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Would you really put a wooden pole in the dirt? In interviews with hundreds of farmers and building professionals the answer has always been, “No, I’d prefer steel on concrete.” The fact is a treated wooden pole is organic and starts to deteriorate when it’s put in the ground. Most farmers and contractors have seen treated poles after years in the ground and can attest to the fact that most are decayed. Actual tests have shown that decay can be of such a substantial nature that after 20 years, the strength of a wooden pole can be reduced by 75% or more. Builders have made efforts to stop these severe rot problems with treated wood, including the following: 1. The most popular has been putting a concrete pad in a hole at the bottom of the pole. This has been proven particularly ineffective, as the most severe rot always occurs in the most fertile topsoil. 2. Another practice has been to pour concrete completely around the wooden poles. This has met with only marginal success because of the phenomenon of “wicking”. Research has shown two problems that occur with this approach:  First, the majority of wood poles push the concrete away from the base thus allowing the wood pole to actually “wick” water from the bottom with the concrete on the sides effectively sealing water in the pole. The wood degradation is severe.  The second problem noticed with concrete was water entering at the top when concrete was not properly sealed. This situation also results in severe wood rot problems. By contrast HENRY BUILDING SYSTEMS steel columns are mounted on top of a concrete foundation and are bolted in place. The strength is unbelievable, but more important, with concrete and steel all decay and rot is eliminated. HENRY BUILDING SYSTEMS, SIMPLY THE STRONGEST BUILDING AVAILABLE

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