seymore 90 Report post Posted January 22, 2005 I have this new PT deck and arbor that had these green spots in the grain of the wood. I used some bleach on it that made it look better but you still could see it. My only other thought was to sand it when i go back to stain the job. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 James 624 Report post Posted January 22, 2005 it's either a fungus stain or chemical stain which adds character to the peice.The name of the spore is the St. Patrick Funguy and means good luck!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 Beth n Rod 1,279 Report post Posted January 22, 2005 Looks like CA (Copper Azole) Treated wood. Did the spots look like turquoise? If so, then you have the same thing we have on our deck. You can sand it off, but I have found using chems wasnt effective in removing it. Instead, we got a foul odor from it. Yuk! Rod~ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 charlie 14 Report post Posted January 22, 2005 If you sand it use a respirator. It could be arsenate bleeding through. Becareful. Charlie Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 Henry B. 4 Report post Posted January 22, 2005 I've seen a greenish tinge to pressure treated lumber like this before. Sometimes customers think it's mildew but Rod is right, it's just the pressure treating chemicals leaching back out of the wood. Kinda like sap does with some lumber. I'm not sure if it means they didn't pressure treat the wood properly or if the lumber was too wet to accept the chemicals during the process. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 charlie 14 Report post Posted January 22, 2005 Seymore Scrape some off take it to a lab and have it analized. Charlie Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 seymore 90 Report post Posted January 22, 2005 Jim That's too funny and it's almost St.Patty's Day too! Rod Yes the spots looked a little turquoise before I tried cleaning the job.They were changing colors as the wood was drying leaving more of just dark spots. That really makes sense if it's the chems are leaking thru the boards. So in other words this is becoming common in this new PT wood we have to stain now a days? Thanks everybody for the help and input!! :cool: Oh yeah if that's not bad enough the whole job has strap marks allover the arbor and deck! Charlie, Where would someone get a test done at on something like this? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 Henry B. 4 Report post Posted January 22, 2005 The new formulae also causes the nails and other fastners to corrode... VERY quickly. A couple of the builders I work with have been seriously complaining about that and other problems the have with the new process. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 Beth n Rod 1,279 Report post Posted January 22, 2005 Henry, All fasteners, nails screws etc. changed as a standard with the CA lumber. The reason you stated was why. They need to change what they are using for construction to the type suited for use with CA lumber. Beth Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 Henry B. 4 Report post Posted January 22, 2005 They have already changed over, they just don't like it..lol Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 Beth n Rod 1,279 Report post Posted January 22, 2005 None of the builders we know are thrilled either. Material costs were through the roof last year too. Won't be any better this year, given fuel costs. Beth Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 Aplus 525 Report post Posted January 23, 2005 I hope this doesn't lead to an increase in composite decks. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 Henry B. 4 Report post Posted January 23, 2005 With the price on composite materials and the lawsuits against trex, I don't think it's going to make a huge difference. Besides, would you rip down your deck just to rebuild it with one that costs 2-3 times more? I think we've got another 10-20 years before we have to worry about that and even composite decks need to be cleaned. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 charlie 14 Report post Posted January 23, 2005 Seymore You can have it looked at a local university. Charlie Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 Beth n Rod 1,279 Report post Posted January 23, 2005 Tony, Composite is in line with wood around here, at least the builders we got bids from there was not that much difference in the price. Many builders only want to build composite now. Also many will only build with a couple different types of material, not a wide variety. Beth Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 Aplus 525 Report post Posted January 24, 2005 Beth, It's funny how different regions vary so much in price and materials. Cedar is still king around here on the higher-end homes and condos. Treated seems to be more prevalent in the middle-range neighborhoods, as well as many home-owner built jobs. I have only seen composite a few times, and I do look for it. Composite materials are still expensive. As a rough idea, treated is cheapest, cedar about twice the price, and composite is about 50% more than cedar. What I am noticing is a LOT more higher end homes are being built with stamped concrete and similar products. I figure the typical buyer of higher-end homes have been in at least a couple smaller, maybe older homes, and got tired of the relentless maintenance task wood requires. I figure in about 20 years, the upkeep of a wood deck costs more than the original price of building it. A $5k deck may cost $500 or more every other year to maintain. Experienced buyers are realizing that it may be wiser to spend the extra $$ up front to construct a concrete based patio, which requires far less maintenance. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 James 624 Report post Posted January 24, 2005 Composite is huge around here ( Ct ) . There are many different products to choose from now. Marketing is big. High end woods are also big. The problem with these is nobody seems to know how to take care of them. Except of course me ?? LOL. I wish the cedar I see in the photo's from the mid-west was used here. The cedar I run into is very difficult to work with. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 Celeste 341 Report post Posted January 26, 2005 Looks like the new pressure treated wood is going to have some new problems: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 Celeste 341 Report post Posted January 26, 2005 Roger spoke to a company that actually makes the chemical that is involved with the pressure treating process. He was told that these spots & stripes should not happen - made reference to another country's lumber being substandard to American lumber and may well leach but basically, these pretty green stripes & spots are not supposed to be happening. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 seymore 90 Report post Posted January 26, 2005 That crappy PT wood makes our hard work look crappy! Those stripes are just sap you can sand it off but it's gonna come back in time.Especially when the sun hits it and the sap melts.It's gonna crystalize and you have to sand and touch up.You know the builder could have just used the other side of the board.:rolleyes: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 seymore 90 Report post Posted January 26, 2005 Those green spots on my job didn't go away i stained today but putting a darker stain helped hide them a little. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 Beth n Rod 1,279 Report post Posted January 26, 2005 The builder has no way of knowing which way the channels in the board are flowing. I have seen builders flip boards to look at the cut, but it doesn't tell you which direction the sap was running... Ever have a board that pretty much refused sealer while another next to it sucked in plenty? Both the same age and exposure? That's an example of that. Beth Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 Henry B. 4 Report post Posted January 26, 2005 Check out this picture, no one knows what caused this either. It looks like these boards were used on another deck, but they weren't. Both sides of the lumber have these stripe marks on them too. Anyone have any ideas about it? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 Mathew Johnson 123 Report post Posted January 26, 2005 Henry, those boards were stacked to dry at a lumber mill with "stickers" between them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 Henry B. 4 Report post Posted January 26, 2005 Hey Mathew, I thought about that also as an option but how would the stripes get on all sides of the lumber? I'm talking about all four sides, not just the top and bottom. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 Beth n Rod 1,279 Report post Posted January 26, 2005 Makes me ask how they handle the lumber when infusing it with chemicals. I would think it is done mechanically. Clamp marks? Just guessing.... they are too even to be natural. Beth Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
I have this new PT deck and arbor that had these green spots in the grain of the wood.
I used some bleach on it that made it look better but you still could see it.
My only other thought was to sand it when i go back to stain the job.
Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!
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