samedi 10 août 2013

Flame Retardant Wood Not Used As Much

By Andrea Davidson


There are probably a few hardware or lumber stores in your local area. Regardless, it might still be difficult to locate flame retardant wood. In many cases you may find the liquid coating that you can apply on your own but if you want actual lumber that is fire retardant you might have to do a little traveling.

Certain properties that normal untreated wood demonstrate are generally identical to wood that has been treated by the fire retardant chemicals. For example, treated lumber does not corrode any faster or slower than its counterpart. Metal fixtures and fasteners do not rust any faster or slower than they would if placed into regular material.

The one thing that people are advised against doing however is doing things to the material in the field. Things such as planing or sanding or even some milling. These processes can strip the material of it's treated coating and it is recommended that if this is done the user should replace the coating with some fire-safe chemical just like what was used to do the original treatment.

Most of the treatments or chemicals are water based and therefore generally safe for the environment. But that does not mean that all of them are. It is amazing though that there are so many companies selling the treatments and that there are so many different variations of the same thing. It is therefor assumed that the chemicals are the same but just marketed differently.

The fact that someone is building a home using this is a great idea as well. When you use regular lumber you are surely in danger of something catching fire. By the time one thing catches it does not take long for everything else does as well. The frame, the roof, the interior, everything will catch shortly after the first spark.

So when someone came up with the idea of using safer lumber the crew listened. When the budgets were approved with the changes, the homeowners and builders listened. So even though it may have taken some time it eventually happened to where the safer lumber would make its way onto the job and the end result is a house that is much safer to live in.

More and more people are starting to use this protected lumber for not just their homes but for everything. Of course the cost is a factor as it can cost nearly double what the normal stuff costs. This might be a factor for some, but for others it is not. They would rather have the safety than the money.

Matter of fact, it might never turn into a blaze simply because the flame retardant wood was used for the home. The slowing of the fire is extremely important as every one knows that even seconds count in such situations. IF anything can give you time to get out, a fire alarm, smoke detector, or even the treated wood, it would be worth every penny.




About the Author: