Wood impregnation is the process of impregnating natural material with solutions and antiseptics in order to acquire the necessary qualities of future products:
- Pest resistance;
- Resistance to getting wet, decay;
- Fire resistance;
- Increased wood strength;
- Increased wood life.
"Impregnate" in Latin means "fill." In other words, the impregnate penetrates the structure of the tree, fills its space, strengthening the material from the inside.
What materials are processed
It is necessary to impregnate materials, products from which are subjected to destructive factors:
- Flooring and terrace;
- Preparations for the manufacture of garden furniture;
- Timber and board for the construction of canopies, arbors;
- Board for fences, etc.
Deep Protection Compounds
The main requirement that is imposed on all impregnating compounds is environmental friendliness and safety. Today, reputable manufacturers with a good reputation do not use toxic and corrosive solutions for wood processing.
By appointment, the impregnates can be divided into groups:
- Impregnation for weather protection;
- Antiseptics;
- Flame retardants;
- Combined.
Weather Impregnation
Solutions of this type are designed to strengthen the structure of wood in order to improve its resistance to weathering:
- Temperature differences;
- Seasonal climate change;
- Rains, fogs, high humidity;
- Ultraviolet;
- Sun rays, prolonged heating.
These factors quickly spoil the raw tree. The impregnated board steadily withstands these influences, does not crack, does not crack, does not change volume with a change in humidity.
Antiseptics
A large group of antiseptic compounds for wood impregnation is designed to suppress parasitic microflora. Fungi, mold, worms, bark beetles and other insects destroy the structure of the tree, especially conifers. For this reason, only impregnated pine or spruce should be used in construction, and not pure wood.
Biocides, which are part of antiseptics, inhibit the reproduction of microflora and completely eliminate it, new colonization becomes impossible. With solutions of this type, it is necessary to impregnate the timber and boards of critical structures:
- Runs and gaskets for them;
- Floor beams;
- Bindings of walls, crossbars;
- Board plating, etc.
Flame retardants
Fire is merciless for all types of wood. A dry tree is supported to varying degrees by the burning and spread of flame, smoke, which threatens a person inside a wooden house. To reduce risks or completely eliminate this property of building material, components for the construction of structures in residential buildings must be impregnated with flame retardants. These are substances that do not support combustion, they minimize the ability of the material to smoke and maximize time in case of fire.
Combined composition
Senezh-type impregnations are in high demand: they penetrate deep into the timber or board, compact the structure and create a protective hydrophobic film on the surface of the product. It does not allow water to enter the material. As a result, the product does not lose and does not absorb water and moisture, retains its properties in any weather for a long time.
Senezh stops the primary processes of damage by fungi, some types of pests, and has insecticidal properties.
Another feature of the solution - it protects the wood from burning, has the properties of a flame retardant.
Combined solutions are suitable for processing timber and boards for floors, rafters, external and internal load-bearing beams, wall cladding.
Deep impregnation methods
There are 2 main ways of soaking timber and boards: deep and surface. Deep is preferred, since the wood is processed throughout the entire volume or most of it.
Deep processing can be carried out in two ways:
- Dipping. This is an easy way, which can be repeated in household conditions at a private construction site. For dipping does not require additional equipment - only a reservoir with the drug. Wood quickly absorbs impregnates. The degree of penetration depends on the exposure time of the workpiece in solution from 2 hours to a week.
- Pressure impregnation. For this, industrial equipment is needed - special installations in which autoclave conditions are created. Thus, the composition is quickly and deeply absorbed into the wood. It is allowed to use lumber with its own moisture content of 30%.
- The diffusion method is effective, but not in demand. The bottom line is this: piles of wood are poured with a mixture of sand and a preparation in a 5: 1 ratio and wrapped in a film. Soaking lasts up to 10 days. In this way, lumber can be processed throughout. Low demand for the method determines the long term of the procedure and the high price of finished products. Diffusion impregnated materials are used to assemble critical structures.
Surface treatment
These are the simplest and at the same time ineffective ways to protect wood. And yet, the methods are used quite often, in many cases it is surface treatment recommended by designers.
- Staining with solutions with a brush or rollers is carried out on horizontally laid wood - so the compounds penetrate to a maximum depth of 3, sometimes up to 5 mm. It is recommended to paint mounted elements in any plane 2-3 times to achieve the best effect.
- Rubbing is indicated for bulky wood with a rough surface that is difficult to paint. The solution is literally rubbed into the surface with dense tampons using protective gloves.
- Spraying is used only for processing continuous flooring of facades and floors. This processing method is ineffective - penetration is only 1-2 mm. Thus, inaccessible places of structures are treated, it is disadvantageous to cover individual elements by spraying due to the high consumption of the impregnate.
Manufacturer's Suggestions
Impregnated lumber is produced in Europe and in Russia. Basically, the processing is carried out by reservation, but you can buy both blanks and products.
Mostly manufacturers supply board types:
Board view | A type wood | Dimensions (cm) * | Price / m3 (rub.) |
Edged | Needles | (25-50) x (100-300) x (2-6) | 18000-20000 |
Planed | Needles | (20-45) х145х (2-6) | 18000-30000 |
– | – | – | Price / m2 (rub.) |
Terrace EURO 2 | Needles | (28-45) x145x (2-6) | 540-1450 |
Deck | Needles | (34-45) x (95-145) x (2-6) | 680-1450 |
Yacht | Needles | 34x (120-145) x (2-6) | 680-1100 |
* The brackets indicate the ranges of length, width and thickness of the processed board.
The sizes and prices of products from different manufacturers differ, the table shows the average values of prices and sizes of products of domestic timber processing enterprises.
The market is dominated by impregnated lumber from Russia and Finland. The difference in quality is insignificant, but the import price is much higher than the Russian one.