Where air and water meet
Published: Wed, 03/14/18
I repaired a fence this week. Two posts had broken and I was asked to replace them. So I removed the panels in between the damaged posts. Then I had to clear the base from the from the concrete block the post was originally set into. I used a six inch screw bolt, a piece of steel tube and a trolly jack. Drill a hole in the tube, put the screwbolt through the hole and screw in into the base. A block at one end as a fulcrum and then use the trolly jack to lift the other end. The first base slipped straight out leaving a nice clean hole for the new post to drop into. That section of fence was soon repaired. As Hanibal Smith used to say in the A Team. “I love it when a plan comes together.”
Then came the second post. This time the wood was so much more rotten that the bolt would not bite. It did not seem to matter how far I wound the bolt in, as soon as I started lifting with the trolly jack the thread would just pull straight out of the rotten wood. Or perhaps I should have said very wet wood. Really rotten wood can be dug out with a spoon. It took several hours of drilling with a large auger bit in a 1500watt drill and levering with a three foot long crowbar to remove most of the wood in the hole. Then the new post was fitted and the panels restored. If the second base had come out as easy as the first one I would have been finished by lunch time yesterday. As it was it took me until noon today.
Now you know why it is so difficult to quote the right price for a job. The customer wants the quote for the job that is as easy as possible. I want to cover myself in case the job turns out to be very difficult. It is nice if you can get to the stage where the customer will trust you to just charge for the job you actually did and how long it took. I can’t really complain because the wind a couple of weeks ago damaged a lot of fences and today’s satisfied customer has already recommended me to his neighbours.
Why do fence posts break off right at ground level? Because wood does not mind being exposed to air. Nor does wood actually mind being immersed in water. The problem arises where the wood is wet and exposed to the air. In the case of a fence post that means the point where the wet base meets the exposed upper part of the post. This explains why wooden ship wrecks can survive at the bottom of the sea for centuries but disintegrate rapidly when raised unless preserved very carefully.
Rotten wood is a major nuisance when it is your house or fence that is falling apart. On the other hand the world would be pretty untidy if every tree that had every grown was still around. Much better that fallen trees should rot back into the ecosystem and keep the soil fertile for new growth.
It sometimes feels a bit like this when offering a course or event. When really good training takes place a transformation process happens. Those attending gain knowledge and skill. The teacher gains confidence in their ability to communicate. Both sides come together to establish a learning community which can hopefully grow and develop. The potential for teaching is there in anyone with knowledge and understanding. The potential for learning is there in anyone with curiosity and an open mind. But the transformation in teaching and learning only happens when the two come together.
I make it my business to create such situations. Please see the current programme for the next few months http://iceandfire.org/calendar.html In particular I would like to remind you about the HDC event in June, I have the teachers, just need the students to commit themselves http://hdc.stavcamp.org/
Regards
Graham
PS Even if you think you are too far away to physically attend training you can always do the foundation programme as distance learning. The trial version was followed by people in Italy, the USA and Canada as well as different parts of the UK. Check it out at https://iceandfire.org.uk/foundation.html