Wood Post Protection Problem
One of the biggest problems with
common sense, is that it's common among most people.
Looking at the plastic and tape that's wrapped around
the bottom of this
damaged wood post, it's not hard to assume that something like this
would work pretty good, protecting the damaged area.
However that's not the case sometimes. The original wood damage to this
particular post was caused by the sprinklers that were watering the
flower bed and continually spraying onto this particular post. Over time
the moisture got trapped behind a 2 x 6 wood trim base.
If you can imagine a sprinklers spraying onto the wood post about 10
inches above the area that's wrapped and protected, and then dripping
down the face of the wood post, behind a plastic that's suppose to be
protecting the bottom of the damaged wood post. You get a pretty good
idea, what I'm talking about.
The reality of the situation like this is entirely different. The water
gets behind the plastic and soaks into the wood that's already damaged.
This type of wood post protection is actually trapping
moisture behind it, instead of protecting it.
Home Repair Tip: If you're going to do something like this to protect
the wood post, it wouldn't be a bad idea to run the plastic high enough
so that the post is protected from any water that sprays onto it.
I see things like this all the time and it makes sense to protect areas
from further water damage. Just remember that your goal is to provide a
protective covering that isn't trapping moisture in some other way.