Treat sill plates before closing walls? Termites?

[cadunkle]

I have a 16'x16' shed on a slab. 2x6 PT sill plates and 2x4 walls built on that, T1-11 siding, sill plates are right on the slab just above grade. Walls are currently open but I want to insulate and install OSB walls. I'll probably use an electric ceiling mounted heater for use only when I'm working in the shed, or just use a torpedo heater I already have.

Before I close up the walls I'm wondering if there's a product I should use to treat the sill plates and bottom of the studs and sheathing with the discourage termites or rot from water exposure. Has anyone done this? What products would work for this? Or should I not bother?

 

[captaindiode]

For termites, you could use boracare. You mix in a pump sprayer and treat the studs and back of the sheeting up at least 2 ft. The sill plate should be pressure treated. As far as moisture, I don't know. T1-11 is prone to rotting along the ground, usually because the is no foundation wall and it is close to the ground. I would be sure to paint the bottom edge liberally to prevent moisture wicking up into the siding and put a gravel strip around the building to help with drainage. You also need gutters to prevent splash back against the siding.

 

[bad_idea]

Keep it dry and the termites should stay away, they go for wet wood. Keep the dirt a few inches away from the siding and you will be able to see their tubes on the outside of the building if they do move in.

 

[jkeyser14]

Timbor is another option.

 

[Lynden]

Keep it dry and the termites should stay away, they go for wet wood.

This is only partly true. Subterranean termites live in the ground and can get all of the moisture they need to survive from the ground. They eat both dry and damp wood. Drywood termites live in cavities they create in the wood. They don't need damp wood to survive.

I used two coats of 10% Timbor on my open walls during my remodeling project. I've since read that Boracare is a better product so will use it next time.

 

[pcmeiners]

Timbor, Disodium octaborate tetrahydrate, Boracare, BORIC ACID ORTHOBORIC, call it anything you want, bag it any way you want, label it anything you want, but it is still Boric acid at a high price. Want to through away money , buy Boracare.

Boric acid on Ebay is cheap. Termite do not care if it is technical or lab grade, The suppositories do not work on Termites, besides insertion requires a microscope.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Boric-Acid...=361375190035e242b7acabad4607a0fe161f07437466

If want a liquid form, mix boric acid with dish detergent in water, makes it soak into would (surfactant)

 

[lakeroadster]

I have a 16'x16' shed on a slab. 2x6 PT sill plates and 2x4 walls built on that, T1-11 siding, sill plates are right on the slab just above grade. Walls are currently open but I want to insulate and install OSB walls. I'll probably use an electric ceiling mounted heater for use only when I'm working in the shed, or just use a torpedo heater I already have.

Before I close up the walls I'm wondering if there's a product I should use to treat the sill plates and bottom of the studs and sheathing with the discourage termites or rot from water exposure. Has anyone done this? What products would work for this? Or should I not bother?

What you do depends on a couple factors:

• What is your location?
  
• Does the slab extend out past the sill plate?
  
• Is the slab up high enough such that the siding will extend down over the slab, yet the siding will be high enough to ensure water won't get behind it?

https://foundationhandbook.ornl.gov/handbook/section2-2.shtml

 

[rlitman]

Timbor, Disodium octaborate tetrahydrate, Boracare, BORIC ACID ORTHOBORIC, call it anything you want, bag it any way you want, label it anything you want, but it is still Boric acid at a high price. Want to through away money , buy Boracare...

There are three holes in your argument.

First, if you want to replicate Timbor, you need a saturated solution of boric acid AND borax in water. Plain boric acid will give a weaker solution.

Second, Timbor is so cheap, that it doesn't really pay to home-brew your own substitutes. Since I already owned large quantities of boric acid and borax, I've done just this, but I'm not claiming I save anything in the process.

Third, Boracare is NOT the same thing. While the active ingredients are the same, what you are suggesting is akin to telling someone anemic to eat Harbor Freight sockets to get their iron up. It's nonsense.

The majority of Boracare is the carrier solution, which is a proprietary blend of glycols designed to carry the borates into the wood. The manufacturer has research to back up their claim that a heavy application to a single side of 2x lumber will reach all the way through to the other side. A saturated water solution of boric acid / borax might travel that 1-1/2" WITH the grain, so it's a useful treatment on exposed end-grain, but it will only travel a few hundredth's of an inch across grain. What this means in the real world, is that in new construction, you COULD treat all sides of your new lumber with your home-brew solution because you were too cheap to buy pressure-treated lumber to begin with, but if you're treating old-work (as I used Boracare for), and only have access to one side, Boracare is really the only sensible option.