permaculture

[John Schinnerer <eco_living@yahoo.com>]

Aloha,

> Sure, old solder in copper plumbing has lead. But I don't see people
> taking a disc sander to their plumbing on a breezy day...

Nope, just drinking the water with leached lead in it while worrying
about putting the garden next to the street... ;-)  

There are several annual veggie raised beds in my 'hood which are both
on the parking strip *and* use CCA lumber to make the raised bed frame.
 Could be a research project control group, but I doubt it... :-)

> Does Boron treated wood hold up in weather?

From some industry perspectives, one of the "problems" with boric
treatments thus far is that the protectant often washes out of the wood
more quickly than CCA, etc. when exposed to precipitation.  At least
what's washing out or getting on skin isn't heavy metals.  

I've only used boric treated wood under cover thus far (roof framing,
no exposure to precip, no soil contact), but in E. Hawai'i climate
(warm/humid), which is really hard on malihini ('newcomers') like pine
and fir and so on.  Next up is experiments in pole/roundwood framing
with 'ohia and guava wood, and maybe some others TBD, like 'ironwood'
(causarina), some of which will be at least a bit exposed to precip and
tropical sun.


=====
John Schinnerer, MA
-------------------------
- Eco-Living -
Cultural & Ecological Designing
Food - Water - Shelter - Community - Technology
john@eco-living.net
http://eco-living.net

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