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How Does Treated Pine Achieve Its Long Service Life?

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Wood in service can come under attack from insects, fungi and weathering. Nevertheless, in most applications, wood safeguarded from climatic exposure and elements will exhibit excellent durability and longevity. Wherever extra protection is deemed necessary, wood durability can be boosted through the integration of preservative chemicals. A good example is treated pine.

This article explains the reason behind the durability exhibited by treated pine and why property owners should opt for treated pine for various applications if they want long service life.  

Retention and Penetration 

The capacity of treated pine to resist biological attack while in use is dependent on the filling in of the chemical preservatives as well as the deepness and design of its penetration. The process of filling the chemical preservatives inside the pine is known as retention. This is basically the amount of preservative that remains in the pine once the treatment is complete.  Note that higher or increased preservative retentions are deemed necessary for service conditions where the degree of hazard is high such as marine settings or routine ground contact.

As far as treated pine is concerned, regardless of its end use, it is important that the chemical preservatives infiltrate the cross-section as consistently as possible from all external surfaces and angles in compliance with the accepted penetration levels. Note that uniform infiltration of preservatives is not always an easy affair as far as pinewood is concerned. This is because pine often features sapwood and heartwood both, which possess distinct permeability levels. Pine sapwood is increasingly permeable while heartwood is less absorbent and increasingly difficult to break in.

Vacuum-Pressure Approach

The vacuum-pressure approach in enclosed treatment cylinders has proven to be a highly effective preservative treatment technique for pinewood. To start with, a vacuum is used in the cylinder to get rid of air from the pine in order to allow for maximum absorption. Then, the chemical preservative is propelled inside the cylinder at high temperatures until the necessary uptake of the preservative is attained.

At this juncture the unused preservative is emitted from the cylinder and a final vacuum applied to remove surplus preservative. In conclusion, the vacuum-pressure approach guarantees maximum preservative packing and extent of pine penetration for any stipulated end use.

Applications of Treated Pine

Preservative treated pine is suitable for use:

  • Anywhere wood is routinely exposed to external weather elements
  • Anywhere wood is in contact with bare soil
  • In high moisture conditions such as interior swimming centres and greenhouse
  • In areas of high insect and termite risk

Learn more by consulting local experts such as Australian Treated Pine.


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