Is the NEW Treated Wood any good?
 

Now that they have banned the Arsenic treatment for lumber, I am
wondering if this new treated wood is any good? The stuff barely even
looks treated. I do favor eliminating toxic chemicals from our lives,
I am not going to pay for treated lumber that will be rotted in a few
years and from the looks of this new stuff, I fear it will rot as fast
as untreated lumber. I just discovered this new stuff, and I refused
to buy it. I was lucky to find a small rural lumber yard that had a
large stock of the older arsenic treated wood on hand, and even though
it cost more, I bought it. At least I know it will last for years
like all the older treated lumber did. Somehow I have a feeling this
new (so called) treated lumber is little more than plain lumber
sprayed with a green colored water. I dont want it !

Is the NEW Treated Wood any good?
 

Is the NEW Treated Wood any good?
 

My experience is that the treatment only penetrates a small distance into
the wood, everywhere from 1/4 to a couple of inches depending on the wood. I
have seen pressure treated wood develop a crack in the surface that exposes
the untreated portion allowing water and fungus to enter and the wood to rot
from the inside so that it is like a tree that looks sound but is hollow in
the center.

"Tony Hwang" wrote in message
news:WWopi.2960$rX4.2724@pd7urf2no...
wrote:
Now that they have banned the Arsenic treatment for lumber, I am
wondering if this new treated wood is any good? The stuff barely even
looks treated. I do favor eliminating toxic chemicals from our lives,
I am not going to pay for treated lumber that will be rotted in a few
years and from the looks of this new stuff, I fear it will rot as fast
as untreated lumber. I just discovered this new stuff, and I refused
to buy it. I was lucky to find a small rural lumber yard that had a
large stock of the older arsenic treated wood on hand, and even though
it cost more, I bought it. At least I know it will last for years
like all the older treated lumber did. Somehow I have a feeling this
new (so called) treated lumber is little more than plain lumber
sprayed with a green colored water. I dont want it !


Hmmm,
Very interesting. You do favor eliminating toxic chemicals and yet buy
that lumber treated with arsenic. I never knew arsenic is not toxic, LOL!
I built a cabin on a newly treated wood pile, after 10 years it still
stands. Whatever that green stuff is injected into wood.

Is the NEW Treated Wood any good?
 

According to :
Now that they have banned the Arsenic treatment for lumber, I am
wondering if this new treated wood is any good? The stuff barely even
looks treated. I do favor eliminating toxic chemicals from our lives,
I am not going to pay for treated lumber that will be rotted in a few
years and from the looks of this new stuff, I fear it will rot as fast
as untreated lumber. I just discovered this new stuff, and I refused
to buy it. I was lucky to find a small rural lumber yard that had a
large stock of the older arsenic treated wood on hand, and even though
it cost more, I bought it. At least I know it will last for years
like all the older treated lumber did. Somehow I have a feeling this
new (so called) treated lumber is little more than plain lumber
sprayed with a green colored water. I dont want it !

CCA lumber (the old stuff) came in various grades. I think three
that can be termed "regular" (above ground), "ground contact"
(eg: sills and posts) and "marine" (full immersion). These were
based on testing the material for deterioration, and production
is done by tables of pressure/concentration/duration etc.

The stuff you'd normally buy would be "regular".

The "new stuff", like ACQ, has to pass the same durability tests.

As I've heard, ACQ lumber fully meets the "regular" durability
standards, but isn't generally available (if at all) in ground
contact or marine grades.

You will find that the new stuff is just as good as the old stuff
for above ground work. It's primary drawback is that it eats
fasteners, and you have to use high end galvanized or stainless.

Don't judge by the color. The strong green you saw on CCA didn't
mean high quality. In fact, it meant the exact opposite -
poorly controlled production.
--
Chris Lewis,

Age and Treachery will Triumph over Youth and Skill
It's not just anyone who gets a Starship Cruiser class named after them.

Is the NEW Treated Wood any good?
 

Tony Hwang wrote:


Hmmm,
Very interesting. You do favor eliminating toxic chemicals and yet buy
that lumber treated with arsenic. I never knew arsenic is not toxic,
LOL! I built a cabin on a newly treated wood pile, after 10 years it
still stands. Whatever that green stuff is injected into wood.

Arsenic, per se, is not toxic - it's the concentration that counts.

Arsenic just becomes toxic at a lower concentration than, say, Kellogg's
Frosted Flakes.

Is the NEW Treated Wood any good?
 

Thats why you have to look for the "ground contact" rating. I can't
believe they sell pressure treated landscaping timbers that are not rated
for ground contact. Yet people buy em (pressure treated is pressure treated,
right?) thinking they are getting a bargain and they rot out in 5 years
(the timbers, not the people).

The local big box store had timbers on sale (rated for ground contact in the
ad). WHen I got to the store I could not find a single sale timber that had
the ground contact rating printed on it. YEt the more expensive timber (next
pile over) had the ground contact rating on every timber. I bypassed the
sale.

This goes both for the old arsenixc ones and the AC-3 ones.

"EXT" wrote in message
anews.com...
My experience is that the treatment only penetrates a small distance into
the wood, everywhere from 1/4 to a couple of inches depending on the wood.
I have seen pressure treated wood develop a crack in the surface that
exposes the untreated portion allowing water and fungus to enter and the
wood to rot from the inside so that it is like a tree that looks sound but
is hollow in the center.

"Tony Hwang" wrote in message
news:WWopi.2960$rX4.2724@pd7urf2no...
wrote:
Now that they have banned the Arsenic treatment for lumber, I am
wondering if this new treated wood is any good? The stuff barely even
looks treated. I do favor eliminating toxic chemicals from our lives,
I am not going to pay for treated lumber that will be rotted in a few
years and from the looks of this new stuff, I fear it will rot as fast
as untreated lumber. I just discovered this new stuff, and I refused
to buy it. I was lucky to find a small rural lumber yard that had a
large stock of the older arsenic treated wood on hand, and even though
it cost more, I bought it. At least I know it will last for years
like all the older treated lumber did. Somehow I have a feeling this
new (so called) treated lumber is little more than plain lumber
sprayed with a green colored water. I dont want it !


Hmmm,
Very interesting. You do favor eliminating toxic chemicals and yet buy
that lumber treated with arsenic. I never knew arsenic is not toxic, LOL!
I built a cabin on a newly treated wood pile, after 10 years it still
stands. Whatever that green stuff is injected into wood.

Is the NEW Treated Wood any good?
 

wrote in message
...
Now that they have banned the Arsenic treatment for lumber, I am
wondering if this new treated wood is any good? The stuff barely
even
looks treated. I do favor eliminating toxic chemicals from our
lives,
I am not going to pay for treated lumber that will be rotted in a
few
years and from the looks of this new stuff, I fear it will rot as
fast
as untreated lumber. I just discovered this new stuff, and I
refused
to buy it. I was lucky to find a small rural lumber yard that had
a
large stock of the older arsenic treated wood on hand, and even
though
it cost more, I bought it. At least I know it will last for years
like all the older treated lumber did. Somehow I have a feeling
this
new (so called) treated lumber is little more than plain lumber
sprayed with a green colored water. I dont want it !


It appears that you have a misconception about treated wood.
Treated wood does Not prevent it from rotting.
Its purpose is to prevent termite and other bug infestation - has
noting to do with preservative.
Bob-tx

Is the NEW Treated Wood any good?
 

According to Bob :

It appears that you have a misconception about treated wood.
Treated wood does Not prevent it from rotting.
Its purpose is to prevent termite and other bug infestation - has
noting to do with preservative.

Actually both. The formulations are designed to be toxic to
both insects and rot fungi/molds. CCA had copper (first C) to kill
fungi (copper is specific to invertibrates and plants), and arsenic
(the A) to kill or at least discourage insects. The second C
(chromium) keeps it together, and isn't terribly nice either.
--
Chris Lewis,

Age and Treachery will Triumph over Youth and Skill
It's not just anyone who gets a Starship Cruiser class named after them.

Is the NEW Treated Wood any good?
 

Chris Lewis wrote:
According to Bob :

It appears that you have a misconception about treated wood.
Treated wood does Not prevent it from rotting.
Its purpose is to prevent termite and other bug infestation - has
noting to do with preservative.

Actually both. The formulations are designed to be toxic to
both insects and rot fungi/molds. CCA had copper (first C) to kill
fungi (copper is specific to invertibrates and plants), and arsenic
(the A) to kill or at least discourage insects. The second C
(chromium) keeps it together, and isn't terribly nice either.

Yeah, I had thought maybe previous poster would find some more about
treated wood properties of interest, too...

http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/rwu4723/pre...ation_faq.html

http://www.southernpine.com/pt_southernpine.shtml

--

Is the NEW Treated Wood any good?
 

wrote in :

Now that they have banned the Arsenic treatment for lumber, I am
wondering if this new treated wood is any good? The stuff barely even
looks treated. I do favor eliminating toxic chemicals from our lives,
I am not going to pay for treated lumber that will be rotted in a few
years and from the looks of this new stuff, I fear it will rot as fast
as untreated lumber. I just discovered this new stuff, and I refused
to buy it. I was lucky to find a small rural lumber yard that had a
large stock of the older arsenic treated wood on hand, and even though
it cost more, I bought it. At least I know it will last for years
like all the older treated lumber did. Somehow I have a feeling this
new (so called) treated lumber is little more than plain lumber
sprayed with a green colored water. I dont want it !




The lowdown:

The New Pressure-Treated Wood
The EPA is banning CCA lumber. The replacements are safer, but they may
change how you build a deck.

http://www.taunton.com/finehomebuild...ood-decks.aspx