[Sust-mar] A Non-Toxic Wood Treatment

[Peter Watson]

I received several responses to the Non-Toxic Wood Treatment post that I
sent out last week (concerning Lifetime Wood Treatment). I also had
several requests from people to share any info I received, so because of
this interest I've compiled all these responses - see below.

Best,  Peter

----------------------------------------------------------------------


Hi Peter,
We applied it to our deck this summer, but it is too early to evaluate.
Still, it seems just right.
Leighton

Leighton "Larry" Steele, PhD, Chair
Modern Languages Department
Mount Saint Vincent University
Halifax, Nova Scotia

----------------------------------


Hi Peter,

In response to your request for information from users of this product,
I will share our experience in using it on cedar and spruce exterior
boards.  We were referred to it by Don Roscoe of Solar NS.

We created a large bath for the wood and quickly dipped each board in it
and then stacked them again. We did this several days before installing
them on the house and chicken coop respectively.  When we installed it
we also dipped the cut end in the product.

The near instant change in the cedar was quite pleasant-leaving a light
green-grey hue to the wood.  That was the fall of 2007, and this year
the cedar is going a natural silver grey.  The spruce is doing something
similar.

I am not sure if the product does anything at all with regard to
preserving the wood.  It merely changes the colour to the green-grey.
My suspicion is that it neutral with regard to preservation.

If you have any other information you can share about the long-term
value or toxicity, etc. I would appreciate your sharing it.

Thanks,

Eric Tusz-King

------------------------------------------


Have you seen this, Peter? Contains some info on your product and others.
http://www.shelterecology.com/enviornWoods.html

van Berkel
journalist
(902) 422-3875


----------------------------------------------


Hi Mark,

BTW, I'm curious what EAC did with any outdoor wood or decks (if
anything) during the renovations.

Peter


Hi
Nothing. We used tamarack and hemlock which endure longer than spruce.
Come and check it out in a few years.

It was FSC wood (forest stewardship certified) from NS woodlot owners.

Mark


-------------------------------------------------

The original message:


Lifetime Wood Treatment: An Eco-Friendly, Non-Toxic Wood Treatment, with
no further maintainance required. And Canadian to boot.

http://valhalco.com/

I've heard of it being available in NS for a few years. The company
claims that contractors and some provincial government departments now
use regularly it, and I've just used it on my own deck.

But my inner skeptic is curious. How much is truth, how much is
marketing hype?

If any other sust-martians have experience using this stuff, I'd be
interested in hearing about your impressions and long term results -  as
a preservative against weathering and rotting, as well as aesthetically
and of course ecologically. Reply privately if you wish, but if it is
everything they claim (a real alternative to pressure treatment and/or
toxic stains), then perhaps everyone should know about it, so you could
post to the list as well.

Thanks,  Peter