What is going on with pressure treated wood?

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HonorAndHonesty

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So now there is a lot of pressure treated wood being sold as ground contact type, even if its not going to contact the ground they say to use it if the area is damp, hard to access, over water etc...

I have a bridge made of pressure treated wood that was installed in 06 and by 2010 parts were already rotting out. I have found some of the pressure treated wood sold after they quit using CCA as a method of treatment. I am glad that the new formula is safer, however I am wondering if the manufactures were forced to change their formulas again since the first non CCA PT Wood was such junk. Home depot states that standards are changing, hence the new ground contact even when its not ground contact wood.

Home depot PT Wood

I am about to replace the wood on that bridge that was from 07, but I want to make sure I don't put more junk on there since I am looking at 600 dollars in materials.

Any ideas? Experiences?

I will probably go with menards cedar tone PT 2x6 lumber for my project
 
Pressure treated wood has not been kind to my home projects. Wood fences with ground contact seem to rot out relatively fast. I've had decent luck with non-pressure treated wood that I paint with a liquid roof sealer. I've had one fence, where I painted the bottom of the boards and the bottom of the posts both with liquid roof sealer, hold up well after 15 years.
 
Pressure treated wood is NOT what it used to be. It'll still rot. FAST.

You can use PT, but it still needs water treatment protection.

The engineered stuff is more durable but expensive.
 
In short, the code changed since people don't do their homework and assume that pressure treated is pressure treated... and didn't realize there are varying levels of treatment.

A lot of what was sold was not ground contact rated, but used in situations that it should have been. The end result: a lot of failing pressure treated lumber and a bad reputation.

Suggestion: while buying at the big box stores can work if you know what you are doing, sometimes buying from an actual lumberyard is the right way to go. Way too much stuff sold at the big boxes that doesn't meet code or doesn't explain what the difference is... The lumberyard generally will get you exactly what you need (if they are a good one).
 
Originally Posted By: Eddie
Treated wood is being replaced by"engineered wood"Thermo Plastic"" when they rebuild fishing piers. Might be worth a look. Ed


Plastic "lumber" is awesome stuff. With proper UV inhibitors added it never has to be painted, won't rot, is strong and easy to use, and looks great. Plus, no splinters (think outdoor decking).
 
Hardest part on my pier has been shipworms can eat up treated posts in about 3 years. Not wanting to work with creosote - I now slip PVC pipe over treated posts and fill the annulus with thin set cement. Once cemented together they are pretty solid and nothing will bore into them.
 
Originally Posted By: DBMaster
Originally Posted By: Eddie
Treated wood is being replaced by"engineered wood"Thermo Plastic"" when they rebuild fishing piers. Might be worth a look. Ed


Plastic "lumber" is awesome stuff. With proper UV inhibitors added it never has to be painted, won't rot, is strong and easy to use, and looks great. Plus, no splinters (think outdoor decking).


The only problem is I cant find plastic wood in 2x6 dimension locally. I cant use deck boards as the decking because I often drive heavy (1000+lbs) stuff such as a mower and an atv over it.

The good thing is that The supports of the bridge is very thick square steel beams, two at the ends and two where most of the weight is where you drive over. So that part should last almost forever I hope.

I got to get it fixed and 600 is over budget already so I guess I will try Ground contact rated wood.

The previous owner put the bridge in and I am guessing he didn't use the proper wood.
 
Originally Posted By: Kool1
Pressure treated wood has not been kind to my home projects. Wood fences with ground contact seem to rot out relatively fast. I've had decent luck with non-pressure treated wood that I paint with a liquid roof sealer. I've had one fence, where I painted the bottom of the boards and the bottom of the posts both with liquid roof sealer, hold up well after 15 years.


I did something similar with my mailbox post and after 7 years its still a-ok, except for being hit 3 times!
 
You might want to try something like White Oak heart wood, untreated. Might be very cheap locally, look for a guy sawing rail ties as they are usually cheap heart wood, he could saw them in half or thirds for you too, check the www.forestryforum.com. I use red cedar for nice outdoor stuff with no stain and it silvers up and seems to last a long time. And I used white oak for outdoor hay feeders for my goats. They lasted very well for 7-8 years until I bought a round bale feeder. Sealing is a great idea until the seal fails in a spot then you've got moisture trapped in the wood. Like a headlight with an small hole, somehow it gets more moisture in than out.
Also I believe the newer pressure treated formulations cause metal to rust faster as well, so you may want to look into that, as you don't want to rust out the beams.
 
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