Posted: Fri Oct 10, 2008 7:55 pm Post subject: Safe Wood Preservative
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Hi,
I am in the process of creating a raised bed for growing organic veges and am searching for a suitable wood preservative for the 2x12 raw pine planks I would like to use.
Does anyone know of a product called Lifetime Wood Treatments made by Valhalla.and if so what is its reputation for this purpose.
On the surface this product sounds pretty good and the company representative reassures me that the product is perfectly safe for this application.
Any other wood preservative members can recommend would also be most appreciated.
Thanks for any help you can give me.
G
An extensive (for me, anyway) Google search finally found this Guide to Building Green:
www4.uwm.edu/shwec/bgg/
which states that the "Lifetime Wood Treatment" is plant-based, non-toxic, non-petroleum based, etc.
The search took so long because almost every other mention of this product quotes or links to the manufacturer's/maker's website. I cannot find a .pdf of the label or an MSDS (Materials Safety Data Sheet) on this product, perhaps because it's not manufactured/made in the United States.
However, the manufacturer's/maker's website DOES state that several provincial governments in Canada, including Parks Departments, have used or are using this product based on its environmental friendliness.
I have no experience with it personally. Please let us know what you decide and how the product is to deal with (if you choose to use it): does it smell bad? give you headaches? make your skin itch (if any gets on your hands)? etc.
Happy (and safe) gardening!
Cynthia H.
USDA Zone 9, Sunset Zone 17
www4.uwm.edu/shwec/bgg/
which states that the "Lifetime Wood Treatment" is plant-based, non-toxic, non-petroleum based, etc.
The search took so long because almost every other mention of this product quotes or links to the manufacturer's/maker's website. I cannot find a .pdf of the label or an MSDS (Materials Safety Data Sheet) on this product, perhaps because it's not manufactured/made in the United States.
However, the manufacturer's/maker's website DOES state that several provincial governments in Canada, including Parks Departments, have used or are using this product based on its environmental friendliness.
I have no experience with it personally. Please let us know what you decide and how the product is to deal with (if you choose to use it): does it smell bad? give you headaches? make your skin itch (if any gets on your hands)? etc.
Happy (and safe) gardening!
Cynthia H.
USDA Zone 9, Sunset Zone 17
Thanks for your reply Cynthia. I was right to post here. I looked at the titles and this one seemed to get a good reply response.
I have not been able to access the site you gave me for some reason so will keep trying.
I have gone ahead and ordered some Lifetime Wood Treatment and am going to give it a try. Its not here yet so will do the itch test etc before applying it.
I will report back.
Geoff
I have not been able to access the site you gave me for some reason so will keep trying.
I have gone ahead and ordered some Lifetime Wood Treatment and am going to give it a try. Its not here yet so will do the itch test etc before applying it.
I will report back.
Geoff
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Charlie MV
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In your area you should be able to find cypress lumber. When I owned my cabinet shop I made a couple of furniture pieces for a customer who brought me cypress from a collapsed barn. Some of the lumber had been buried for at least 50 years. I did cypress shower walls in one of my own houses from new cypress lumber. It stoodup and looked good for the 10 years we lived there. In the shower it turned a gorgeous orange-brown color kind of similar to aged fir. If you can get it you don't need to use any finish at all. It's a lot cheaper than redwood or western cedar which will also last well outside unfinished. Last time I bought it the price was similar to decent clear pine.
My shop was in Charlotte. Try Wall lumber on the internet. They're in Mayodan NC.
My shop was in Charlotte. Try Wall lumber on the internet. They're in Mayodan NC.
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Charlie MV
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About 8 years ago I sandblasted our entire log house. I bought Life Time Wood Treatment and applied it to our house, a new addition, and a new deck all built with pine. 8 years later it still looks great! It's a wonderful product. Comes in a little packet that's similar to a seed packet. You pour the packet in a 5 Gal. bucket with water, stir it up and you're ready to go. I sprayed it on my house with a 2 Gal garden sprayer. That was 8 years ago, and I haven't done a thing to the house since. As the product ages the wood turns a nice gray patena. As I built the new deck I sprayed any cuts before nailing or screwing of joints.
It sounds like one of those things that are to good to be true, but it really is! I only paint the trim around the windows of the house every few years. The house, the new deck, the new screen porch, and a set of stairs all still look great after all this time. They claim it's all natural. I believe it. When you pour out the packet into a bucket of water there are bits and pieces of what look to be crumpled up leaves! Don't be afraid of using this product. It really works if you like the silvery gray patena it turns on your wood. To me it just resembles weathered cedar.
It sounds like one of those things that are to good to be true, but it really is! I only paint the trim around the windows of the house every few years. The house, the new deck, the new screen porch, and a set of stairs all still look great after all this time. They claim it's all natural. I believe it. When you pour out the packet into a bucket of water there are bits and pieces of what look to be crumpled up leaves! Don't be afraid of using this product. It really works if you like the silvery gray patena it turns on your wood. To me it just resembles weathered cedar.
What I was looking for was something that would protect lumber I was planning to use to enclose raised beds against rot and insect damage. After reading the literature on line, I at first thought that was what it was intended to do but later read in the catalog that it only changed the color to match other wood or make wood like your house, Agongos, age at the same rate.
I still need something that will protect the lumber from rot and insects. I've looked into red cedar and the synthetic lumber made with recycled lumber and resins but they are outside my budget.
Thanks for your reply.
I still need something that will protect the lumber from rot and insects. I've looked into red cedar and the synthetic lumber made with recycled lumber and resins but they are outside my budget.
Thanks for your reply.
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The Helpful Gardener
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[url=https://www.essortment.com/pressure-treated-wood-safe-eat-63490.html]Not for food crops...[/url]Pressure treated lumber works great.
While the arsenic based pressure treat has gone the way of the dodo, the new stuff is usually treated with a copper salt. One of the features of all salts is their solubility. So while the majority of the treatment will stay in the wood, just like the old arsenate treatment, there will be leaching...
And while this is no where near as dangerous as the old stuff, metals in soils get used slowly, tend to build up over time, and can lead to serious plant or health issues, so a lot of folks remain concerned about using it... even the [url=https://www.loghelp.com/images/document/MSDS_LifeTime.pdf]new treatments are claiming proprietary secrets[/url]which will keep them a mystery until the patent is up...
Just a heads up... the cypress is a great idea, as is locust (the non-rotting wood of choice for us northern types). Naturally resistant woods are a great way to tackle this isse, as are cinderblock, or better yet, straw bale sides...
HG
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b_kind2animals
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Agongos, your success w/ the longevity of your application of WTW may or may not be germane to what the OP is seeking. The conditions for above-grade applications are quite different than "ground contact" for which pressure treated was designed for.
But obviously p.t. is to be avoided as per THG's post.
I'm trying out a system using 4 x 8 x 16 cinder blocks. I use Gorilla Glue to glue three at a time together. Now I have a raised bed "wall section" 8 inches high by 4 feet long. I drive a short length of conduit through the hole in the center of each section, and when I have the length of wall I want, I cap it off with a long length (or lengths) of 1 x 6 that I've treated w/ linseed oil.
I drive a flathead Tapcon concrete anchor one or two per section of cinder blocks to lock the whole thing together linearly. Another reason for the wood cap is that it is more pleasant to kneel on than cinder block. (I rounded off the top edges w/ a router to add to the comfort factor.)
[img]https://farm6.static.flickr.com/5136/5543490414_997545a765_m.jpg[/img]
I suspect that the inevitable rot will start where the wood contacts the cinder block, but since it has a chance to dry out from time to time, I hope to get at least a few years service out of the wood cap.
The cinder blocks are like 88¢ each. Less if found on the occasional sale. I could be wrong, but so far I haven't found any information on the net that suggests that chemicals could leach out of the cinder block. But if anyone here knows differently, I'd appreciate the information.
But obviously p.t. is to be avoided as per THG's post.
I'm trying out a system using 4 x 8 x 16 cinder blocks. I use Gorilla Glue to glue three at a time together. Now I have a raised bed "wall section" 8 inches high by 4 feet long. I drive a short length of conduit through the hole in the center of each section, and when I have the length of wall I want, I cap it off with a long length (or lengths) of 1 x 6 that I've treated w/ linseed oil.
I drive a flathead Tapcon concrete anchor one or two per section of cinder blocks to lock the whole thing together linearly. Another reason for the wood cap is that it is more pleasant to kneel on than cinder block. (I rounded off the top edges w/ a router to add to the comfort factor.)
[img]https://farm6.static.flickr.com/5136/5543490414_997545a765_m.jpg[/img]
I suspect that the inevitable rot will start where the wood contacts the cinder block, but since it has a chance to dry out from time to time, I hope to get at least a few years service out of the wood cap.
The cinder blocks are like 88¢ each. Less if found on the occasional sale. I could be wrong, but so far I haven't found any information on the net that suggests that chemicals could leach out of the cinder block. But if anyone here knows differently, I'd appreciate the information.
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The Helpful Gardener
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- Location: Colchester, CT
[quote="The Helpful Gardener"][quote]Pressure treated lumber works great.[/quote]
we used the eco wood treatment as well on our garden raised beds,its all non toxic ,from sherwin williams, great store
[url=https://www.essortment.com/pressure-treated-wood-safe-eat-63490.html]Not for food crops...[/url]
While the arsenic based pressure treat has gone the way of the dodo, the new stuff is usually treated with a copper salt. One of the features of all salts is their solubility. So while the majority of the treatment will stay in the wood, just like the old arsenate treatment, there will be leaching...
And while this is no where near as dangerous as the old stuff, metals in soils get used slowly, tend to build up over time, and can lead to serious plant or health issues, so a lot of folks remain concerned about using it... even the [url=https://www.loghelp.com/images/document/MSDS_LifeTime.pdf]new treatments are claiming proprietary secrets [/url]which will keep them a mystery until the patent is up...
Just a heads up... the cypress is a great idea, as is locust (the non-rotting wood of choice for us northern types). Naturally resistant woods are a great way to tackle this isse, as are cinderblock, or better yet, straw bale sides...
HG[/quote]
we used the eco wood treatment as well on our garden raised beds,its all non toxic ,from sherwin williams, great store
[url=https://www.essortment.com/pressure-treated-wood-safe-eat-63490.html]Not for food crops...[/url]
While the arsenic based pressure treat has gone the way of the dodo, the new stuff is usually treated with a copper salt. One of the features of all salts is their solubility. So while the majority of the treatment will stay in the wood, just like the old arsenate treatment, there will be leaching...
And while this is no where near as dangerous as the old stuff, metals in soils get used slowly, tend to build up over time, and can lead to serious plant or health issues, so a lot of folks remain concerned about using it... even the [url=https://www.loghelp.com/images/document/MSDS_LifeTime.pdf]new treatments are claiming proprietary secrets [/url]which will keep them a mystery until the patent is up...
Just a heads up... the cypress is a great idea, as is locust (the non-rotting wood of choice for us northern types). Naturally resistant woods are a great way to tackle this isse, as are cinderblock, or better yet, straw bale sides...
HG[/quote]
The Helpful Gardener wrote:Not for food crops...Pressure treated lumber works great.
While the arsenic based pressure treat has gone the way of the dodo, the new stuff is usually treated with a copper salt. One of the features of all salts is their solubility. So while the majority of the treatment will stay in the wood, just like the old arsenate treatment, there will be leaching...
And while this is no where near as dangerous as the old stuff, metals in soils get used slowly, tend to build up over time, and can lead to serious plant or health issues, so a lot of folks remain concerned about using it... even the new treatments are claiming proprietary secretswhich will keep them a mystery until the patent is up...
Just a heads up... the cypress is a great idea, as is locust (the non-rotting wood of choice for us northern types). Naturally resistant woods are a great way to tackle this isse, as are cinderblock, or better yet, straw bale sides...
HG