Pressure-Preservative Treatment of Poplar Lumber

Balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera L.) and trembling aspen (P. tremuloides Michx.) 2 x 4s from Alberta and British Columbia were commercially pressure treated with creosote and ammoniacal copper arsenate (ACA) preservatives. Trembling aspen 2 x 4s from British Columbia were treated with ACA. Specimens of both species accepted heavy preservative loadings, with balsam poplar somewhat more treatable than trembling aspen. The average solution retentions for balsam poplar were 36 pcf creosote and 32 pcf ACA, compared with 32 pcf creosote and 27 pcf ACA for trembling aspen from Alberta and 22 pcf ACA for trembling aspen from B.C. Boards of both species containing collapse of honeycomb checking did not treat as well as boards without these defects.

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