Sanding Hardwood Floors? Test for lead first, and remove it safely

Posted on May 8, 2012 by Bathurst Handyman

How to test for lead.

Recently, It was time to sand the floors as the wear level was low.  Some hardwood floors installed 1977 or before contained lead in the finishing layer.  Having lead in the floors was very regional and installer specific.  Some areas of North America never had any lead used in the finish at all.  Some people liked to use lead, some didn’t.  I went to my local hardware store and bought a lead test kit at about $10.  Make sure you test it in an inconspicuous area, maybe in a closet where the finish has not been disturbed too much.  After my test was complete, it was very apparent that I got a positive result.  Yikes, don’t panic!  If you get a positive result, it is a good idea to get that result verified from an environmental testing company as you don’t want to sand floors that will throw carcinogens in the air.  In my case ripped out a small piece of hardwood from the closet.  I  had dropped it off at my local environmental testing company, who verified a 1% lead content.

The danger.  No sanding period.

Sanding and retaining and applying some new polyurethane on a floor without question can save thousands of dollars instead of replacement, however if you should not sand your floors at all, that has lead content.  Some companies have some excellent equipment that they advertise can capture 99% of dust or even more.  These dustless systems are fantastic from reducing the absolute chaos of dust getting everywhere involved with sanding a floor.  If you think that these methods are safe for lead removal, you are fooling yourself.  Any amount of lead particles in the air is dangerous, even it 1% escaped particles of 1% of lead particles (1 in 10,000).  This number may not sound like alot, but believe me it is substantial.  Dust particles are not easy to control.  If you are at all familiar with sanding  you will know that the only true method to reducing dust particles is to literally use plastic to encapsulate a room.  Not many lead particles are needed to be inhaled  cause problems with your health.

Test it yourself first for one good reason

The reason is quite simple.  Most hardwood installers don’t test.  And i really mean most.  You will know if they test for lead because the testing kit stinks big time, not subtle at all.  I have heard some of them say “I have not come across that in 25 years”.    I live in a cookie cutter post WW2 house, and I can tell you many others probably had it too. This reputable installer just didn’t test over that time.  If you have had your floors sanded recently and are concerned about airborne particles, most environmental testing companies provide on-site air testing to determine if the air is safe.  Lead particles do not stay in the air too long and settle, but they can end up in places you don’t want.

Safe removal

Standard practice of hardwood removal with no lead content is to cut the floor with a circular saw in 4 foot strips which are easy to manage.  When I was discussing removal methods with the hardwood flooring installer, they glazed right over this point, which also adds a large amount of dust into the air.   So if you decide to let them do it, they better not cut strips in the floor. The method I used, was removing one plank at a time, without damaging the finish.  It was easily more than twice the amount of labour, but lead particles did not end up in the air.  Usually the environmental testing company will have project managers to guide you on other proper removal techniques.  Lead abatement will cost approximately the same as new hardwood floors, so most of the time, it is better just to remove it.  When thinking from an environmental standpoint, dangerous particles that are contained, or not airbourne is always favoured over airborne (Think of CO2 in the air vs CO2 capture.  Removal is most likely the more environmentally friendly choice.)  Different jurisdictions will have different rules about disposal of lead content boards.

  • Always test for lead yourself first with an inexpensive test kit if you decide to sand your floor
  • If a positive result appears, verify from your local environmental testing company
  • Never sand a floor with any lead content, even if it is lower than 1%
  • “Dustless” sanders from professional flooring companies are effective for minimizing dust, but are not perfect, and not suitable for lead removal.
  • Standard strip cutting removal methods can’t be used.
  • Most environmental companies employ project managers who can guide you in proper procedures.
  • Entrapped lead in your hardwood is more environmentally friendly that releasing the lead into the air
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slight delay…

Posted on November 30, 2011 by Bathurst Handyman

I’m sorry for not posting recently.  My time is completely swamped.  I will return to the weekly schedule in a few weeks.

some of many upcoming article topics:

  • how to reduce and almost eliminate the chance of bursting your water pipes (from the exterior garden hose tap) during the winter months
  • lead content in old hardwood floors.  What is dangerous, what is not and what you should do about it
  • how to reduce mould growth from forming on your silicone sealant in your showers and bathtubs

stay tuned.

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A note on batteries. Recharchables and primary cells.

Posted on October 15, 2011 by Bathurst Handyman

rechargable batteries

This article is squarely aimed at those of you who buy batteries  on a regular basis for home use.

It’s a fact of life that we use portable devices to power our technical devices.  Whether they are for a booklight, a smoke detector, or your cordless doorbell or a flashlight, cordless power is a must in every household.  I still see people buying single use (primary cell) batteries near the grocery store checkout and I wonder what is going through their mind when purchasing them.  Do they not know about rechargeables (secondary cells)?  You know what primary batteries are.  They are one use batteries. When they drain once, you throw them away.  Your Duracell, Energizer, Panasonic, whatever.  It doesn’t matter.  Yeah one brand may have 10% more charge than another but when you consider how much more you can get out of rechargables, that 10% shouldn’t matter anymore.

You may say, they are expensive.  Not true.  A 4 pack of AA Energizer or Duracell can set you back about $5.   How about those of you who buy 50 packs of no name batteries for $10? The value is not equal to a top tier Low self discharge NIMH 4 pack of AA cost $10-12.

you get about 800 – 1000 times the use per cell (battery).  THIS  IS A NO BRAINER, buy the rechargables.

It is simple.  Single use alkaline are virtually obsolete for more than a decade now and please stop buying them.

There is only one application where I still use alkaline batteries today.  That is inside my smoke detectors.  I don’t use rechargeable batteries for a smoke detector because the one caveat that rechargeable have is that they seem too lose their charge over time faster than alkalines.  I don’t want to recharge my smoke detectors once a year.  Primary batteries hold their charge much longer, and I don’t like messing around with safety.  Also, although carbon-zinc batteries are slightly cheaper, their lifespan is approximately half of alkalines.

Rechargeable batteries are far more environmentally friendly and cost effective.  I mean, I have one Ni-Cd rechargeable battery that I use in my cordless keyboard that has a manufacturing date stamped on it from 1997.  Yes, it is almost 15 years old with maybe 100 uses so far, and still holds a charge of about 85% of it’s initial capacity (I checked it).  Remember to recycle your rechargeable batteries at the end of life, they are not meant to be thrown in the landfill.

A quick note on the technologies:

Lithium

Yes we see “Lithium” branded every where as the best batteries around.  The one use batteries have the longest is the longest shelf life of primary batteries..  About 10-15 years, and the rechargeable have the most power of any rechargeable available today.  These batteries are in laptop computers, mobile phones etc.  This issue with this technology is the consumption of lithium is growing exponentially.  Automobile manufacturers are some of the biggest contributor to that growth. There is one serious downside to this technology.  Lithium is a rare earth element from a rare earth minerals that are scarce on our planet.  Varying geological estimates indicate reserves as little as 15 years, and as much as 100 and longer (depending on your source) with good recycling programs.  This bothers me and I try to avoid using them when I can.  This battery is not the best choice because:

  • The lifespan is usually 3 – 5  years whether you charge them only 5 times or 200 during that time.  Basically it is dependant on time, and not the number of times you use it (usually).
  • Cells used inside laptops are made in a standard size, but many other electronics today don’t use standard size cells so that their devices can be made as small as possible.  Non-standard sizes means that sometimes you have to pay a premium for that new battery say in your cell phone.  Non standard sized components of any kind are harder to maintain in the long term because of part shortages.  I have trouble batteries from my cell phone.
  • Though you can get more power per charge, you should really evaluate the power over the lifetime use because that is why you are using rechargeables in the first place.
  • They are expensive.
  • They are dangerous if they are not handled properly.

NIMH – Nickel metal hydride

This is the most popular rechargeable available today for AA and AAA.  One thing i will say about NIMH, is that 95% of the time you should get the “low-self-discharge” or “LSD” variety of batteries.  The only time you would not want LSD is when you use drain your batteries daily.  They are relatively inexpensive and just look at these positives:

  • You get about ~750 – 1000 charges
  • The energy cost to charge a cell is a fraction of one penny (or free if you have a solar kit)
  • Can last for several years

Negatives

  • If you don’t buy low-self-discharge batteries, you will need to charge them maybe once a month. (NIMH LSD’s can easily last a year without charging).
  • Does not perform well in cold weather.

NiCad – Nickel cadmium battery.

This rechargeable technology has been around for more than 20 years.  It does not hold have as much power as NIMH, but can perform better in outdoor locations. It is the ideal battery for exterior solar powered walkway light due to its ability to function in the cold and it’s constant charge capability.

There is so much more to say about batteries, but I will stop here, as I am not a battery expert, but a well learned user.

  • Only use single-use batteries in places where self discharge is not desired, such as smoke detectors.
  • Only use Low-Self-Discharge NIMH’s if you want to save yourself from constant maintenance.  The worst offenders are the really cheap no-name or copy cat batteries from China.  Don’t waste your time with those.  They self discharge really quickly.
  • The most common brands are:  Duracell pre-charged, Sanyo Eneloop, Rayovac Renewal, Powerex Imideon LSD.  There are others, but these are the most common.
  • Buy yourself a good “smart charger” for your batteries.  You don’t necessary need the best (MAHA C-9000) in my opinion, but don’t get the cheapest charger because they are not good at sensing when to stop charging the batteries reducing battery life and charge capacity.  They are dumb, and that is why they are called “dumb chargers” in the hobby community.
  • Excellent battery information resources:  Candle Power Forums & Battery university.
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Does the one coat solution of “top-tier” paint really work?

Posted on September 28, 2011 by Bathurst Handyman

Big box store paints have appealing advantages to the average homeowner.  Yes, it is convenient to have all the items you need in one store.  At approximately $30-$40 per gallon for a supposedly top tier paint, the prices are competitive without question.  But on closer inspection, this deal is probably not so great.  I would like to point out at this time that many people, couldn’t careless about the quality of paint on their walls.   I think this is the case for good reason….who is really going to notice it?  It’s a fair question.  A better question is “Is someone else going to notice it?”.  It is curious characteristic of human nature that we only notice how bad something is when someone else points it out to you.  If you prefer your bliss, read another article.  If you to take bite of fruit from the paint tree of knowledge, read on.  Disclaimer:  painted fruit tastes funny, and is harmful to your health. Don’t bite it.  They belong on fridges pained by your niece or art by Paul Cézanne.

The one coat solution.  Why paint twice when you can paint only once?

It is appealing for sure.  Who in their right mind would choose to paint a room twice when you could do it once?  Honestly those people are suckers.  You could easily make fun of them for being out of touch with the latest paint technology.  “You paint a room like my grand parents, with lead!”.  Our culture is fixated on performing tasks faster whatever they may be.  The tag line goes something like “would you rather spend more quality time with your kids than painting?”.  It’s a fair point.  Can we really paint walls with only one coat, when we can paint it with two?.  Somewhere the idea was lost that maybe painting a room with your kids is better than for your kids.  Lets focus on the paint facts instead on what is ideally right.  You don’t care about painting, and have more interesting stuff to do.  If one coat is better that’s fine.  So let’s see if it is actually possible.

Here is the truth, paint, such as it is and how it is applied on walls today, with rollers, brushing and spraying will never…ever…be able to be applied effectively in one coat.  This has nothing to do with the chemical composition of the paint formula at all.  It has to do about the laws of physics, and the maximum thickness possible for one layer of paint before it gets too thick, and starts dripping off the wall.

Texture

Every wall you are going to paint has a texture that is not smooth as enamel or paint on car.  It is rough in texture, and has many crests and valleys.  This is a normal texture for a wall.  Below is a standard wall up close.  You can see the texture, and notice when a light is pointed almost parallel to the wall, the contrast is increased and you can really see the crests and valleys.

A black picture frame is on the left. The wall is pitted with crests and valleys.

A flashlight was shined parallel to the same wall as in the previous picture. You can really see the crests and valleys

 

This texture is even created on new drywall when the first coat of primer is applied.  Lets take a look at the existing conditions.  The following pictures is what the paint looks like if we look at the thickness of the materials only.  We will view a section through the wall in plan view (birds eye).  Notice that the tan/yellow coloured paint has crests and valleys like the previous picture.

Here is the tan / yellow coloured existing paint from the wall. The blue block represents the thickness of the drywall under the paint

 

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Drill driver bits: Robertson (Square shape), Phillips (Cross shape), and Slot (flat head)

Posted on September 11, 2011 by Bathurst Handyman

I want to start off by saying that this is not a driver bit manufacturer comparision article.  I am not interested in whose bit is best, whether it’s a Bosch, Dewalt, Makita or some other manufacturer.  Rather this is an article to show you how to identify what a good bit looks like.

Continuously replacing drill bits of poor design that only cost $0.25 or less can ongoing battle that never ends.  If you are fastening (driving) a screw with a cordless drill with a poor quality bit, you will notice your Robertson or Phillips bit drive damaging the screws making it harder to drive the next screw.  Sometimes the screws damage the bit.  It is very difficult to work with a bit that is damaged.  If by chance, you are using an impact driver instead of a cordless drill, the problem is exacerbated big time, as the impact driver “hammers” the bit rather than providing a continual push (turn) like a cordless drill.  Without going into metallurgy on why cheap drill bits suck, take my word that it wastes more time than it is worth.  Nothing is worse than putting together an Ikea desk with odd screw sizes, and your cheap drill bit damages the oddball sized screw which can’t be replaced by your local big box store. (They do have a wide selection of screws, but not all sizes, threads are carried).

If you like, you can buy a more expensive pivot holder (I have the yellow dewalt one in the featured picture).  Most manufacturers make pivot holders.  A pivot holder allows you to change out tiny 1/2″ long bits in and out of the holder (if you go through them quickly), and potentially saving you some money.  I have tried a pivot holder in the past, but honestly don’t see a real use for them.  (I switched back to standard 2″ long bits). If you buy a bit set that comes with one, use it as they are fine. I am saying that it is not a must have for a homeowner.

There is only one example I can think of where cheap disposable bits are useful.  When removing old screws from decking that are sometimes rusted and/or in hard to reach areas and/or the screws are damaged themselves, it is very helpful to have a bit that has a perfect shape.  New bits can help provide that perfect shape which only lasts for maybe 5 screws if it is of poor quality.  I don’t like that throw away mentality, but sometimes there is no other choice.  If the bit is not properly seated in the screw, the process can destroy even the best impact resistant bits if you are not careful.  Sometimes sacrificing one cheap bit to remove a screw is worth it.

Stop buying these “40 piece bit set for only $5″ deals at your local big box.  When a drill bit gets damaged, it is useless.  If you say, “well I have 39 more bits to go”, fine.  Drown in your ignorance, and waste your time.  Your job will take twice as long, possibly much more if you are driving many screws (such as repairing deck boards).  Remember the difficulty is not just the bits being damaged, but all of the metal filings that damage the screws as well.  Honestly, if a big box store offered me that 40 piece bit set for free, I would not take it.  I wouldn’t even throw it into an office pot luck for fear of you being typecast as the person in the office that uses potlucks as a garbage dump.

How to easily identify a good drill bit.

You will notice that the cheap bit is a six sided hexagonal shape from tip to tip.  Good quality bits  always have a round shape in the middle to the tip.  If you are driving screws in a tight corner, the six sided bit can damage wood easily by the rotating hexagonal shank shaped section.

Section of wood damged by drill bit

The six sided bit dented the wood. I only used softwood rather than a finished stained hardwoodt for the example, because I don't want to ruin any of my finishes!

 

Round sections don’t damage your work like six sided bits do.  The roundness of the bit is not the only reason why it is good, it is just a tell.  A good manufacturer who cares about the quality of their bits will spend the extra money to tool them correctly.   If the bit is classified as “square” rather than “Robertson”, don’t look twice.  The Robertson bit is square shaped, but it is also tapered unlike the “square ” bit, making it easier to work with.  Square bits sometimes get stuck to the screw, and I also find that the corners wear down faster.  As a side note, the Robertson screw was patented over 100 years ago in Canada by P.L Robertson.  The Robertson screw is a neat piece of Canadiana.  Here is a neat video on the history of the screw.

Just a small list of my good bit experiences.

Milwaukee shockwave, Metabo, Vega, Dewalt “impact ready” for ruggedness.  The Dewalt standard size (2″ long) non-pivot holder impact ready bits are the only manufacturer of this group that are not round.  Why?  I couldn’t tell you.

There are many other great manufacturers out there.  Marketing today will usually tout their best bits as compatible with impact drivers.  Not all impact compatible bits brands are good.  Don’t expect these bits to last a lifetime, but if it lasts  20 times as long as the garbage you may have been using, I wouldn’t be too surprised.   This is not a difficult purchase.

 

  • Bits that have a round shank are more forgiving with mistakes than their six sided counterparts if your bit is driving very close to finished wood.
  • Bits labelled “square” should be avoided.  Use Robertson instead because of the tapered head.
  • Impact driver compatibility is a good indication of a quality bit.  If you buy these, stick to well known brands, and you should be fine, but they are a little more costly.  Impact driver bits use a different type of metal, and the dead giveaway is that they have a black colour on the tip.  The Milwaukee shockwave in the featured picture of this article (top left) is one example of a “black coloured tip”
  • Price is a good indicator most of the time.  Only some very well respected brands will sell their lower tier bits at higher prices.  A good single drill bit will cost from $2 to $4 (rather than $0.25 for a cheap bits).
  • Most well known brands make bits that are good enough for the homeowner.  Some of the lesser known brands (metabo, vega, many others) don’t necessarily advertise impact driver compatibility, so ask your clerk at the hardware store about the quality, and he should be able to tell you.

 

 

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Plumber’s putty or silicone around your toilet?

Posted on September 9, 2011 by Bathurst Handyman

When installing a toilet, the final step involves creating a seal around the toilet to the floor.

Some plumbers use plumber’s putty, and others use silicone (caulk) for that final connection.  The application of silicone is much quicker, an experienced plumber can probably do it in two minutes, where the plumber’s putty may take five to ten minutes or even more.  The truth is the plumber’s putty is far better for your toilet in the long term for two main reasons I can think of.

You can see the plumber's putty line. It is tan coloured, and slightly dirty.

1.  If you have any young children who like to flush things down the toilet, you may have to remove the toilet to remove a toy, or even car keys.  This is a very common issue.  The silicone sealant, can be cut really easily with a sharp knife, but when you have to put the toilet back on the floor, the old silicone is stuck to the toilet and floor, and can be really difficult to remove.  Yes, you must remove the old silicone before you put the toilet back.   The consistency and feel of plumber’s putty is like Plasticine, and is easy to remove.

2.  The putty provides a little bit of  stability in preventing your toilet from rocking back and forth ever so slightly when you sit on it (or stand).  This is helpful for preventing sewer gasses from entering the house.  The silicone does not provide the same amount of support as the putty.  Silicone is flexible, but only to about ~10% – 15%  of it’s original size.  Once that size is exceeded, the seal is ripped.

The one downside to plumber’s putty is that it gets slightly dirty after a few years.   If this really bugs you, you can always shave the surface with a knife and apply a fresh layer on top.  It takes about 10 minutes to do that.

Ask your plumber (or handyman) to use plumber’s putty on your toilet.  The cost?  A tube of quality silicone costs about $6.  The putty costs about $2.50 for a small container, so cost should not be an issue when considering this purchase.

  • Plumber’s putty is better than silicone for sealing the floor to the toilet.
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Tool Tips for Homeowners

Posted on August 26, 2011 by Bathurst Handyman

I research tools and products for specific projects on a regular basis.  The category “Tool tips for homeowners” is devoted to providing tips before purchasing and for the use of various tools.

I find that much of the information available on the internet fails to distinguish what is best for the homeowner and what is best for the contractor regarding tools.  It is important to know when a homeowner needs to buy professional grade stuff to get the job done right. I am a beliver in buying quality serviceable tools, but sometimes less expensive tools are preferred to get the job done.

Tip #1. “Contractor grade” sucks.  “Professional grade” is better

Know the difference between the marketing terms “Contractor grade” tools and supplies and “Professional grade”.    Yes it is just a marketing label, but I find for the most part there is quite a difference in meanings between these two.   Products with the “professional grade” stamp on it are geared towards a brand’s higher end product, which is true sometimes.  It may sound silly, but I find items with “Contractor grade” stamped on them are usually made with the intention of providing the bare minimum requirements of whatever it is you plan to do, and more often than not, I regret my purchase because of poor performance form that product…kinda like some contractors are.  I have learned my lesson, unless I know what the product is capable of before I buy it, I never buy anything with  the “contractor grade” stamp on it.

Tip #2 When to use cheap paint brushes

When using Alkyd paints (oil based), the cleanup involved is very messy.  Mineral spirits  are required to clean your brushes.  I am not going to explain the whole process, but that stuff is nasty, and extremely unfriendly to the environment.  After the brushes are cleaned you have to “air out” your brush, letting the mineral spirits evaporate.  You also have to store the wasted mineral spirits in a container for future disposal. You can’t pour it down the drain or throw it in the garbage.

So if you have to use alkyd paints, for smaller sized jobs like painting a bench vise or your metal shed, it is a good idea to use foam brushes or cheap china bristle brushes.  When you are finished painting, throw the brush in a glass jar (open lid) and let the paint ruin those cheap brushes.  After a couple of days, it will harden up.  When you consider the environmental factor, it is probably the better choice rather than using mineral spirits with the possibility of spillage, and the future disposal issue IMO.

As an aside, latex or acrylic paints cannot be substituted for some alkyd paint applications.  You can’t use those paints on metal.  It simply does not adhere properly.   I don’t care if the paint can says “exterior” on the paint can.  It’s not a matter of latex not lasting as long, it is more that those paints can’t perform all of the necessary painting applications we need as homeowners such as painting my old bench vise (in the above picture).   Alkyd holds up better to physical wear, tear and UV light, and I hope they are replaced with more environmentally friendly products in the coming future, but I will not hold my breath for them.

  • Be wary of “contractor grade” products
  • Disposable paint brushes are good choice if the type of paint you use requires a messy cleanup

 

 

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Which Furnace Filter is right for you? Are washable filters the most environmentally consious choice?

Posted on August 17, 2011 by Bathurst Handyman

You may ask yourself, do I have the technical know how to determine what is best for my HVAC system?  The answer is a definite yes, it is not difficult, but will take a little bit of reading to understand how the system works.

Why you should care

Forced air HVAC systems require a cartridge “media” style furnace filter for my furnace.  We know what they look like.  The packaging usually says “16x25x1 or 20x25x1.”  When you go to the big box store, there are so many furnace filter types and it is easy to get little overwhelmed from what seems should be a really simple choice.  To complicate matters, HVAC experts can’t agree on what is the best method of filtration as there is a wide difference of opinion.  I think this is attributed to the fact that a “one size fits all” solution does not really exist.  Who cares honestly? Well you should, the type of filter can affect the life of your furnace, your health, and the energy efficiency of your system as a whole.  It is possible that your 95% efficient furnace with a variable speed ECM motor can consume the same amount of natural gas as a 92% furnace because of poor airflow or using the wrong filter.  It’s a bold statement.   More often than not, the most expensive disposable filters are not necessarily the best choice for the average homeowner’s furnace.   The analogy I would use is filling your car with 92 octane gasoline, when the car manufacture specifies 87 in the owners manual.  Despite that many people feel 92 octane is cleaner and therefore better for their car is a misconception which is still debated to this day the same as furnace filter quality.

Who is going to cough first from poor air quality, you or your HVAC system components?

Indoor air quality needs for a person is not necessarily the same as the HVAC system component needs.  Those two different needs are far too often blurred as the same requirement.  Furnace components are expensive to replace.   They can and sometimes do fail prematurely by getting dust trapped in the blower, heat exchanger or air-conditioning coils.  This is especially the case with ECM variable speed motors in 95% efficient furnaces, as they are prone to failure if it is running at full speed for weeks at a time.  This is far longer than a variable speed is designed to run. You can be surely kicking yourself for not spending only a little bit of time once in your life to learn about filters and $5 t every three months on the proper filter for your system, so listen good.

At first, I found it hard to find good information because there are a lot of useless marketing out there about your HVAC systems requirements.  It is easy to get confused from what should be a simple choice to buy their product.  As mentioned before, the requirement for a furnace/air-conditioning  filter to function properly is not necessarily the same as the requirements that a human has to feel comfortable.  What I mean by this, is your filter can be doing it’s job properly, but you may be sneezing from pet dander.  Obviously in that scenario, you don’t have a good enough filter.  Or in a different scenario, possibly your furnace model can be sensitive to particulate matter and running too often with high static pressure, and you are a rough and tough human being affected by the extra particulate matter in the air, and you don’t feel the difference.  Just know that your requirements are not necessary the same as the furnace’s.

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Pressure Treaded Decks. Repair or Replace?

Posted on August 2, 2011 by Bathurst Handyman

Here is a hypothetical scenario (that I ran into last month)   Take a guess on which options are more environmentally friendly.  This is not as easy as you think.

You have an old patio deck that is 10-15 years old made of pressure treated wood.  The stain is almost completely gone, and the wood has splintered in many areas and in rough shape. You think the deck is at the end of life, but you are not sure.

 

Here are your options for the plan of action.

  1. Replace the deck with a more environmentally friendly product that uses 75% post-consumer waste as the main decking material.
  2. Stain the deck again, by pressure washing or sanding the old stain off, and make small repairs where needed to try and extend the life.

There are other options of course, but lets stick with these two for the time being.

The answer is…

It depends, but probably #1,

but most likely not for the reason you think!

The reason why #1 is probably a better choice is because prior to 2004, pressure treated wood was “treated” using chromium and arsenic.  The wood is called Chromated Copper Aresenate (CCA) pressure treated.  Yep, companies actually put carcinogens in our decks if you can believe it, until it was banned in residential use in Canada and the US.  Side note: it is still used in telephone/hydro poles today in new installations.  Today, the residential sector mostly uses Alkaline Copper Quaternary (ACQ) or less common  Copper Azole pressure treated, which is far less carciogenic, but also has it’s caveats which I will not discuss in this article.  Its also the stuff that’s now available at the big box stores.   You may have read about CCA  in the news about ten years ago about this stuff being used in playground equipment in public schools.  Ring a bell?  There is a website devoted to this stuff noccawood.ca though slightly out of date, it still has good articles.

My first gut feeling for this answer is to prolong the life of the deck, to reduce the amount of waste that ends up in the landfills by staining the deck.   Of course that deck will eventually be land-filled, but you are consuming less by protecting what you have now.  It’s like buying a new car ever three years when a lease expires.  Granted, someone else does use that car after three years, but no one will use your deck after you throw it out to the landfill.

The environmental issue here is, to properly stain a deck, you need to pressure wash it (or sand it).  If someone came in to pressure wash that deck, some of the chemicals are still encapsulated in the wood, but not nearly as much as when it was new.  The pressure washing could scatter some of those chemicals out of the wood.  The amount is not much, but I still would never recommend doing that.  Contained environmentally friendly items are always safer than uncontained.  Also, the soil directly under the deck is the area that will have the most chemicals in it.  When the deck is eventually removed, it must be done so with great caution, and the deck itself has no possible second use, and it’s life cycle ends.  It must go to the dump as the chromium and arsenic cannot be extracted from the wood, and cannot be buried or burned.

This is a similar concept as Green Houses Gases (GHG) in that carbon dioxide is trapped or stored in vegetation, and is released into the air when burned.  The pressure treated deck stores in the carcinogenic chromium and arsenic, it is safer to have it trapped in the wood, than all over your lawn.  Most likely you will have the highest rating in the soil within two feet beside of an installed CCA pressure treated deck (or under it).   If you had this done in the past don’t freak out, if you had a good installer, they may have been extra careful, and you are probably fine.  If you are skeptical, get the soil tested.  You could use Pinchin Environmnetal for testing.  They have offices all over Southern Ontario.

I guarantee you that not every decking company will take great caution when repairing or removing.  Make sure they don’t use their saws to remove the old wood spewing sawdust in the air with this stuff.  When you hire that deck company ask them what their removal procedures are, and keep in mind that the soil underneath the deck is probably contaminated.  Do your research.

 

 

 

It doesn’t matter that scenario #1 has the recycled content, it is not nearly as important as the handling and disposal of the old deck from an environmental standpoint in this particular scenario.  This of course is a tad oversimplified, but it is important to know that performing the most environmentally friendly action in home renovations does not always carry labels or bragging rights with it (if that is important to you).

Here is a new question… If you get a new deck, is option #1 or new style ACQ pressure treated more environmentally friendly?  The answer is as always “it depends”.

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Home Improvement Blog With A Taste Of Environmental Conscience. It Tastes Good.

Posted on August 1, 2011 by Bathurst Handyman

Type of home improvement →  long term mindset

Also this is not just any home improvement blog.  If I learn something that combines what is in the title, I will try to share it.  Yes, I am a handyman (amongst other things), I have a broader knowledge of environmental impacts of small home improvement choices than the average handyman because of my building science education with my LEED AP accreditation.  You may be wondering why I am giving free advice to homeowners to learn how to perform home maintenance themselves for consulting services I normally charge for.  Mainly, when I am asked to fix something, I like to do things properly and take pride in my work.  But not only that, it is because it is the right thing to do. I would like to bring back accountability into the trades.  There is too often a disconnect between individuals who work trades today and their trustworthiness.   I suspect that there are many other people out there who are like minded and who care about their community.

This blog is dedicated on relaying the information I have learned to the homeowner.  Like any profession, handymen (or women) have to adapt to the times.

I also want to focus on methods of fixing your house that has an environmentally conscious element to it.    This is not exclusively the type of green where when you buy a product that advertises “green” or “eco” on the label, and where the homeowner gets satisfied that they did the right thing.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s good to have that satisfaction, but it is even better to know that the process of your home repair is well thought out, that you are trying to do the best you can.  It is far more important that you are taking into account the long term effects of you current home improvement choice, than just basing your design on picking that “green” product.

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