Est. 1998 — 27 years of woodworking knowledge
Tool Storage And Pressure Treated Lumber
Tom Colligan
A neighbor built a fence for his yard and had a bundle of cut-offs. The boards are 1 x 6 inches.
I'd like to build a few utility boxes in order to store some hand tools in them.
Would it be unwise to use this PT lumber for storing hand tools? That is, could the boards be gassing off and the vapor be harmful to any metals stored in the boxes?
Thx.,
Re: Tool Storage And Pressure Treated Lumber
Hank Knight
Tom, I don't know about the chemicals gassing off, but every pressure treated board I've ever seen/used was soggy wet - don't know it it ever dries out. I imagine rust would be a bigger problem than gassed-off chemicals.
Re: Tool Storage And Pressure Treated Lumber
Barry Irby
Good question. The old stuff (CCA) was very corrosive. So is the newer stuff (ACQ) and it requires special fasteners. Stainless steel of ceramic coated. I don't know about off gassing, but I suspect that any tools in contact with it will tend to corrode. Particularly in a moist environment or before it thoroughly drys.
Re: Tool Storage And Pressure Treated Lumber
AZ in Colorado Springs
Treated lumber does dry out, at least here in Colorado. Three years ago a friend had to replace some boards on his deck, and the new treated boards were about 5/16" thicker than the old ones. He had to replace broken and decayed boards, then rearrange some of the good, old ones, to avoid a "wavy" surface. So he had about 1/4 of the deck that was taller than the rest. He used some black and yellow safety tape to warn of the tripping hazard. (The spacing between the dried boards was wider, too.). These days it's pretty much evened out.
I wouldn't want to use treated lumber for a tool box. Off-gassing or not, as mentioned the chemical contamination of the tools, and of the hands when going in there or handling the tools would deter me.
Don't
John in NM
At a guess, the corrosive nature of ACQ pressure treated is due to the ammonia based compound that is a biocide in the treatment. Ammonia compounds tend to be corrosive to metals.
Better to just pick up some untreated wood for tool boxes.
Try different fence materials
Tom Dunlap
Awhile ago I found two of the giant bag dumpsters on the curb. The resident had removed an old cedar fence. He told me I could have as much as I wanted. I made a couple of trips. DEnailing was easy. My first project was an 8x10 shed There is plenty of good clear wood left over between the nail holes. A few passes through the planer and the wood is about 3/8" thick.
Watch Craigslist or FB Market place and you can find free fencing to haul away.