Hey everyone, I have a bit of a question about working with pressure treated wood. If I plane pressure treated fence pickets or any other pressure treated wood, does it lose its pressure treated properties? I'm wondering if the treatment penetrates all the way through the wood or just the surface. Thanks in advance for your insights!
2 Answers
It's definitely not a stupid question! When you plane pressure treated wood, the surface will still have the treatment, but if you cut into it, that’s where things get interesting. Some boards have the chemicals deeply penetrated, while others might not. So, if you're just planing and not cutting too deep, you should still have the benefits of the treatment on the surface.
The chemicals used in pressure treating typically penetrate through the wood, but it’s not always uniform. If you just plane off the top layer, that’s fine, but if you make deeper cuts, you might expose untreated wood in some cases. Always a good idea to check the cut end of the wood if you're unsure!