I'm using Pressure treated lumber for the bottom plate in a basement finishing project.
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What should I use to seperate the wood from the concrete?
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What are ways to secure the bottom plate to the floor?
Concrete – How to secure wood framing to a concrete basement floor
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Best Answer
Pressure treated "PT" lumber is made for damp areas, where there's moisture and direct contact to concrete or earth. Make sure to use the proper coated anchors for Pressure treated lumber. such as hot-dipped galvanized or stainless steel fasteners. there's more detail about this below.. keep in mind pressure treated is not only a preservative it is also a poison to prevent termites..
An alternative you can consider using fir or pine as your bottom plates, if on concrete you can't have direct contact. lumber will take the moisture from concrete and either cause dry rot. To prevent that from happening lay down sill gasket a foam like material in a roll.. made for this reason.. and can be found in most home hardware locations..
Commencing in early 2004, the pressure treated wood industry ceased producing CCA treated wood for many residential uses. A number of replacements have been developed including Copper Azole (CA), Alkaline Copper Quaternary (ACQ) and Sodium Borate (SBX).
With the change, ACQ and CA will almost certainly be the preservatives used in generically designated “pressure treated” sawn lumber in use in building construction. SBX treated lumber is available but would need to be specified as such.
Practices and customs that were adequate with CCA treated lumber may not be appropriate for use with the new products.
Some of these “next generation” wood preservatives are significantly more corrosive to metal than was CCA treated wood. Current information suggests that this increase in corrosion particularly applies to CA (and ACQ but not to SBX)
The use of hot-dipped galvanized or stainless steel fasteners with the pressure treated wood, and avoidance of contact of aluminum with pressure treated wood have been long standing recommendations; although, in practice,these have frequently been overlooked with no serious consequences (other than pitted aluminum flashings). With the new preservatives these recommendations should no longer be ignored. Thus it is important to specify and obtain appropriate corrosion resistant materials to ensure adequate service life for fasteners and connectors.
Aluminum should not be used in contact with pressure treated wood. Spacer materials or other physical barriers are recommended to prevent direct contact of pressure treated wood with aluminum products.
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