Our research group has been investigating a number of new designs for above ground field testing to try to provide rapid methods to compare the relative performance of systems in above ground, unprotected exposures. This paper provides an update on what we have found with three variations on a "sandwich" type above ground test arrangement, with comparison to the more traditional lap-joint method at our Hawaii test site. In addition, one of the sandwich type methods was replicated at both the Hawaii and an Australia test site. Each of the three sandwich variation as well as the lap-joint method provides certain beneficial characteristics as a test method, although it is hard to say if one method is an overall better test method. Inclusion of untreated boards in two of the sandwich type arrays did not appear to increase the overall decay rate of the treated wood tested in these trials.

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