Treated wood buyersl Read the label

LTOT ALL pressure treated wood

I \ treating tags are the same. Do you know the difference?

In 1993, it became apparent that third-party inspection agencies monitoring treating plants needed an accreditation program to formally recognize quality treaters and inspection agencies. The result was the American Lumber Standard Committee's Treated Wood Program. Today, the 10 ALSC- wood for various sizes and treatment levels according to AWPA standards.

Inspection agencies are responsible for inspecting the plants, and the ALSC monitors their work through unannounced inspections at the treating plants and agencies. If improperly labeled wood is found, the problem must be corrected, or the ALSC labels must be removed from the shipment. An ALSC board of review meets quarterly to study the performance of each agency.

Tags without complete information or an agency logo (sometimes called generic tags) may appear on treated wood not monitored by an ALSC agency. The presence of a plastic end tag does not necessarily indicate ALSC system treated lumber. The quality mark information should be printed separately from the manufacturer's warranty and guarantee information on the tag.

There are five

pieces of required information you should look for on treating tags.

accredited agencies inspect approximately 250 plants that produce 5.9 billion bd. ft. of treated wood a year.

ALSC's is the only accreditation program lor third-party agencies monitoring treated wood. Think of it as a security blanket for consumers, distributors and treaters: its purpose is the uniform application of American Wood Preservers' Association standards by the agencies and the treating plants. Identification labels with the agency logo on them are easily recognizable.

So how does the inspection process work? Treating plants are required to monitor each charge of pressure treated wood. They also must check the chemical's penetration into the wood and the concentration retained in the

All major building codes in the U.S. require that pressure treated wood be identified with the quality mark of an approved inspection agency. All treated wood purchasers (architects, specifiers, contractors, dealers, etc.) should be aware that building inspectors can-and do-reject improperly identified treated wood. Jobs have been halted due to the use of treated wood not meeting code requirements.

Not all inspection agencies fall under ALSC's umbrella. To ensure the treated wood you carry is produced under the ALSC system, there are five pieces of required information you should look for on treating tags:

(1) The AWPA standard

(2) Plant name or number

(3) Preservative

(4) Retention

(5) Logo of the accredited agency

This complete tag is your assurance the lumber is produced by a plant that participates in the ALSC program.

In addition, some treaters are using a voluntary CheckMark system, developed by the Western Wood Preservers Institute, as part ofthe label identification process. This system helps assure purchasers that the wood they buy is properly inspected and provides a simple method for identifying and distinguishing treated wood quality marks.