using treated wood

[Andy Henriksen]

Any prob with using ACQ Pressure treated wood in conjunction with non-treated pine to build a workbench? I have some 4x4's and 4x6s left over from a deck I built this summer, and thought they could make some nice sturdy legs for the bench I need to build. I guess I would have to use galv. fasteners. Anything else I am overlooking?

[Randy Meijer]

I expect that the sawdust would be more harmful than that from non-treated wood so it would be prudent to be extra careful about exposure to the dust!!

[Andy Henriksen]

That is definately true, but I spent all summer exposing myself to that damn green sawdust. Actually I was pretty careful, most of the time, but a few more crosscuts to use up the scraps won't make a difference, I suspect. And this wood will be for the frame, so it won't be subject to direct interaction with work pieces, or likely to get inadvertently sanded, chipped, etc., once in place.

[Dan Mages]

DO NOT use galvanized fasteners. They will disolve due to the high copper content in ACQ lumber. If you can, use stainless steel nails.

Dan

[Lamar Horton]

Mixing the woods should not be a problem. You can also use ACQ deck screws. They have a coating on them to prevent corrosion.

[Jerry Olexa]

Mixing woods should not be an issue. But don't cut the pressure treated indoors. I always try to cut that stuff (treated) outside and bring indoors to the job. You don't need special nails as it'll be inside. G Luck..

[Kelly C. Hanna]

If you built the deck this summer there will be no problem using the treated wood....all the shrinkage will have already occurred. The new formula is not harmful to you aside from the dust (if you cut it inside the shop use a mask).

You MUST use hot dipped galvanized nails or the screws Lamar mentioned (Home Depot's green or beige deck screws work well). You could use stainless, but you'd be costing yourself a ton of money. Any other fasteners will be dissolved by the high copper content (copper and other metals don't play well together).

[Andy Henriksen]

Yep, I should have specified Hot Dipped Galvanized (as opposed to electroplated galv.). That is what is recommended for ACQ anywhere you read, including on the wood tags itself. Aluminum is the big problem metal with that stuff. Same reason you need to be careful with electrical connections in older homes - Cu and Al will corrode when in contact.

[Jason Roehl]

Ditto on the stainless or hot-dipped galvanized. The problem with the electro-plated galvanized (or tumble-plated) is that the plating comes off as you drive the fastener. That would be fine even in an exterior setting as the bare spots are buried in the wood and no longer exposed, except that the new generation of treated wood is corrosive to the steel underneath.

[Bob Hovde]

I built a workbench out of the older type of pressure treated wood. The legs are three levels of 2x6 with the rails dovetailed in - all nailed together with tons of #16 nails. It is HEAVY and very solid! I can stand on it, pound on it, and it doubles as a tornado shelter!

Bob