Key Takeaways
The first pace in building anything is choosing the right materials . If your undertaking postulate forest , you ’re go to have to decide between treated and untreated baseball bat . So what ’s the dispute between the two ? And at the death of the Clarence Day , does it even matter ? The short answer is yes , it matters – especially if you materialize to be establish a playground exercise set for your tyke or a garden bottom for your vegetables .
You might be surprised to study that many forms of regale lumber can be harmful to your health . In the past , the treatment appendage involved filling forest with dangerous chemicals and chemical compounds like creosote , pentachlorophenol ( PCP ) , and chromated fuzz arsenate ( CCA ) [ source : Gegner ] . None of these chemicals and chemical chemical compound are secure . In fact , the arsenate in CCA is a form of white arsenic , which is a carcinogen known to cause many dissimilar types of cancer and even death [ source : EPA ] .
Despite the dangers associated with arsenic , CCA treated timber was the most common in the United States until manufacturer reached an correspondence to barricade produce it after 2003 [ informant : Williams ] . alas , for many years , buildings and products were made using CCA treated baseball bat and they now position health risk to those who come in regular physical contact with them .
While new techniques for treating lumber have been deemed safe , they still ask precautional measures . You ’ll find label printed on treat Natalie Wood warning those who are using it to wear mask and protect their peel [ source : Austin ] . It ’s also important not to let any eccentric of treated woods come in contact with drinking body of water .
So if you want to know when it ’s better to use untreated lumber , the response is almost always . The public debate is still out on whether or not there are any illustration in which using treated timber can be considered completely safe but many detergent builder still verify by its vantage .
Advantages of Untreated Lumber
The obvious advantage of using untreated lumber is that there are no health risk of infection involved . It ’s as close to Natalie Wood in its natural form as you ’re going to get without grabbing an axe and chopping down your own tree . If you ’re building anything that people will on a regular basis be coming in contact with – such as playground equipment , lawn furniture or benches – you should always use untreated Natalie Wood [ source : Houlihan and Wiles ] .
Untreated timber should also be used when you ’re look at with horticulture , whether you ’re building a raised garden layer , a pot , or just making mulch . Some of the chemicals used to treat wood are meant to kill insects , which means they in all probability wo n’t do marvel for your soil either . They can damage your flowers and make their way into your vegetable garden – ruining your jimmy tomatoes .
An obvious advantage of untreated lumber is its price ; it ’s much cheaper than treated lumber . Since CCA - treated lumber was taken off the market , new treatment technique use high-pitched levels of copper color , which is more expensive . As a result , the price of treated wood has prove considerably [ seed : Morrison ] .
When puzzle out with untreated wood , you do n’t have to worry about protecting your skin . You may want to wear a mask to keep from breathing in sawdust , but you may sour in light sleeves and/or short without any fear of endanger yourself . The same ca n’t be said for process Natalie Wood . In fact , when working with treated lumber , you should be adequately report – long sleeve , long knickers and oculus goggles are all a good idea . Afterward , make certain to clean any sawdust from you or your clothing exhaustively . And , of course , you want to avoid breathe in any sawdust particles from treated lumber [ origin : McClintock ] . At a lower limit , you should endure a detritus masque / facemask while working with treated timber . And , if you have one , a gasmask would be even better .
At the end of the day , the ease of idea that comes with using untreated baseball bat may be deserving it . You do n’t need to concern about potential health concerns , even if the wood come in contact with your dirt or water supplying .
Advantages of Treated Lumber
Although there are wellness fortune to debate , care for forest does have its advantage . Treated wood was designed to defy the effect of natural aging . As wood is exposed to the natural elements , it slowly breaks down . Moisture is especially hard on Mrs. Henry Wood . If treat , wood can last much longer than normal , but to make certain your regale timber lasts as long as possible you need to agree its treatment floor with the right use . Lumber that is relate the ground , for example , requires a high treatment level than timber that is not [ source : Viance ] .
treat lumber does have other advantages . Many types of treated wood are resistant to insects , like termite , that cause huge amount of equipment casualty and cost base owner large sum total of money . The chemicals used in the treatment process are toxic to insect , so any bug that tries to run through its way through a treated support beam will expire . On top of repelling hemipteran , do by timber can also be flame retardation , taking longer to catch on fire and incinerate much more slowly when it does [ germ : WiseGeek ] .
In instances where treat lumber does n’t touch the ground and is n’t give away , it is relatively safe . you may also use certain crude finish to protect treated wood and reduce the peril of it leaching dangerous chemicals during contact [ source : Natural Handyman ] .
While do by wood has clear-cut advantage , you might resolve that they are n’t deserving the add wellness risk . Yet , if you ask something to last a long time and you know the great unwashed wo n’t come into much tangency with it , treat baseball bat might be the better alternative . In ecumenical , though , treated baseball bat should n’t be used where untreated lumber will suffice .
The next clip you ’re working on a project using wood , consider the advantage and disadvantage of both treat and untreated lumber before have a purchase .
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