sealing treated timber

[Deluks]

Fully submerged timber won't rot in the traditional sense, as the fungi and mould itself needs oxygen as well as the moisture. Not to mention the right temperature.

You can see in cut sections of deckboard and posts that where a green or brown tinged treatment has been used, the core of the timber remains it's natural colour.

Anyway, go with the Ronseal if it's more convenient/cheaper. They will probably be good for 10 years even without treating, so don't lose sleep over it. (As I have by typing out these three paragraphs!)

 

[joe-90]

Has anyone ever seen CCA timber rotting? I haven't. Whether it goes right through or not there seems to be enough in there to stop any infestation.

 

[gaz100uk]

Well didnt mean to start any arguments....
Thanks for that Deluks, think i will get the ronseal one and go with that.

 

[dextrous]

Well didnt mean to start any arguments....
Thanks for that Deluks, think i will get the ronseal one and go with that.

Not arguing, just fact finding

 

[dextrous]

.....You may get a peice of softwood that is 100% sapwood - so basically lots of 'space' - the vacume sucks out the air from the space and fills with treatment chemicals - these peices will not need the ends sealing. But the chance of you getting 100% softood is slim to nil so why take the chance.

Hope I have explained in reasonable terms, will try to explain further if anybody is interested (I used to run a merchant with a vacvac tank!).

With this in mind, you clearly have superior knowledge and there's no point arguing against experience

 

[Patochik]

quote]With this in mind, you clearly have superior knowledge and there's no point arguing against experience

No worries, been reading through this forum the last few days and there is a fair bit of assumption that could lead to problems for others. Thought I would do my bit and try and help out and hopefully leave people less open to chance - and the material failing gving further problems down the line.

My biggest bug bear at work is people giving wood products a bad rep because it is being handled/used/processed incorrectly. As somebody else commented on they have left treated softwood outside for many years without problems, but this is normally an exception not a rule - the guy in question has been lucky in my experience. Ultimatelty its all down to education, and I will try and do my bit - hopefully without sounding too patronising or clever.

 

[joe-90]

I've never seen CCA timber with any rot in it whatsoever so I guess it MUST have been fully treated. BTW, how does CCA stop the rot ? Give us the science.

 

[Patochik]

I've never seen CCA timber with any rot in it whatsoever so I guess it MUST have been fully treated. BTW, how does CCA stop the rot ? Give us the science.

See my previous post for the science, and an explanation of why you may have seen any treated softwood without decay. If you still disagree with me then I would suggest reading the following websites (2 of the largest European providers of timber treatment) for confirmation of the reccomended procedure when dealing with pressure treated timber:

http://www.archchemicals.com/Fed/WOOD/Docs/Con_Info_Tan_E.pdf
(second page: "end use considerations" - Arch Timber Protection.

http://www.protimsolignum.com/osmose/frames.htm
("Timber Care" - Osmose Website)

The 'we always did it this way' attitude is a very common occurance in the woodwork industry unfortunately. You can get away with bad practise from time to time but ultimately you cannot rely on chance to ensure the longevity of the product and the odds say you are likely get caught out in the end.

 

[joe-90]

History has proven me right. We work the sharp end in the real world, and that's a far cry from sticking a bit of timber in a pressure vessel. The extra treatment you give the cut timber will have long become ineffective by the time the CCA chemicals no-longer work. It's just a pointless expense.

 

[gaz100uk]

Well seeing as every web site i see mentions about sealing freshly cut end grains, thats what im going to do. Id rather spend an extra £10 and the structure last that much longer, rather than lose out becuase the wood has taken on extra water and started to break down.

 

[joe-90]

Do what you like it's your money. The CCA timber comes with a 15 year anti rot guarantee no matter what you do with it. Your Ronseal won't last half that time.

 

[Patochik]

Do what you like it's your money. The CCA timber comes with a 15 year anti rot guarantee no matter what you do with it. Your Ronseal won't last half that time.

So you didn't bother to read the links posted above then? You know, the links to the manufacturers of the treatment chemicals, which both clearly state that sealing of the ends or any cut pieces is required for any guarantee to stand?

As I said, I don't want to get into an argument. No sweat of my arse if you want to leave things to chance - just trying to educate and assist.

As for the 'real world', I have been in the timber game all my working life and am an Associate member of the Institute of Wood Science - educated in the subject to just below degree level.

 

[Deluks]

I replaced some badly installed fence posts recently, were only a foot deep on a 5ft height. They couldn't have been in the ground more than four years, (the people living there had them done when they moved in)
When digging them out found that the ends were rotten, large areas of wet rot, plus some white patches. They were slotted posts with the rounded top, so the installer had to cut the bottoms to get the height.
Had it been me I would've soaked them in a bucket of something before putting them in the ground.

 

[Deluks]

Do what you like it's your money. The CCA timber comes with a 15 year anti rot guarantee no matter what you do with it. Your Ronseal won't last half that time.

So you didn't bother to read the links posted above then?

It's a well esta-blish-ed fact on here that Joe can't read.

 

[joe-90]

As for the 'real world', I have been in the timber game all my working life and am an Associate member of the Institute of Wood Science - educated in the subject to just below degree level.

That's your weakness then. We do it - you talk about it. Never seen rot in CCA timber yet -and until I do - I won't waste time and effort and money on it. But if you want to - then be my guest.