What You Need To Know About Pressure-treated Wood

As anyone would readily attest, no man-made material can quite rival the natural and understated beauty of wood. This fact still holds true when it comes to building a deck in home to extend your living space. Despite the high maintenance cost, replacements and repair of wood for outdoor structures, there are numerous people who wouldn’t mind spending extra just to enjoy the comforting and elegant warmth of real wood decks.

Among the common problems with the use of wood is the possible infestation of termites, cracks and splinters, as well as rot and decay. However, the availability of pressure-treated wood can significantly help in preserving the beauty of wood all without sacrificing the quality of the material. Pressure treatment is generally a process of forcing some chemical preservatives and special treatments into the wood. This is done by placing the wood into a special enclosed cylinder, where both pressure and vacuum is applied in order to force the injection of preservations into the grains. This makes pressure-treated wood materials practically impervious to any fungal, insects and termite attacks.

The most common types of pressure treatments used today includes Oil-borne, waterborne, Creosote – which are the three classes of preservatives that are popularly used for pressure-treated wood. The waterborne treatment is typically used for commercial, industrial and residential structures. On the other hand, the Creosote is mainly for the treatment for railroad ties, timbers and guardrail posts that are used in marine structures. Oil-borne or Penta is for treating utility poles and cross arms.

Known to be the wood fro all season and highly recommended for outdoor structures, pressure-treated wood can easily withstand the harsh weather conditions and still be able to retain its original beauty. This alone makes it an ideal option for decks, porches picnic table, and almost everything else that would be directly exposed to the weather. The great thing is, pressure-treated wood is now made available in several forms depending on your construction needs, such as: lumber, plywood, posts and boards. However, there have been some alarming concerns with the hazards of using pressure-treated materials as it is said to pose serious threat to human health. When using this material, one should be extra careful when dealing with the sawdust, as it is a well-known irritant to the eyes, nose and skin. Be sure to use a good quality dust mask as well as prevent direct contact on skin by wearing protective gloves. It is also important to know that the sawdust should never be burned under any known circumstances since the smoke can be highly toxic. So if you are no expert in dealing with this kind of material, it is best to rely on the expertise of a trained professional to get the job done with minimum fuss.