Enclosure post rusting up

[cflannagan]

(I posted this in a local facebook group as well, so this is a cross-post and forgive me if it seems somewhat impersonable toward this forum, since I'm speaking in pretty general terms)

We moved to Florida and owned this property since 2009. We had same issue, and eventually had contractors remove rust from our enclosure posts and have those painted (claiming paint job will make things more "rustproof"). But after renting our property out for 2 years and coming back, we still have this issue (this photo is a recent one). We have a pool next to those posts.

Is it possible to have this issue completely addressed somehow? Did we have a bad paint job? I'm hoping there's a way to address this completely, without worrying about our posts rusting up. My understanding is if this issue goes unaddressed, it'll eat out bottom of our enclosure posts completely, compounding our issues (possibly leaving us with an enclosure that has no supporting load due to rusted out post bottoms).

I'll address this soon obviously (having rust removed before issue worsens), but is this something we have to address on a somewhat annual basis in Florida, or is it possible to head this off for several years at least? Looking for suggestions/recommendations. Thanks in advance!

http://i.imgur.com/16d47Vc.jpg

 

[gwegan]

This is something that you want to address as soon as you can.

Now I'm not there and I have only one picture but I suspect that water pools below your pavers and then wicks up onto the steel and causes rust. You can get them repainted but the problem will reoccur.

I would consult with a couple of local contractors to come up with local solutions.

My solution would be to take up the structure and re pour solid concrete footing that extends at least 2 inches above the pavers and are at least an inch wider than the posts.

But that is my solution from just one picture. You need a solution by at least two contractors who know what they are doing and have inspected the entire structure.

 

[duraleigh]

I agree with gwegan. rust only happens when excessive moisture is present. You need to find a way to carry the moisture away from the post and only then, sand/grind it shiny and repaint.