Pressure Preserved Wood Products
Preservative
At Marks-Miller Post and Pole, Inc. we use Koppers brand Chromated Copper Arsenate wood preservative, commonly refered to as "CCA". CCA preservative has been a proven wood preservative for many years.
CCA was developed in 1933 and has been used extensively since the early 1970's. Beginning January of 2004, the Environmental Protection Agency agreed to chemical registrants requests to place "use restrictions" on CCA treated products.
Generally, CCA preserved products are allowed to be used in agricultural and highway applications only. Most residential applications are resricted. For more specific information about CCA product uses, click on the following website links.
www.woodpreservativescience.org
Preserving Standards
Marks-Miller Post and Pole follows American Wood Protection Association standards in it's preserving process. AWPA was founded in 1904 and is the principle Standards-writing body for the wood preserving industry in the United States. Gary Marks (Owner) Is a member of the AWPA. Our products also meet Montana Department of Transportation standards.
AWPA has made major reference changes in it's book of standards in recent years. The "C" standards are no longer used and have been deleted from the Book of Standards. They have been replaced with the "UC" standards in an attempt to make these preserving standards more user friendly for Specifiers.
Click on the link below for the AWPA Use Standards.
Preserving Process
The preserving process at Marks-Miller Post & Pole, Inc. is monitored closely so that we can provide the best product possible to our customers in an environmentally and health conscious manner. While the safety of our employees, customers and the environment is our first priority, it is also important that we provide our customers with a high quality durable product.
Preserving is accomplished in an enclosed, heated containment facility that conforms to all State and Federal regulations. Dry wood is placed in a metal cylinder, sealed shut and then run through a series of vacuum and pressure cycles. The wood preserving chemicals are ultimately pushed deep into the wood to provide a product that conforms to American Wood Protection Association guide lines.
The Preserved wood is then removed from the cylinder and placed in a contained, impervious heated area called a drip pad until fixation occurs. Fixation is a complex series of chemical reactions where the preservative becomes locked to the wood fibers in a highly insoluble state.
With completion of this process, our customers are assured of a product that is durable, safe to handle and will not harm the environment.
(See Consumer Safety Information Sheet.pdf)
For more information on the Preserving process and the preservative chemicals used please click on the link below.
http://www.koppersperformancechemicals.com
Custom Preserving Services
We offer custom perserving services to anyone with a need to protect wood from decay. Prices are determined by the volume of material being considered, how it is packaged when it arrives and what the final specifications are.
Turn around time is usually about two weeks but will ultimately depend on a variety of factors including the moisture content of the product.
This video below explains the Preserving process in detail.