Hi, I am building a pergola (overhead shade) out of treated lumber, the customer has already purchased. I would really like to paint or stain the members on the ground before assembly. I’ve recieved dozens of suggestions from vendors and online, many of them conflicting. Your turn…. can I, should I and how do I paint or stain new, treated lumber or should I bite the bullet and come back in three months and climb a ladder? Thanks
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The only successful efforts I've seen to paint or stain PT lumber is after it has pretty well dried out. Most PT lumber is SPF (spruce, pine or fir) usually from younger trees and very subject to twisting, checking, warping, etc. In my experience, it seems to hold it's shape better if it's bolted together green so it is forced to take a certain set.
Once it's dry, paint or stain it. If you find a paint or stain that will adhere to moisture laden wood, the stuff is still going to shrink and check and split to a degree and will require touch up painting.
I say, get out your ladder!
" Most PT lumber is SPF....."
I've never seen treated SPF lumber. Was that a typo? Around here it's 100% SYP.
Cooperation can only be reached if we work together.
So that you continue to amass the knowledge that enables you to maintain your status as one of the sages of this board, I submit to you the following:
SPF (Spruce, Pine and Fir) are the species of choice for pressure treating in the Pacific Northwest due to the availability of the wood and the ability of SPF to take a deep treatment.
The species commonly found in treated wood here are:
Sitka Spruce (picea sitchensis)
Western Hemlock (tsuga heterophylla)
Lodgepole Pine (pinus contorta)
Grand Fir (abies grandis)
Hemlock is probably the most prevalent from our two treatment plants here, locally, with spruce running a close second. My personal choice of is Hemlock because the quality of the wood is usually better and it is a little more stable in my experience. Most of the stuff they treat here is second or third growth timber so it tends to be pretty coarse grained and the spruce is given to big knots at times. When using it for deck framing it's important to keep an eye out for critical defects like knots or ingrown bark, etc., so that the best, most uniform pieces go into critical structural areas, if you get my drift. In spite of what generic span tables may say, I always assume that PT wood of any kind is somewhat on the weak, brittle side and use it accordingly.
All this being said, one does see Douglas Fir treated for some applications, although it doesn't accept treatment very well and I tore down a house once that had pressure treated Western Red Cedar mudsills!
SYP is rarely seen out here. I have seen some oldgrowth SYP used for boat planking.
"So that you continue to amass the knowledge that enables you to maintain your status as one of the sages of this board.....
Sounds like you're as full of it as I am.............(-:
That's the first I've ever heard of any lumber being treated other that SYP. But it's always good to learn something new. How far west of the Mississippi do you go before treated lumber changes to SPF? Does it change up near Canada, like in the Dakotas?
I've heard that the reason SYP is treated here is that it absorbs less of the chemical than SPF. Don't really know for sure that it's true, but it sound logical.
I disagree with unanimity.
It's probably a regional thing, depending on what's available so my answer is: I don't know. Most of our treated wood serves the West coast, Hawaii and the South Pacific.
My knowledge is about a mile wide and an inch deep, which distinguishes me from the truly wise ones, such as yourself, whose wisdom pours forth on these boards with great depth and clarity.
So, answer me this: Where is the geographical demarcation in the USA where creeks become brooks?
"My knowledge is about a mile wide and an inch deep, which distinguishes me from the truly wise ones, such as yourself, whose wisdom pours forth on these boards with great depth and clarity."
Now I really know you're full of it. And me without my boots on.
The only wisdom I put out here is about trusses and framing. I like to think I know a lot about that, but mostly make up the rest.............(-:
"Where is the geographical demarcation in the USA where creeks become brooks?"
Heck, I don't know. Around here they're called creeks or cricks. Anyone who calls them a brook is thought of as a city slicker, or someone who's been reading too many romance novels.
Here's another one for you. How do you tell when a pond has become big enough that it should be called a lake?
I had a rough childhood. When I was born,the doctor advised me of my rights
I don't know! But out on the rock(Newfoundland) a LAKE refers to a hole in yer boot.
same answer as above, BH - if you have an upscale house and 100 square feet of stagnant water, you have a lake - if you're fishing on 30 acres of water, you have a pond -
So next month, being the fine son-in-law that I am, I volunteered to drive my wife's parents' rental truck with all their stuff from Gorham, N.H. to Coos Bay, OR. (This is actually an effort on my part to help ensure the safety of our nation's highways...the LAST thing our country needs is to have my 78 yr-old FIL driving a 24' Ryder truck pulling a car trailer with a Buick aboard!)
I dread this as a long, boring trip on the Interstates (mostly I-80) but, with nothing better to do, I will make an effort to: 1. Determine distribution of PT lumber by species; 2. Watch for Creek, Ditch, Brook signs; 3. Try to get some insight into the great Pond/Lake debate that is tearing this country (and our neighbor to the North) apart.
And yes, Boss Hog, I am pretty full of it....at least DW thinks so...
Well, my DW thinks I'm full of it myself.
Is DW riding with you on the long trip? I've been fortunate that my DW has been willing to do some uuhhhhhhmmmmmmm......."entertaining" things on long trips.
Of course - This could interfere with your research.
Avoid cliches like the plague.
I'll be the Lone Ranger on this trip, so it's all boredom, attentive driving and research and asking myself "why did I volunteer to do this?," and "am I there yet?"
Question: I was in the Navy, and I don't dine at take-out chicken franchises, so I could never learn this, but where did the "r" come from in Colonel?
I'm still waiting for an answer; where did the "r" come from in Colonel?
be like Rez and drag up old stuff that everybody's forgotten about.
How the hell should I know?My Wife married me for my looks, not what I know.
Do Lipton Tea employees take coffee breaks?
Dissimilation.
Where is the geographical demarcation in the USA where creeks become brooks?
Actually, it's not geographical - it's more like an economic thing - if you're a realtor selling a house with any kind of waterway, you have a 'brook' - if you're a rancher/farmer and pay money to aquire/dispose of water, you have a 'ditch' - those of us fortunate enough to grow up next to year-round free-flowing water and appreciate it, have a creek -
"those of us fortunate enough to grow up next to year-round free-flowing water and appreciate it, have a creek"
But when is a creek big enough to be called a river?
Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
But when is a creek big enough to be called a river?
a creek becomes a river when it carries enough water that you can travel it in a canoe any season of the year (ice season excepted) - glad I can help - DOUD
Have had reasonalbly good results from single coat latex paint (about 5% flaking in 10 years), even partially wet PT. If you try to use oil base primer or paint you are in trouble big time -- per personal sad experience.
we prime any PT that will be painted as soon as it is surface dry.. this is contrary to mfr's suggestions.. but the problem with waiting until it is dry-thru is that by that time it is also checked and split...
we've had good results with BM 's acrylic primers & Cabot's Problem Solver primers..
the primer & finish helps to control some of the checking splitting & twistingMike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
The Cabot's- oil or acrylic formula? I'm assuming acrylic. Nice work.
Edited 8/10/2002 9:41:36 AM ET by jc
as far as staining goes... absolutely we would stain any PT as soon as it was surface dry to the touch.. even if we have to go back and touch some spots up later..
here's a set of stairs with PT newel posts that were primed with BM's Fresh Start the day after we got them .. the next day they were in the holes...the other components are RC & Meranti
Mike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Thanks Mike, I appreciate the advice and photo.
Roger
I have had great success with solid stains on PT once it has dried to the touch.
I like staining before assembly so I can protect all parts of the wood.
If the wood is wet, your bigger problem is shrinkage in the wood once the structure is built.
Also, I highly recommend cleaning the PT with a mill glaze remover to help the stain penetrate. This stuff is often sold for use with a pressure washer, but you can just mop or sponge it on and do a little hand scrubbing. Sotchbrite pads are good for this. Do make sure you rinse it off well though.
Thanks Rein, I'll give this a try,
Roger
IF YOU USED KILN DRIED AFTER TREATMENT LUMBER YOU WOULD NOT EVEN HAVE TO ASK THE QUESTION..... THAT IS ALL WE WELL...... JUST LIKE ANY OTHER LUMBER, JUST A DIFFERENT COLOR.. IT IS THE ONLY WAY TO GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!