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Will I have problems running 16' deck boards through a planer and will I get a nice result? Will the pressure treated chemicals, or the years of tree muck adhered to the surface of the boards wreck the planer blades?
In terms of chemicals, it depends. ACQ (Alkaline Copper Quartenary) treated lumber has high levels of copper, which can promote corrosion of ...
8
Cleaning the deck is the right call here. I wouldn't in general countenance planing PT stock (or doing any other operation to it in bulk, especially sanding). Yes you can protect yourself from the dust at the time you're working it but without being alarmist, every particle of it should be considered a potential toxin.
Pressure-washing alone can do an ...
8
The equipment in your picture may be coated with a couple coats of an oil-based, penetrating stain. Or it may be just bare wood. Cedar and redwood, for example, stand up to weather very well on their own.
Much other playground equipment is made from regular pressure-treated lumber.
Before the early 2000s pressure treating lumber involved arsenic, but since ...
7
Mostly no, but you could. I would not because if it is treated lumber you run a risk of removing the protective layer that makes the treated lumber, well... treated. So with that said I would not. But you could take the risk because it might have been penetrated deep enough. The chemicals will more than likely not even hurt the planer but the muck will, so ...
7
If it's in contact with or partly buried in soil, and isn't adjacent to food plants, go with PT; it'll probaly last several times as long. If it's above grade and will dry out berween rainstorms, cedar will probably do just fine.
Note that these days there are other alternatives too -- some of the tropical hardwoods are moderately affordable and very ...
7
Much construction of playground equipment uses pressure-treated softwood (wood from conifer trees).
Current treatment of choice is ACQ (alkaline copper quaternary) but there is also CA (copper azole), SBX (sodium borate), and MCQ (micronized copper quaternary). In America the species most commonly treated is southern yellow pine. In other parts of the world ...
6
Personally, I wouldn't feel right using pressure treated wood for a birdhouse or bird feeder. Several gardening websites even recommend against using pressure-treated boards for garden boxes because the chemicals can leech into the soil and could be absorbed by any edible plants you're growing. I imagine these chemicals could also leech into birdfood (as in ...
6
Any wood left untreated and allowed to weather will eventually turn gray. In the days before pressure treated lumber was prominent, people stained or painted their decks and other outdoor projects to protect them from rot and graying. With the advent of pressure treating, the advice and common practice became to "let it weather naturally".
Determine the ...
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Rent a floor refinishing belt sander or a large orbital sander (24in disk) and keep the boards in place and sand them down. When you pull up those boards some will have a tendency to warp and twist which will be a nightmare to put back down straight.
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I'm not sure this qualifies as an answer, but we might be talking about two different things here.
Mills used to float logs in their millponds to minimize splitting and checking while they were being queued up for sawing. The idea is that it suspends the drying process, and logs can be sawn green even if those logs had to wait for weeks or months after ...
5
UFP Treated means that the wood is pressure treated with chromated copper arsenate (CCA) to make it less susceptible to rot. This technique comes from building boats, piers, carports, ... anything that is exposed to the elements and has been around for quite some time.
Opinions as to the CCA being poisonous in planting application such as yours vary ...
4
I have actually done this for several decks. The first step after removing the boards is to pressure wash the boards, top and bottom, to remove as much accumulated dirt and debris as possible.
Check for any visible metal such as staples, tacks, etc and remove them, it also never hurts to run a strong magnet along both sides to be sure.
Stack the boards on ...
4
Pressure treated moisture is different than 'green' moisture. There is two kinds of moisture in a tree, and the stuff that takes a long time to dry is the bound moisture inside the cells.
If you sticker your lumber outside where air can flow through it, in a couple weeks the vast majority of that induced moisture should be gone and it should be ready for ...
4
Use a naturally weather-resistant wood like cedar. It is relatively cheap and easy to maintain. A lot of playgrounds, fences, decks, and outdoor furniture are made out of cedar for this reason.
Cedar weathers to a silver color, becoming more gray with time. Or you could stain and seal it, just like a deck, if you don't want the gray color.
There are ...
3
Pressure treated lumber is treated with Alkaline Copper Quaternary (ACQ), an environmentally friendly water-based preservative that is free of arsenic and chromium. However, ACQ treated lumber is more corrosive to metal, so the right fastener is key to a safe, long lasting deck, fence or other outdoor project.
When nails are exposed to ACQ, a chemical ...
3
In the United States, since 2003, the availability of CCA pressure treated wood has been scant. EPA does not allow its use in residential applications, so it will be hard to find at your local lumber retailer, be it big box or small yard.
That being said, pressure treated products are readily available but with less threatening EPA approved chemicals. The ...
3
Cherry is not a durable species* as I presume you know, so a protective finish becomes a must to ensure a long life if using it outdoors.
Since you obviously don't have a problem with a fully varnished appearance that's good as this is the finishing option that will give you the best outdoor durability in an unpigmented finish.
But you should use a ...
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In the immortal words of Douglas Adams:
Don't Panic
Arsenic impregnated wood is not that toxic. Obviously, you don't want to make a baby teething ring from it, and if I had to sand it, I would work outside and wear a mask. There is also general consensus that you should not use the wood as firewood (because the ash is pretty toxic).
However, apart from ...
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First. Gluing pressure treated lumber. Once it has dried again it should glue like regular wood. It won't work at all if the lumber is still wet from the pressure treatment.
Second issue, to make this work with glue you will have to get glue that does not react with water. Normal 'wood' glue, the yellow stuff won't last long at all.
Is there any ...
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The extended contact with water is going to by far be the more important consideration. The only glue I know of that handles being perpetually wet is epoxy. There are entire product lines of epoxy especially made for boat building. Check out http://www.westsystem.com for one.
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Yes, just like any lumber, you should ideally always sticker your pressure-treated lumber and let it sit for a couple weeks before using it to let it dry out and acclimate to your environment.
Wood moves as it absorbs or releases moisture, even the moisture injected into it during the pressure-treating process. All you need to do for proof is to look at the ...
3
I remembered a product my father made me use when working on some pressure treated framing for a gazebo. Pressure treating rarely penetrates 100%, so any cut ends or drilled holes tend to be the first point of more severe decay. he made me paint/cover any cut ends and drilled holes with a clear, smelly liquid. I believe it was called something like a 'clear ...
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This is an excellent question (IMO). I've worked on a number of different projects like this. I think for things like a pergola, cedar would be a great choice. It is relatively light, is easily worked and weathers beautifully.
Pressure treated is great when it won't be visible. I find it does not stain or seal exceptionally well, however it is strong and ...
3
I'm going to answer this question as if the primary question is intended: "is this a good way to treat pressure-treated lumber for indoor use" in case anyone else stumbles across this Q&A.
The answer is no.
Washing the lumber with water and bleach isn't going to do anything. PT lumber has been soaked or sprayed with a mixture of chemicals and then ...
3
Converting my Comments above into an Answer as per a request.
I was told (Baltic) Birch, but I assume that would need to be sealed.
Although it's not sold to be used outdoors, if there'd be no direct weather on them then Baltic birch is actually an option.
But if there's the least chance of rain getting blown under there during a storm, or even splashes ...
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I think the answer is, "it's up to you" and "it depends". All materials will have pros and cons. PT lumber is cheaper than cedar, but cedar looks better (IMO) and smells nice. Cedar fades over time whereas composite materials might hold up better. PT lumber requires coated screws and composite materials sometimes require specialized screws. Other woods ...
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When I reinforced my carport, I added pressure-treated 2x4 bracing. The ends were cut at an angle, so I sprayed on a heavy coat of Copper-Green® Brown wood preservative on the exposed ends, and let them dry, before assembling the reinforcement.
Copper-Green Brown will turn wood brown. This is exactly what I wanted; the resulting color matches the brown ...
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I found this:
To protect against arsenic exposure, Warren recommends using oil-based semi-transparent sealant every two years. He explains they make a clear seal, but it is not recommended because it only lasts 6 months. Warren says a seal with a little color that repels ultra-violet rays is recommended. Don't use latex-based because it will blister and ...
1
Galvanized and coated deck screws rust in treated pine; I am sure it has very little to do with the treatment. The first screws failed at about 10 years but a few lasted 20 years. I expect the stainless replacements to last much longer; The box indicates they are 316 SS which is likely true. Driving the heads down into the wood makes it worse because the ...
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Since this is US/Canada, when you talk about "treated" I assume you're talking about CCA (Copper-Chrome-Arsenic).
The answer is simple enough - buy a test kit. Google on arsenic wood test kit. For instance, on Amazon you can find Industrial-Test-Systems-481396-W-Arsenic and Walmart sells Arsenic-481396-W-Quick-Wood-Field-Testing-Kit
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