DED killed Elm durability??

[benedmonds]

I would be more then a little surprised if anyone has direct experience for the application we are working on.... 

I have a client who is going to cover a couple of trees in gold leaf and stick back in the ground upside down?

 

The trees need to be, hardwoods, local, accessible, from a sustainable source, approx 45cm dbh with some rootball..

 

Amazingly we have found 2 dead elms on site that tick all the boxes.. I know DED killed elms are rock solid and will stand for decades if left to their own devices, but has anyone used dead elm as fence post or the like? what are its properties like once it is put in the ground?

Edited July 25, 2018 by benedmonds

[Gary Prentice]

IIRC elms really good when permanently wet, it was used for water pipes in London. Where it isn't so good is the wet/dry junction at ground level (like most stuff)

 

How long are they hoping for? It's not oak/sweet chestnut but a lot more durable than most of the softwoods and less durable heartwoods.

[openspaceman]

2 hours ago, benedmonds said:

I have a client who is going to cover a couple of trees in gold leaf and stick back in the ground upside down?

So they'll be the right way up when the world ends?

 

Elm is classed as non durable I think but you could drill a hole up the  trunk and set it on a  length of scaffold pole which wouldn't be seen.

[Rough Hewn]

All sapwood will rot, covered in gold or not.

Sweetchestnut de-barked might stand a chance once seasoned for several years.

 

 

[se7enthdevil]

for durability in native timbers you will want to look at dead dry oak.

 

others could be sweet chestnut, robinia, yew, western red cedar or one of the true cedars (cedrus spp)

[Lazurus]

10 hours ago, benedmonds said:

I would be more then a little surprised if anyone has direct experience for the application we are working on.... 

I have a client who is going to cover a couple of trees in gold leaf and stick back in the ground upside down?

 

The trees need to be, hardwoods, local, accessible, from a sustainable source, approx 45cm dbh with some rootball..

 

Amazingly we have found 2 dead elms on site that tick all the boxes.. I know DED killed elms are rock solid and will stand for decades if left to their own devices, but has anyone used dead elm as fence post or the like? what are its properties like once it is put in the ground?

Why?

[benedmonds]

1 hour ago, se7enthdevil said:

for durability in native timbers you will want to look at....

I know what to look for.. but finding 2 45cm dbh oak or chestnut trees with a 5 or 6m clear straight stem that have died or blown over, that we can get out with some root ball. Preferably from the university grounds. All with a limited budget, might be described as challenging.... We do however have 2 dead elms that fit the bill. So can make use of them.  But if they need treating or mounting above the soil that should be doable...

[se7enthdevil]

if they can be mounted above ground then the will do better but they will need lots of coats of danish oil to keep them for longer.