A lot of people prefer wooden houses for their beauty and warmth. Wooden houses indeed make a lovely picture of a home. But wooden homes require proper regular maintenance to last long. Wooden houses are difficult to maintain. Hence people use treated wood for their homes. People having non-wooden homes but have wooden decks also prefer to use treated wood.

How is wood treated?

One of the most common ways of wood treatment is pressure treatment. However post-2004, CCA-treated (CCA- chromated copper arsenate) lumber has been banned for home use and can be used only for agricultural or industrial uses. Wooden decks can be also be simply treated by coating it with an oil-based penetrating stain every couple of years. CCA has been replaced by two water-borne compounds that are alkaline copper quat (ACQ types B and D) and copper azole (CBA-A, CA-B). They are low-toxicides which resist bugs, mold and rot.

Wood can also be treated using chemicals which creates a clear layer of polymer on top of the outdoor wood. Thus it gives a plastic-like protection to the wooden decks. People often prefer using such chemicals which give the protection of plastic coating to their wooden decks than oil-based sealers.

There are basically 3 main types of preservatives used for pressure treated wood. They are:
1) Water-born preservatives: Some water-born preservatives are CCA, ammoniacal copper zinc arsenate (ACZA) and ammoniacal copper quat (ACQ). Wood treated with water-born preservatives are mainly used for industrial purposes.
2) Oil-born preservatives are mainly used for treating wood for domestic purposes like for wooden decks, indoor pools, utility poles etc.
3) Creosote is used for treating wood for bridges, docks, guardrails etc.

Prior to treating wood for wooden decks it is important that it is power washed. However by doing so it must be seen that there is not excessive pressure which can lead to breaking of wood fibers. This can lead to shortening of the wood life of the wooden decks.

Conclusion:

Thus it is necessary to use treated wood for building decks at home but it must be used with great caution. Home makers must treat the wood with only such chemicals which are not harmful for people as well as for the environment around.