Long term exterior wood preservation

My previous post on plasticizing wood had led me to research further, to discover an ancient Japanese method of wood preservation called: shou sugi ban. A Google search of this term has magnificent info on this simple process, far superior to pressure treated wood treatments. And without the toxins!

Very nice! Many cultures have used similar techniques. For instance, Native Americans use one that involves kind of building up a layers of burnt char on top of and into the wood that will contact the ground.

Thanks for sharing!

Thank you Amit. Would you have any links or further  info on the native practices of charcoalizing inground wood?

No, I know it's been discussed on the forums at some point, but other than searchs, I don't know off the top of my head.

andre hirsz wrote:.....any links or further  info on the native practices of charcoalizing inground wood?

Check out the links all the way at the bottom of this page, headed 'similar threads'.  There are several in depth topics covering this practice in general and might cover 'charcoalizing inground wood' also or have links to articles that do.  

The first one listed below is this  https://permies.com/t/22394/charring-effective-treatment-ground-preservation  

If you continue to check the 'similar threads' in each new thread, they might lead you to more and more information.

...and I forgot, once the link is added into the body of a thread it doesn't appear in the 'similar threads' list anymore, so the one I've added to this post is no longer included in the list.

Thank you so much for your input. Would anyone be able to tell me how I could contact member Jay C. Whitecloud on this topic ? I'm also wondering if forest firewood would be harvestable  for this practice? And if a log is charred and then milled to planks, would the individual planks also require charring?

andre hirsz wrote:Thank you so much for your input. Would anyone be able to tell me how I could contact member Jay C. Whitecloud on this topic ? I'm also wondering if forest firewood would be harvestable  for this practice? And if a log is charred and then milled to planks, would the individual planks also require charring?

You could try sending him a "purple mooseage" but he disappeared a couple years ago.

In my limited experience, doing a yakisugi (the 'nickname' for shousugiban, means "grilled wood") as a finish and then planking the wood isn't going to give you much. Better to plank it first and then do a yakisugi finish.

Thank you for your input Perry. My experience with shou sugi ban is none yet. But I do have plenty with making charcoal. Which this seems like a partial charcoalizing process. That affects the entire piece being charred. Not just the surface. Otherwise the entire  piece would not withstand deterioration as the shou sugi ban method has proven to. The addition of oil, to my current understanding,  plasticizes the entire section throughout. I'm more concerned with the weathering ability, then the visual effects. I plan on trying both methods, to know 1st hand, although results  may take more time then I have here on planet earth. Thanks again for your interest!