Preservative treatment produces an excellent barrier against fungal, insect, and marine borer attack; however, fabricators often disrupt this barrier during construction, creating avenues for entry of decay agents. This problem is particularly acute in marinas along the coastal United States. Standards recommend the application of a water-shedding cap at the time of installation to prevent pile top decay, but this practice is often ignored because the preservatives are sloppy and difficult to apply. As a result, piles along the cost have a high incidence of top decay. In this report, we describe the results of field trials of a variety of simple capping devices in combination with remedial chemical treatments at a marina located near Newport, Oregon. In general, capping alone significantly reduced the incidence of decay fungi in the piles as did application of remedial chemicals. Combinations of both caps and biocides provided the highest degree of protection.

Download document (277 kb)
free for the members of IRG. Available if purchased.

Purchase this document