Treating Reclaimed Barn Wood For Termites
Two applications of a 10 liquid solution are normally required.
Treating reclaimed barn wood for termites. I washed down the old barn wood first then using the water hoes brush and adding 1 part bleach and 2 part water in the attached container i went to work. Apply tim bor professional solutions by brush or spray at the rate of 5 gallons of liquid solution per 1000 square feet of wood surface area thoroughly wetting wood surface area. Make sure you have rubber gloves on for this step. Check the wood thoroughly for decay and rot.
These chemicals will not only keep invaders like termites away but kill any pests remaining on the lumber s surface. Mostly it s important to get the wood 8 12 inches above grade on a material that termites can t wont eat. If it has small holes it probably has some. The nice thing about borax is that is is completely safe for both humans and pets but it is deadly on insects.
Even better find a local kiln to dry the wood for you ask if there kiln gets hot enough to kill off the bugs. Termites are poisoned when they eat the treated wood. Within minutes the wood was looking much cleaner and i had lots of fun scrubbing that old nasty barn wood. If dry wood termites are present inside the pole barn tim bor professional solution should be used.
Borate is a water soluble chemical used to prevent and control termite infestations. You guys this stuff is amazing. I used minwax polycrylic water based protective finish in clear satin. Prime the reclaimed wood with termite resistant solution to protect the wood from termites and other insects prime the lumber with a borax solution.
That way you can inspect the pile regularly and break down the tunnels they build to access. This tends to be a problem when using reclaimed wood. Borax this is one of the most popular ways for eliminating existing wood boring insects from wood. Warning grey color can fade a bit to a more dark brown color during drying if the wood had previously been saturated.
The last step to clean and refinish your reclaimed wood is to properly seal the wood. There are products available that will renew the grey color if this happens. Simply scrub your lumber with a mixture of borax and water and allow it to soak into your wood. Barn wood that has been in touch with the ground is more likely to have insect problems.
Once the wood was dry from its cleaning i used a regular paint brush and sparingly applied the minwax finish. Make sure there are no insect infestations in your supply of barn wood. Once treated the wood must be coated with a finish to seal in the borate. In some markets there may be some small fumigation chambers available where you could take the wood.