| All homeowners know the importance of paying | | | | Creosote, despite being one of the oldest wood |
| attention to property maintenance: without an | | | | preservers (used historically in maritime industries), |
| effective program it is easy for properties to fall | | | | is still in use, mainly for telegraph poles and railway |
| into a state of disrepair very quickly, thus | | | | sleepers. Despite this, its use is restricted, and |
| becoming vulnerable to extremes of temperature, | | | | homeowners should not attempt to use it. |
| damp, and all manner of pests. Since many | | | | With present concerns that exist for the amount |
| properties use wood in their construction, either | | | | of toxins humanity releases into the environment, |
| for foundations, building frames or cosmetic | | | | there is also a move towards the use of natural |
| ornamentation, it follows that wood protection | | | | wood preservers. These are not based on |
| and maintenance is extremely important. | | | | chemical treatments, so are generally less |
| Protecting wood in this way is made much easier | | | | effective in guarding against insect infestations |
| with the application of a good wood preserver. | | | | and rot, but their use can show some limited |
| Wood preservers are treatments applied to | | | | benefit. Linseed oil and tung oil are both applied, |
| wood, either at the time of initial construction or | | | | but other methods can also be used. Heat |
| later on in the life of the property, that act to | | | | treatment - heating timber to a certain |
| protect the wood from weathering and from | | | | temperature prior to use - can be partially |
| threats such as woodworm, dry rot and wet rot. | | | | effective against woodworm and rot, but can |
| The main types of wood preserver used are | | | | have the effect of altering the look of the timber. |
| chemical wood treatments. Though there are | | | | Another approach is to use wood that is naturally |
| many different brand names, they fall into three | | | | rot resistant, but such wood is usually very |
| main categories: Copper Chromium Arsenic, | | | | expensive, and often endangered as it has been |
| Alkaline Copper Quarternary and Organic Solvent | | | | harvested too aggressively in the past. It is |
| Preservatives. All three types have the action of | | | | questionable whether using rot resistant wood |
| protecting wood, but in general Alkaline Copper | | | | damages the environment less than the use of |
| Quarternary preservers and Organic Solvent | | | | chemical wood preservative. |
| Preservatives are safer and less toxic, not | | | | The main use of wood preserver is as a |
| containing either chromium or arsenic, two highly | | | | woodworm treatment and a rot treatment, |
| noxious substances. Indeed, the use of Chromium | | | | whether for wet rot or dry rot. Though each of |
| Copper Arsenic wood preservatives is in sharp | | | | these affect wood in a different way, by breaking |
| decline, with their use in domestic settings being | | | | down the nutrients in the timber a wood |
| banned outright in a number of jurisdictions. The | | | | preserver can, when applied correctly, resist their |
| use of Alkaline Copper Quarternary preservers | | | | incursion, giving the fungus and woodworm less |
| and Organic Solvent Preservatives is | | | | reason to attack. If combined with other |
| correspondingly expanding to fill the gap, and | | | | preventative measures the application of wood |
| research is continuing into new preservatives that | | | | preservative can ensure the integrity of structural |
| are even less toxic. | | | | timber and wood for many years. |