I just had a long weekend in the Pacific Northwest and I have to say is sure is beautiful up there. Flat, hot Florida may be the destination but I could see myself up there. Anyway, my question. The pressure treated lumber in y’alls neck o’ the woods has a series of cuts on the faces and edges. Whats the deal?
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The wood up there doesn't soak up the PT chemicals as easily as our SYP, so they put those nicks in it to help the stuff soak in. I forget what wood they use.
They use anything they can get their hands on, but it's mostly jackpine--and mostly cut from trees about 6" at the butt, or so it seems LOL. We heard recently that production of CCA-treated wood is finally going to be stopped due to public concern about the long-term effects of living in an arsenic-soaked environment.
About time, too.
Dinosaur
'Y-a-tu de la justice dans ce maudit monde?
Yeah, CCA is going away here in Florida too, though there still seems to be plenty around. My local lumberyard had some ACQ samples and said the new stuff will cost about 50% more than CCA. Hopefully that doesn't prove to be true.
So is it possible to get non-incised PT lumber in the northwest for visible applications, like decking, or is it simply not available?
Andy
Incised PT wood is rated for "ground contact." Non incised PT is available for outdoor applications (decks, fences, etc...). I've had great success with the "wolmanized" non CCA wood and usually the cost is the same.
PS: The PNW had a great 3-months of summer. We now look forward to 9-months of drizzle. Come visit in late December when it's 35F, windy, rainy and the sun sets at 3:30. :) i.e. Gortex fails around here.
Yeah, I know about the winters - I lived up on Whidbey Island for a few years. I wish I could get back there, or anywhere west - Flat Florida is killing me!
Take care,
Andy
Glad to hear you were here for that one nice weekend of weather we had this year. They say we might get another one before 2003 is out.
The technical term is "incised", and most of our dimensional lumber is either Hemlock or Fir
I don't know the technical term, or much about it, but they "cut" the slices in, and the it enables more of the chemicals used in treating the wood to get deeper into the wood.