How To Make Treated Lumber

Sep 12, 2005 12 Replies

I'm getting ready to cut my own lumber from trees and I want to use the lumber for an outside project. What can I do to make the lumber survive outside? Can I make my own treated lumber?



Thanks, Dale



Depend. Do you like working with Arsenic?

If you live in Manville NJ you can just lay the lumber in your backyard. The creosote in the ground will leech into the lumber.

Other than that I don't think so.

No, you really can't make your own.

It takes lots of heat, pressure, nasty chemicals and expensive equipment.

On the other hand, there are many naturally rot-resistant woods - cedar and cypress, for example.

There are also coatings you can use to reduce the damaging effects of the sun. I like Flood's CWF-UV.

To help prevent water absortion into end grain, you can do something as simple as soaking the end of the wood in used motor oil.

These are many methods. I'm sure you'll be able to find one that works for you.

Gus

On 11 Sep 2005 18:49:16 -0700, with neither quill nor qualm, " snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com" quickly quoth:

Cut only black locust, cedar, redwood, or cypress trees for outside lumber.

Or take your cut pineywood to a kiln who will pressure-treat it for you. That should be a good trick!

"RayV" wrote in news:1126528752.842537.174880 @g49g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:

That is blatantly NOT TRUE! The asbestos fibers in the ground contamination soaked up all the creosote years ago!

It would probably be many many times cheaper to simply buy the wood that meets you specifications.

I should hope so as it would be peculiar to make lumber from anything else...

Farmers have been doing it for their fenceposts for centuries. Of course they planned ahead and planted rot-resistant wood like black locust or osage orange.

Which exit is that located ? :)

Got it.

Is that not the toll booth that hands out MSDSs after you pay the toll?

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