We like to use tools and products that are easy and effective, and Post Protector is a fence and deck post solution that has become a multi-layered time saver and profit center during the deck building process.
Here’s what you need to know about Post Protectors.
Top-Line Features
- Beyond efficient
- Money maker
- Durable
- Time saver
- Easy to use
What is Post Protector?
Post-Protector is a plastic sleeve used to isolate pressure-treated wood posts from the things in the ground that eventually degrade the posts, namely bacteria and whatnot at and just below ground level.
Originally designed for pole building/post barn–we built a pole barn-shed using Post-Protectors–I use them for building decks and they put days back into my life and money back into my pocket–and meet Code–that other systems simply do not. Post-Protectors cost less to buy than other systems like concrete tubes. They are way faster to install, remove unnecessary externalities like mixing #$%^loads of concrete and–AND–enable me to refill 90% of the hole with the dirt I dug out of it.
I don’t know where other deck builders get rid of the spoils when they excavate for footings, but it has to go somewhere. There’s no hardware to buy and there are no footings visible after the fact.
They also work for fences and pergolas. As someone who mows a lot of grass, I can tell you they are weed-whacker proof. I even used one to build a mailbox post.
The only difference is that with Post Protector, it takes me less time to build the deck.
Why do we use Post Protectors?
Here are some of the reasons why we use Post Protectors.
Post Protector is inexpensive.
Because you can put the post in the hole Post Protector only requires one bag of concrete per post. Compared to other deck footing types, this saves hours of concrete drudge including but not limited to: buying, lugging, storing, lugging again, mixing, placing, disposing of empty bags, and breathing dust.
Using Post-Protectors as a deck builder is a profit center for me. It saves me time, makes me money, eliminates effort. In short, it’s at least a triple-threat.
Post Protector is simple and fast to install.
No deck builder has ever centered a post on a tube because they’re impossible to keep still while placing the concrete. Other related note, tubes look terrible if the bottom of the deck is visible.
Next, because I can put the post in the hole, I also can support the deck frame with temporary bridging constructed with 2x4s across the holes, while I wait for my footing inspection and the concrete to cure. This alone can save anywhere from hours to days.
But wait, there’s more.
Because I can put the post in the hole—Post Protector isolates the wood from the microbes and creepy crawlies in the ground that want it for lunch—instead of a metric ton of concrete I can also re-fill the hole with the dirt I took out of it.
Let me say that again: I can put the dirt back in the hole. Want to know a better way to dig a hole, watch this groundbreaking video.
I have seen in various deck building Facebook groups other contractors asking about what to do with the left over dirt from digging footings and replacing that volume with concrete. Some cart the hundreds of pounds of left over dirt to the dump. Others scatter it on the property.
I put it back where it came from. Problem solved.
Post Protector isolates the wood from the microbes and creepy crawlies in the ground that want it for lunch
Post Protector looks good.
Post Protector starts saving time, effort, and money in a cascade of related and generally unpleasant, labor-intensive events that it takes an intellect roughly equivalent to my truck box to complete.
And the post looks good. No off-centered glob of gray stuff. Definitely no added hardware or brackets.
And I can still charge the same as another deck builder, who has to include a Mt. Everest of extra work. The only difference is that with Post Protector, it takes me less time to build the deck.
(see my video here: Top-Down Deck Framing, Part 1…yes, there are two more glorious parts here and here…like the Godfather but less mobbed up and fewer trips to Vegas tuxedoes)
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