Pressure Treated Lumber

RonL · Oct 22, 2003

All I can find is .25 pressure treated lumber. I can't find .40 or higher CCA trated lumber. Is this part of the phase out?

RonL

Junkman · Oct 22, 2003

try Morse Lumber in Southbridge, MA.....

DocHeb · Oct 24, 2003

The Home Depot near me carries ground contact, 0.40 retention CCA Lumber.

llewellynsd · Oct 24, 2003

Ronl,
Just at our local Lowes store and most if not all of there pressure treated lumber was .40.

Maybe try them?

Renze · Oct 24, 2003

For our flatbed trailers we just throw a bucket of old engine oil over it and use a street brush on it till everything is soaked in.

That will keep it protected from the elements for 2 or 3 years. Usually i change engine oils earlier than 2 years so there is enough to do all my trailers. Very cheap too... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Soundguy · Oct 27, 2003

Unfortunately that adds quite a bit of 'point source' pollution to the environment. A better choice would be an asphalt paint product... much safer for the environment.. and brushes on just as easy.

You could probably paint copper napthenape on as well.... that preserves and bug proofs real good...

markct · Oct 27, 2003

soundguy, there is alot of oils in asphalt paints also, i would think that some runoff is associated with them also, it seems that as long as the oil isnt too much more than what can be absorbed by the wood then it shouldnt be too much problem. a funny example of environmentalists overbearing ways was proved to me once by something that happened at my fathers workplace. a company was hired to oil and chipcoat the roads in the complex, they had a tractor trailer tanker parked in the parking lot and they transfered the heavy oil from the tractor trailer to the small truck they went around and spread the oil with. well when filling the small truck they managed to somehow spill a decent amount of the oil in the parking lot, so the operator just took a heavy broom and spread it around, and then started to spread stone on it, just like they were doing on the roads. well aparently someone saw this and called the DEP, they showed up with skidsteers and spread sand all over and started scraping up the oil from the parking lot. im sure this cost thousands. it was so sensless since they were spreading it for miles and miles, yet a bit in the parking lot was considered an environmental issue.

Soundguy · Oct 28, 2003

Yes.. that was senseless... The special MS asphalt emulsion prime cures to an enviromentally stable form. You can check the MSDS sheets for it... that is why roads are 'primed' or 'tack' coated before asphalt is applied to limerock finsh grade. Chipseal / coat is very similar.

I'm a CE.. I do this kind of work every day at the road construction co. I work for. Something similar happened to us.. we were overlaying roads in a small community. A nosy neighbor noticed our prime truck had a bit of a leak from the spray bar, and made a small slick on the parking area for our equipment.... they did the same thing.. except that as soon as the dep official got there.. he threw up his hands and left.. knowing that the asphalt emulsion was environmentally inert..
Apparently the 'anonymous' caller said we were dumpil 'oil' on the ground... In the pollution controll world, there is a big difference from 'oil' and 'asphalt emulsion'.

As for the asphalt paint I spoke of, once the voc's evaporate, the remaining asphalt residue is also nearly env. inert.... No water contamination once cured.. no leaching or migration.. etc. again.. MSDS's are free... you can check them yourself.

Used engine oil.. which by the way, is classified as a hazardous waste by the dep. will not cure, and will leach and migrate from the wood.

There was a huge discussion about this about a year ago... bottom line was.. why polute when there is a better way... ( not cheaper.. as the used oil is -free-.. but there is a better way.. )

Used oil in a can in your shop soaking tools is one thing.. but applied in a manner where it is highly likely to contaminate the environment is at least irresponsible, and in the extreme.. illegal.

If you want more info on the legality of introducing waste oil into the environment, look up a recent court case in volusia county, florida... Public works workers and contractors were discovered doing this.. big story.. lotsa fines and jail time..

Aside from the facts.. keep in mind that this earth has to last all of us the rest of our lives, and the rest of our race's life.

Believe me.. I'm not a 'green' thumper... I realize that inadvertant pollution is inveitable.. a drip here, and there isn't the problem... the problems are the sources that we can control...

Soundguy

Bob_Skurka · Oct 28, 2003

Soundguy, I am also NOT a green advocate, but I don't want my well contaminated by people who THINK they are doing something smart. I appreciate your post and your explinations.

I also am very surprised that nobody bothered to say anything about the dangers of CCA pressure treated lumber. That stuff is just plain bad to use, be around, and worse yet let your kids come in contact with. I have some on my property but I don't like, and I hate using it. And now that there are safer alternatives that work just as well, I never buy the stuff.

Soundguy · Oct 28, 2003

( Soundguy, I am also NOT a green advocate, but I don't want my well contaminated by people who THINK they are doing something smart. I appreciate your post and your explinations.
)

Thanks for the words of support. Often after apost like this I expect a rash of hatemail about being a conservative environmentalist, or something to that effect.. when i am really only trying to point out that we are all stewards of the environment. There will be some pollution sources that we just can't feasably control.... like the erant drip of oil while the tractor is running in the field.. etc.. It is the controllable sources that we need to button up...
Luckilly as you point out, many new products are on the market in the last few decades that are considerably more friendly to the environment, and still very effective.
( Anyone remember chloradain ( spelling? ) termiteacide.. worked great... for years and years and years untill we found out how long it lasts and how toxic it was.. to us.. )

( I also am very surprised that nobody bothered to say anything about the dangers of CCA pressure treated lumber. That stuff is just plain bad to use, be around, and worse yet let your kids come in contact with. I have some on my property but I don't like, and I hate using it. And now that there are safer alternatives that work just as well, I never buy the stuff. )

Good point. most of us overlook the effect of arsenic as it really isn't 'seen' on a daily basis.. and doesn't leave an oil slick on water for the dialy news to broadcast. Though I'm no chemist.. I believe that arsenic slowly build up in the body until it reaches an 'effective' level.. and that is when you see the problems. That coupled with the fact that it is slow to leave the body is what eventually led most federal jobsites involving children.. ( playgrounds.. parks.. etc ) to go to the NON-cca lumber.. etc.

Strangely enough.. seems like arsenic standards for 'allowable' concentraion levels are being relaxed... go figure.

thanks

Soundguy