Creosote Floor Joist

Sponsored links 2 10 08 18 03 23 pm m.

Creosote floor joist.

Many seaside waterfront homes built in the early 1900s to the 1980s were built using floor joists beams posts and sheathing that were treated with creosote a tar like substance think of telephone poles to prevent termite infestations and wood rot. Creosote is a mixture of numerous chemicals including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons pah s some of which have been determined to be carcinogenic according to various government regulations. That nasty stuff was banned years ago from retail sale. The house we worked in which was over 120 years old may have had creosote protected wood joists which prevented us from getting the clean that both us and our customer desired.

Ashick andrew shick september 18 2006 2 25am 2. We were only able to bring a wood stain look back to the joists. 47 429 received 286 votes on. I want to seal the crawlspace.

Should i have the joists removed and replaced or is there a sealer anyone here is familiar with that could provide a coating tough and tight enough that you would be comfortable having such planks inside your building envelope. Creosote was created as a wood preservative dating back to 1831. Entire floor system joists and subfloor treated with creosote. Creosote smell in basements and crawl spaces.

I just did a quick google search and found this. Is the potential chemical hazard only relevant to skin contact. The floor of a 1970 s addition to my house consists of creosote treated planks from an old bridge over a vented crawlspace. Would you have concerns about moving your family into it.

I doubt that there is an effective method to completely seal in the chemical compounds.