A laboratory technique to measure the performance of preservative treated timber in ground contact is described. It uses partially sealed blocks of timber which are treated, leached and sawn into small stakelets for soil exposure in a fungal cellar. Performance is monitored by the loss of static bending strength with time, and a simple apparatus for measuring the deflection of a stakelet under a load is described. Birch, Scots pine, and four Eucalyptus species were tested untreated and treated with a CCA preservative. Results show that the wood was attacked by soft rot, that attack could be detected rapidly and accurately using the loss of static bending strength, and that results confirmed field trial and service data. The technique is rapid, simple, accurate and realistic.

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