The Rot Doctor


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Subject: boat flooring (using pressure treated wood)
Date: Thu, 04 Nov 2004

On your website you do not recommend using treated lumber if using the epoxy sealant. All I have read suggests pressure treated plywood then followed by the epoxy. Any suggestions?

Jonathon

Jonathon,

There are two reasons that we do not generally recommend using pressure treated plywood. One, if the wood is protected properly, it is not necessary. Two, if the pressure treated wood has not been cured properly, it can be difficult to get anything to stick to it, including our epoxies.

Usually the wood rots in the first place because the manufacturer will do things like fiberglass in the wood, then drill a hole to mount a seat. But not do anything to keep water from wicking down along the screw. And since the pressure treatment is only in the outer 1/8" or so of the plywood, if you drill past the pressure treatment and the water gets in the middle of the plywood, it will rot anyway. So the key is proper construction that eliminates the ability for water to get to the wood. If you do that, there is no need to spend extra money on pressure treated wood. If you don't keep the water away from the wood, the pressure treatment may delay the rotting some, but it will still eventually rot.

Doc

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