On Fri, 04 Jun 2010 09:15:02 -0400, Ohioguy wrote:

Most lumber yards take returns.

I didn't get this at a lumber yard. These came from a thrift store
which has volunteers that go out and "reclaim" lumber from homes in the
area that are being torn down. Surprisingly, many of these 2x4's are of
superior quality to the new ones I've bought at Lowe's. Anyway, they
were just 90 cents each, and I felt good because using them did not
create any new demand for cut lumber.


If you are going to spend any time fabricating this, get the right
wood, pressure treated rated for ground contact.

Not really an option at this point - I already have the wood I want
to use, I can't take it back, and I need to get it out of the basement
to make room in the next couple of months. Since I also have a need for
some sort of border edging, I might as well just find out what the best
wood preservative I can use is. If I can't find anything else, I'll
just use a copper naphthenate solution.


I guess my question right now is - what chemical is soluble in an oil
based solution, with little or low solubility in water, and acts as an
insecticide, and possibly with fungicide qualities as well? That is
what I need.

Paraffin wax dissolved in kerosene makes a pretty good completely non-
toxic (after the kerosene evaporates) wood preservative. On a hot day
you can make a solution of more than 50% wax, which will work better as a
wood deck preservative than any readily available sealer/preservative you
can buy.

If you can get the wood and wax hot enough during application you can
skip the kerosene. I have some maple log sections used as campfire
stools which I preserved by melting wax blocks on both ends in the sun on
a hot day about 8 years ago, still in good condition long after the
untreated sections have rotted away.

The price and flammability of wax are drawbacks, and probably accounts
for the lack of much wax in commercial deck sealers these days.