Pressure Treated Wood
Also called Pressure Treated Timber, Pressure Treated Lumber, PT Timber or PT Lumber. Pressure Treated Lumber is wood treated with preservative solutions to protect it from being destroyed by insects, fungus or exposure to moisture.For the construction of the cabin PT lumber was used where it would be in contact or in close proximity with the ground or concrete. Regular cabin building lumber (i.e. spruce) will degrade faster when moisture from the ground, fungi and insects around. Wood preservatives have been used around the world for many years.
Pressure treated wood products are manufactured by forcing preservative solutions into the wood cells using vacuum/pressure and thermal processes.
All wood preservatives and processes are subject to strict government regulation and environmental/safety controls.
Types of Wood Preserving Treatments
Chromated copper arsenate, type C (CCA-C) was until recently the industry’s standard wood preservative, but alternative treatments such as alkaline copper quat (ACQ) and copper azole (CA) have replaced CCA-C in products destined for most exterior residential applications. CCA is no longer being produced for residential or general consumer use.In addition to these two newer preservatives, sodium borate (SBX) treated lumber is now used for many interior applications. The formulation of Alkaline Copper Quaternary or Copper Azole includes copper as the primary protection against termites and fungal decay and supplemental protection against copper tolerant fungi.