A Weathered Laminated Test Stake Technique for Evaluation of Wood Preservatives

Basic principles are listed for planning a comprehensive stake test program. Setting up a field test plot is much more of a job than simply installing a lot of treated sticks or posts in a convenient piece of vacant land. Weathering or aging tests of treated specimens should not involve the application of excessively harsh or exaggerated physical conditions of exposure. Test plots should be laid out on flat, accessible land on good agricultural soil with good water holding capacity. To speed the stake test and secure reliable comparative data in the shortest time, a “laminated” test specimen may be used. The units in the bundle would be made of dry nominal 1-inch dressed sapwood lumber, preferably quarter sawed from sapwood of selected pine logs. The threshold of retention of preservative is the key to the use of the “laminated” specimen. Sticks below and above this threshold are used in the sample. Inspections should be made early in the fall before the ground freezes, so that the degree of decay can be determined by the indicator stakes.

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