 8" post ought to dry down in 4+ years. Milled from logs, it could have been sopping wet in the core when it went into the preservative tank. Even then you should see not much more that 1/2" penetration.
I'd wait at least another year before doing anything.
I can imagine those were log cores. For carving, it's common to pick the ugly side and make a cut from the surface all the way to the center. Maybe even 2 cuts and take out a wedge. All kinds of poles, totem poles in particular, are meant to be seen only from one side. Often, the back 1/4 or more is cut away to reduce cracking to a minimum. Anyway, you just carve right through the cracks.
Other times you get lucky: a 5" x 5" x 64" post for a pole without even a hairline crack and knot-free.
So, an 8" x 8" post ought to dry down in 4+ years. Milled from logs, it could have been sopping wet in the core when it went into the preservative tank. Even then you should see not much more that 1/2" penetration.
I'd wait at least another year before doing anything.
I can imagine those were log cores. For carving, it's common to pick the ugly side and make a cut from the surface all the way to the center. Maybe even 2 cuts and take out a wedge. All kinds of poles, totem poles in particular, are meant to be seen only from one side. Often, the back 1/4 or more is cut away to reduce cracking to a minimum. Anyway, you just carve right through the cracks.
Other times you get lucky: a 5" x 5" x 64" post for a pole without even a hairline crack and knot-free.
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Coming out of the plant, treated lumber can have a moisture content as high as 90%-120%. In contrast kiln dried southern yellow pine usually has a maximum moisture content of around 19%. All that moisture has to eventually dry out of the lumber. The results are cracks and checks. I have seen cracked and checked PT lumber saturated with wood preservative and the wood drinks it up and the cracks get smaller, but they will always return as it dries out again.
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