Re: How can I tell if it's pressure treated lumber

[Doug Miller]

I have access to a stack of leftover lumber, but it may be pressure

>treated. Can't tell from the color. Is there a simple test or way to >determine this? I mostly want to know if there's some chemical in it >that I want to avoid. I'd like to make some shelves but don't want to >use treated lumber. >

Not trying to be rude, but... whaddaya mean, you can't tell from the color? There's a *dramatic* color difference between treated and untreated pine, unless it's badly weathered. If it's badly weathered and still intact, it's probably treated. If you're still in doubt, cut a few inches off of one end to expose a fresh surface.

-- Regards, Doug Miller (alphageek-at-milmac-dot-com)

[Hylourgos]

Hey Doug,

I know what you mean, most PT wood is ugly green, but I've seen plenty that wasn't. The batch I have access to shows an ever so slight tinge of green, but it might just be green wood, or because it's been sitting in the moist shade outside for a while. It was used for a children's playground, so I hope it isn't for their sake, but god knows how many playgrounds I've seen built by rednecks with no sense and lots of PT 2xs.

Oh, and some of the new chemicals they're using to treat wood doesn't show as much as some of the older methods.

That's why I was hoping someone would know of an easy test to determine if the wood has arsenic residue. The day you start trusting your eyes only to determine what's poison is a sad one indeed....

H.