PT or Not to PT

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Author Message Russell W. Wood, CSI, CCS Senior Member Username: woodr5678 Post Number: 129 Registered: 11-2003 Posted on Friday, February 27, 2009 - 04:53 pm:    It's been so long since I was on the boards...I've forgotten. Should 1 x fascia boards and drip nailers be PT? Curt Norton, CSI, CCS Senior Member Username: curtn Post Number: 131 Registered: 06-2002 Posted on Friday, February 27, 2009 - 08:10 pm:    Pressure treated lumber is so wet when it arrives on site I wouldn't use it unless it was absolutely necessary - such as a sill plate on a concrete foundation. The firms I've worked for recently and the State of Wisconsin have even stopped using it for low slope roof blocking. If that wood is getting wet, there are bigger problems to deal with. Plus, it costs more to use it. Steven Hauk Senior Member Username: sh1net Post Number: 10 Registered: 12-2004 Posted on Sunday, March 01, 2009 - 11:05 am:    Would you be in a position to use a more dimensionally stable board, like a fiber cement trim board? It will last longer than wood and hold paint better. Plus...It won't twist and bow. Jerome J. Lazar, RA, CCS, CSI, SCIP Senior Member Username: lazarcitec Post Number: 652 Registered: 05-2003 Posted on Monday, March 02, 2009 - 12:47 am:    Russell, we have always specified either PT Wood or Cedar for Fascia and Drips; never tried alternative board products like AZEK, though it might we worth a shot. Steven Hauk Senior Member Username: sh1net Post Number: 13 Registered: 12-2004 Posted on Monday, March 02, 2009 - 01:28 am:    Assuming it might have been interpreted as such, I'll clarify that my reply wasn't proposing AZEK. A few years ago, I was working with a developer who had used it on some previous buildings and eventually had problems with the wide, flat shapes. John Bunzick, CCS, CCCA, LEED AP Senior Member Username: bunzick Post Number: 1016 Registered: 03-2002 Posted on Monday, March 02, 2009 - 08:32 am:    It depends on where you are geographically, too. Here in the Boston area, D-select pine is commonly used for this purpose. (I'm sure the new composites have made inroads, nevertheless.) Kept painted, it lasts a very long time. My house is just shy of 120 years old and a most of the trim is original, though the barge boards are a bit ragged at the ends, I have to say. Fascias have been replaced because originally the gutters were wood, without facias. Now (sigh) they're aluminum. Curt Norton, CSI, CCS Senior Member Username: curtn Post Number: 133 Registered: 06-2002 Posted on Monday, March 02, 2009 - 03:15 pm:    What is the entended exposed finish? If it's metal, then I stand by my earlier post. If it is painted or stained wood, then redwood or cedar would be approriate. However, cement board products are nearly standard for commercial work and higher end residential today. Russell W. Wood, CSI, CCS Senior Member Username: woodr5678 Post Number: 130 Registered: 11-2003 Posted on Monday, March 02, 2009 - 03:46 pm:    End purpose would be painted...so I guess paint grade would be the ticket. Phil Kabza Senior Member Username: phil_kabza Post Number: 369 Registered: 12-2002 Posted on Wednesday, March 04, 2009 - 09:41 pm:    If you're in the Southeast, stay with PTW or plastic. Spec KDAT - kiln dried after treatment - for the PTW to help with problem that Kurt noted above. A lot of builders favor the plastic products.