Can wood be preservative treated and fire retardant treated at the same time?
Under AWPA Standards, preservative treatment and fire retardant treatment are two different technologies. Preservatives are expected to protect the wood from decay fungi and termites every day over a long period of time. Fire retardants are expected to remain in the wood and protect it from a one-time event. Some preservatives do impart a degree of fire retardancy, and some fire retardants can act as preservatives to some extent, but currently, fire retardant treated wood should not be used where preservative treatment is required, nor should preservative treated wood be used when fire retardant treated wood is required.
Under AWPA Standards, preservative treatment and fire retardant treatment are two different technologies. Preservatives are expected to protect the wood from decay fungi and termites every day over a long period of time. Fire retardants are expected to remain in the wood and protect it from a one-time event. Some preservatives do impart a degree of fire retardancy, and some fire retardants can act as preservatives to some extent. At this time, there is only one AWPA standardized product which may be used both as a fire retardant and wood preservative, and it is only listed for interior uses. Apart from this, fire retardant treated wood should not be used where preservative treatment is required, nor should preservative treated wood be used when fire retardant treated wood is required. What kind of fasteners and connectors should I use in pressure treated wood? AWPA’s test methodologies are used to determine relative corrosion rates, and cannot be used to estimate corrosion of fasteners
