Home, Sweet Home: The Woods You Should Use For Your Home

Wood is an important element of majority (if not all) households. It’s so versatile and sturdy that it you can literally make a whole house made just out of wood! A quick look around the room and surely you’d be able to point out at least one household item that’s made of wood. If that’s the case, then your home is always at the risk of pest infestation, hence termite control is definitely something you should always consider.

Did you know that more than 90% of termite infestations start from wood-soil contact? Of course, some types of wood are more vulnerable than others. Here are a few examples of wood that

Pressure-treated lumber

Pressure-treated lumber is wood that has been immersed in a liquid preservative and placed in a pressure chamber to force the chemical into the wood fibers, making sure that the chemical penetrates deeply into the core of the lumber.

Lumber treated with this method is highly resistant to decay and insects. The chemical preservative acts as a barrier against termites.

Most lumber treatments involve copper which is toxic to various insects and fungi that might cause decay. Some good pressure-treatment for your residence includes Alkaline Copper Quaternary (ACQ) and Copper Azole.

ACQ binds to wood fibers very well and allows wood to last decades even when it is in contact with the ground. It has been used successfully for more than ten years. Experts found it to be as good as green Chromated Copper Arsenate (CCA), a type of treatment recognized for its effectiveness. But because arsenic is a known carcinogen, CCA treatment is no longer recommended for residential purposes.

One type of copper azole treatment is Copper Boron Azole (CBA). Like ACQ, CBA is also copper-based and prevents fungal decay and insect attack, thereby making it both fungicide and insecticide. The treatment leaves the wood with dark honey brown color.

Copper Azole type B was standardized in 2002. It is composed 96.1% copper. Wood treated with CA-B has a greenish-brown color with little or no odor.

Naturally-Resistant Woods

While you can treat woods to make them resistant to termites, there are naturally-resistant woods which you can use for your home. You know very well how termites love decaying woods.

These tree species are resistant to decay and insects in their natural state due to high levels of organic chemicals called extractives, deposited in the heartwood. The heartwood of trees is actually a result of a naturally occurring chemical transformation has become more resistant to decay.

Some well-known naturally-resistant woods include the River Red gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis), coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) and western red cedar (Thuja plicata). You can also have red mulberry, black locust and Pacific yew.

Decay resistance is more common in tropical hardwoods. The tropic’s warmer temperatures and higher moisture levels are more conducive to decay, so trees growing in this area have higher resistance level to decay. Among exceptionally decay-resistant tropical woods are ipe, lignumvitae, purpleheart, and old-growth teak. In the Philippines, we have Philippine teak, Philippine or Sumatran yew, and Looking-glass tree as just some samples of hardwood.

Getting rid of pests is your first step to home, sweet home. But planning in advance when furnishing your home is equally essential as well. So choose well your home design, materials and location because in the long run, this can literally either make or break your home.

Your home should be the best place on earth for you. It is the only place you can call yours, so do your best to take care of it. After all, it has and will continue to protect you and your loved ones for a very long time.