Farmers are putting more value now on long-life fencing products, says FRS Fencing manager Robert Birney, based in Roscrea. “Our sales of creosoted fencing posts are growing year on year. It’s popular for high-tensile sheep fencing and for dairy paddock fencing too.” Creosoted posts come with a 15-year guarantee. However, according to Robert, a farmer can expect them to last at least 20 years.

Picture one

I went with Robert to look at a fencing job being done by his team on a dairy farm in Co Offaly. First, we looked at a fence line erected on the same farm in 1991 by FRS – that’s 24 years ago. The creosoted strainer posts are rock solid, the timber is sound and well able to withstand good tension on the wire.

Picture two

We applied the push test to this original 4in stake – the stake won.

Picture three

This dairy farmer has expanded, buying adjacent land, and he called back in FRS Fencing, once again specifying creosoted timber for strainer and intermediate posts.

The standard strainer post is 2.1m long, allowing up to 1.1m to be driven into the ground, Robert said. “That ensures you get a good strain on the wire. If not sunk deeply enough, they can lie over or pop out of the ground. You may have to dig them in if ground is stoney. These are 6in to 8in in diameter.”

“The standard intermediate posts are 1.5m long and 100mm to 125mm diameter. This allows approximately 600mm be driven into the ground. We recommend 2.5mm (12-gauge) high-tensile galvanised wire. It will hold its strain much better than mild steel wire and have a long life.”

Picture four

Robert showed me the creosoted gate post, off which the top had been cut. We can see that the pressure treatment has driven the preservative well into the wood, giving an effective barrier against fungal invasion.

Over time, the preservative will permeate further through the entire timber. Normally, the top is left on a post to maintain the preservative barrier. The top of this one will be painted with creosote.