Creosote

I have these old telegraph poles (cedar?) which are treated with creosote. I wanna use them as false beams in the house, but they stink. I'd like to learn how to remove the stink, not necesarrily the creosote stains themselves. Is it possible? Will a thorough coat of sealer do the trick?

Did you get any help about how to remove creosote from wood ?
I have some garden chairs which have been painted woith creosote by mistake. This means you cannot sit on them so I need to know how to remove it?

I don't think you will get it out of the wood. They impregnate pilings with it as a preservative. I think you are on to something with the sealer, though. How about a resin product? You know the stuff they use on bar tables that is really thick? I have used a product called Glaze Coat, the technical assistant at 800-767-4667 is very helpful. This product is good, but expensive and you have to follow the directions to a tee. Another idea is what they use on fiberglass boats, which is resin, and stinks too until you have time to outgas it. I wear a respirator when using it. It is considerably cheaper, though. You could look up "fiberglass" in the phone book, and ask to talk to the techical assistant, to see if it is appropriate. Good luck! I came to this site to get advice on removing the stuff from my boat, which was tracked in from a piling!

welcome to the forums foolinpadise , couple of things:

this is a UK based forum, the product you mention is not available over here (very similar is)
the phone number you give is for use in America
Post you replied to is over a year old
origonal post is nearly 2 years old

I wouldn't bother, You can't buy it anymore, and you aren't technically allowed to even own old stocks anymore either. EU regs, that for once I agreee with.

Sorry, to clarify, I was talking about creosote, very toxic, now banned

I believe the new regs even extend as far as things like telegraph poles that have been treated with creosote and their use. New H&S guidlines means that you can only use them in certain situations. I was looking to use old railway sleepers for walling, but the regs state that they cannot be used where there will be "frequent contact" by people. Whether this covers the breathing in of 'fumes' I'm not sure. Might be worth looking in to.

Your insurance company may not be too keen on you using them as I guess they would burn pretty well if there happened to be a fire.

I don't think I could stress enough, creosote is banned quite rightly, I would never have it in my house, it is banned for very good reasons. Whilst not a medical man, I do have a degree in chemistry. Be safe, steer clear.