Hello, I recently saw a video on youtube of a young lad making a deck and the posts he put in the ground, he burnt the ends of them first.

He put the support post into a bonfire he had build and let them char right down, so that the part that went in the ground was completely covered in charred wood.

He said this was to preserve the wood and prevent it from rotting. Which is why I guess, he only charred on end of the stakes. I have never heard of this burning technique before and maybe it is something that people in other countries do. The fella in the video was from Europe.

Has anyone else heard of this burning technique to preserve the wood from rotting? To me it seems like this wouldn't work. I'm sure water would still be able to penetrate the wood even if it was burnt, or maybe there is some sort of chemical protection.

If I buy pre-treated wood to use outside, isn't it covered in a waterproof barrier to prevent the wood getting wet in the first place. I thought this was how it worked.

If burning wood can prevent it from rotting, would they not have used this technique on old wooden boats from the past?

Was interesting to watch and have never heard of this before. I was interested to hear what other people thought.

Thanks
John