Pressure Treated Wood & DryWall

[John]

I live in a split foyer, with a 3'5" high cinder block foundation.

I want to finish the basement bedroom off. It currently has the cinder block exposed, though it is coated with Super Thoroseal.

I bought some pressure treated 2x4's to use as furring strips. While screwing the 2x4's to the wall with some Tapcon screws I noticed a considerable amount of liquid being squeezed out of the wood by the screw heads.

How long should I wait before I tack up a vapor barrier and screw on the drywall???

I currently have an oscillating fan blowing on the framed walls. (Its been 48 hours, wood still seem very damp).

The Tapcon screws worked wonderfully, but I'm wondering how they will do when the wood starts to dry....

Any help/pointers would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

John

[Abe]

----------------------- I'm not sure about how dry the wood should be before you close up the wall, but as for the wood drying and screws holding, you don't have anything to worry about. The wood will shrink slightly as it dries, making the screws hold into the wood even tighter. I'm sure about that, because I've dealt with it before.

[m Ransley]

A split Foyer, sounds worse than a Terminal

[Roger]

Tapcon screws are available in stainless steel, and you may wish to consider them if you are not already finished the job. The carbon steel ones can corrode when in contact with copper based pt wood. The screw turns into a sacrificial anode in the copper electrolyte solution, eating away at the shaft of the screw. Try looking a collection of words in google like: "pressure treated" + tapcon

[Art Todesco]

[John]

The Tapcon screws I bought say on the front of the box "Approved for Treated Lumber". Though I did buy regular drywall screws.

-John

[Crooked]

You are paranoid. Pressure treated lumber is now treated, at least in Canada, with ACQ, replaced by CCA which contains arsenic. There are no health risks invovled with CCA. There are also no health risks associated with ACQ unless the chemical is still wet on the wood.

[Phisherman]

[Jeff Cochran]

The wood won't be fully dried for about six months, assuming normal humidity.

The Tapcons will do fine, Put up drywall whenever you're ready. You could have purchased PT lumber with a lower moisture content, but it likely wouldn't make a difference anyway.

Jeff