A question about timber durability goes something like this: Is this timber treated?
Yes, it is. And that’s the last you hear of the subject. The treated timber is then immediately put to work on the job.
If all you say is ‘treated’, then that’s all you think you’ve achieved. To treat timber is to think that it is so protected, but that is not the same as saying it is invincible. And it is that gap between thinking and reality that can lead to problems – and expensive ones, too.
Protection is specific, not blanket.
The point is worth underlining: there is no blanket category of treated timber. There are types based on purposes, depths of treatment, and levels of protection achieved. There are differences, for example, between different types of protection afforded to treated timber used above-ground and that used in ground contact. Being protected against fungal decay does not automatically mean that the timber is protected against wood-boring insects, for instance, even if it has been treated with a preservative. And for timbers in certain use classes, preservatives may perform poorly in wet conditions.
It’s not just the type of timber that matters, but also the conditions under which it is supposed to operate. That means looking at the specification of the treated timber and the use class for which it is intended, and nothing beyond that provides anything useful unless there is a matching specification.
It’s worth remembering that treated timber is not a panacea. To treat timber is to begin with a process that results in timber being better protected against certain conditions, not to compensate for general incompetence in detailing, handling, and installing the timber correctly.
If one end of a piece of timber is cut and left unsealed, for example, then the protection afforded against moisture penetrating through the timber is not suddenly removed; it has been lost on that surface. Similarly, if timber is not stored properly or lies damp in a pile awaiting installation, the protection afforded has already been compromised. Treated timber is not a blanket against incompetence; it is just the beginning of the process. For Timber Merchants Bournemouth, visit https://www.timbco.co.uk/timber-merchants-bournemouth/
Perhaps the question should be: ‘What standard and use class conditions is the timber supposed to operate under, and how was it treated – for example, UC3, UC4, vacuum pressure impregnated or dip treated?’
Treated timber is excellent, but don’t assume that someone using the word as a shorthand for thinking has done anything of the sort. Using the word without thinking has just put the timber in situations it doesn’t really want to be in.
Seek knowledge! Assume nothing!
