Treated or regular lumber?

[Richard]

Starting to finish the main room in the basement (walkout). One full side of it is under grade and not visible in the photo. The side under grade is the whole right side of the room and the photo is of the left corner which as you see, is fully exposed to air & sunlight.

If it matters to know, when storms come in, they seem to come in blowing towards this side of the house.

My question is, I've always thought/understood that when ever you have wood to concrete contact, you really should use treated lumber. Once you have a treated plate down, you can then use regular lumber.

On the side of the house that is under grade, I've used treated on the floor and as firring strips up the walls (I used treated 2x4's)

Now on this wall I'm wondering if I really NEED to use treated since it's so open air?

Frankly, I kind of hate using treated because of how freaking wet it is from the store and if you don't use it immediately, how it turns into a pretzle as it dries out.

So, I'd PREFER to use regular lumber (again 2x4's) up the wall as my firring strips. I keep falling back to the "always use treated against concrete or blocks" logic so I'm in a quandry.

Thought I'd ask for opinions?

 

[randy41]

i wouldn't want to use treated lumber inside my house.

 

[rlk]

It is my understanding that if the wood is in contact with masonry or concrete, or exposed to the elements, you must use treated wood.

Bob

 

[MikePA]

For the walls in your picture, I'd use a PT plate, I'd even use a sill seal between the plate and the concrete floor and use regular 2 x 4s as wall studs. There's noting wrong with using PT inside a house.

 

[Soundguy]

I'm with the other guys.. PT on anything wet, or in contact with ground/concrete/elements.. otherwise #2 white wood is ok.. etc.

Soundguy

 

[dmccarty]

I would use PT as well. Just make sure that your fasteners are rated for the PT chemicals used in the wood.

Later,
Dan

 

[Soundguy]

Funny enough.. doubledip galv is more $$ than stainless in my area... go figure..

Soundguy

 

[VABlue]

Keep PT on the floor in all cases. For the wall furrings, you should be okay without PT. My last house had a similar basement - concrete floor/block wall. The wall furrings were not PT and everything was good after 15 years of use before I sold it. But I couldn't vouch for the code...

 

[MikePA]

I keep falling back to the "always use treated against concrete or blocks" logic so I'm in a quandry.

The issue is block and concrete can absorb moisture, particularly concrete floors. This moisture can then seep into the lumber and cause rot if it's not PT.

With block walls, they should have been treated with sealer (below grade) or paint (above grade) so they won't transmit moisture to the studs. A 'pants and suspenders' kinda solution would be;

1. 2 x 6 PT sole plate with sill sealer beneath it.
2. 2 x 6 top plate
3. 2 x 4 wall placed flush with the interior edges of the sole and top plates

This will keep the 2 x 4s 2 inches away from the block wall.

 

[TBDonnelly]

In my area I've seen many basement where steel studs were used.

Don

 

[HappyCPE]

In my area I've seen many basement where steel studs were used.

Don

Bingo! Do like the commercial builders do and use metal studs, or a smaller metal furring channel fastened directly to the block wall.

Also, if you have a concern about moisture, address that rather than building to accomodate the water. You would be much better off sealing the space from water [liquid or vapor] than planning for wet building materials.

 

[MikePA]

Whether someone has moisture problems or not, direct contact with concrete requires PT wood.

 

[Richard]

Whether someone has moisture problems or not, direct contact with concrete requires PT wood.

That's always been my understanding too... I've decided I'll just go with the treated & not worry about it.

 

[Steve_Miller]

From what I remember around here, vapor barrier is required between masonry and wood no matter what type of wood.

Steve