This page will supply information for planning ideas, designs, materials, construction and maintenance of decks, fences and other outdoor structures. This page will pretend Chromated Copper Arsenate (CCA) treated wood does not exist as a treated material for you to use in your homeowner project. The reasons for this pretention are explained in the next paragraph.

Chromated copper arsenate or CCA, is a chemical preservative that is used to protect wood from being destroyed by microbes, termites, or other wood-boring insects. CCA contains forms of the chemicals chromium, copper, and arsenic. CCA is largely used to pressure treat lumber intended for outdoor uses such as home, school, and community playgrounds; decks; and landscape timbers. CCA-treated lumber is also used in building structures. In early February, 2002, the manufacturers of CCA asked EPA to remove from their registration many applications of CCA for residential use, including playground equipment, decks, and landscape timbers. It thus appears that after December 31, 2003, CCA will no longer be available to treat wood used in residential settings. For more information on CCA and it's discontinued residential use can be found at the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission in a report titled QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS - CCA-TREATED WOOD prepared by CPSC staff February 2002.

Now that you know you will/should not be using CCA treated materials you need to know that it is very, very important to ask your supplier of treated wood what the manufacturer of the treated wood you are buying recommends for attachment hardware. You know, the nails, screws, bolts, nuts, washers, framing anchors, hangers and any other metal that touches the wood you are buying. Because we are in the post CCA infancy of experience with new chemical treatments for lumber, the problem of corrosion with the old attachment hardware is becoming an obvious and critical issue that needs to be resolved. Do not assume you know the proper attachment hardware; ask for the manufacturers' recommendation, and, do not ignore it because it costs too much. The cost will be insignificant compared to your loss if the deck or fence fails and someone is injured. If there is an added cost that makes you rethink your budget, consider recalculating and substituting a composite or synthetic lumber with traditional attachment hardware.

For an excellent and informative understanding of the corrosion issue please see the article from the Western Region Builder News published July 2004 and written by Ryan Reed called TRICK or TREATED CCA Alternatives More Corrosive and Expensive.

For technical assistance to help choose the correct fastener for your treated lumber see Simpson Strong Tie's Guidelines for Selecting the Proper Connector.

You can avoid this recent attachment hardware corrosion problem buy using cedar, redwood, composite or synthetic lumber products. These products have had a longer testing history to determine the longevity of attachment hardware and usually the synthetics and composites are less likely to react with the metals than the new chemically treated woods.