Before adding any new timber to a property it is always best to treat it with a good quality wood preserver. If you are refurbishing a property it is also advisable to treat as much timber in the house as possible.

I am of the opinion that if you own a property whether it be your own home or a house which you are renting out then it is probably one of the most expensive purchases that you will ever make and therefore deserves looking after! Treating as much wood as possible with the very best wood treatment available will not cost much at all and will preserve all the timber. Imagine how much it would cost to replace for instance a joist or two on the first floor due to wood worm damage! You would be looking at a considerable amount of money as the floor boards would need lifting, the ceiling would need considerable patching or boarding over completely, wires and pipes running through the joists would need moving and then all the other timber would need treating, this would cause a great deal of work and cost a small fortune. It is therefore better to prevent rather than cure!

You can see from this picture that all new added wood was treated with wood preserver, all the wood work that is hidden by the plaster board has also been treated as a precaution. When I purchased the house I found evidence of wood worm, one floor board was so badly eaten that I went through it! Timber that is so badly damaged needs completely replacing with treated timber. All the roofing timbers were preserved as were all the wooden floors, this involved purchasing a few tins of preservative, a face mask and rubber gloves and a garden sprayer (one with a long hose).

I lifted about every fifth floorboard throughout the property and sprayed every inch of timber with preservative, the whole project only took a few hours but once it is finished you cannot re-enter the property until at least 24 hours have passed. BE VERY CAREFUL WHEN SPRAYING CHEMICALS AS THEY CAN BE LETHAL.

This timber is in a shower area. The wood has been treated to ensure that it will never rot!

If using timber externally even if it has been tanalised you should pay particular attention to any cut ends and treat them with a suitable wood preserver.