What is this blue wood?
On Sunday night I was sitting watching The Simpsons, my favorite TV show, when I got a call from my dad. He was watching the Extreme Home Makeover show and realized they were building the house out of blue lumber. He asked me “Why is this wood blue?” Confused, I was like “blue wood?” I asked him if it looked blue or was it blue, and he told me it was BLUE, the whole house. Not knowing what he was talking about, I did some research on this blue wood he was talking about and found some interesting facts about it.
For starters, the wood is actually called Bluwood. Bluwood is a two-part pre-construction wood protection system. The wood has a film that helps prevent moisture from penetrating the wood and also protects against fungi and insects that feed on the wood.
Any wood can be treated. The film can be applied to any type of wood, from 2x4s to OSB (oriented strand board). That means subfloors, trusses, and even joists can have this film. It arrives at the job site pre-treated and can be sawed, nailed and painted. Since the wood is pre-treated, it also protects the lumber while it is placed outside while the house is being built without protection (up to 6 months).
termites This wood uses an insecticide and a fungicide that prevents termites and fungi from attacking the wood and destroying its structural properties. The film adheres to the fibers that termites like to eat, thus preventing them from eating them.
The system. The first part of the two-part system is the vapor barrier. The wood is wrapped in a film that creates a vapor barrier on the wood. This vapor barrier controls the absorption properties of the wood and does not allow it to absorb moisture, but it also allows the wood to breathe, allowing moisture to escape from within. Kind of like a Tyvek home wrap. The second part of the system is a DOT tested insecticide and fungicide.
How does it work. The two-part system is applied to all six sides of the wood, which they call the infusion process. Once the infusion process is complete, this prevents the wood from absorbing moisture, but allows the moisture to escape from the wood. Then, over time, the “ingredients of the infusion” continue to migrate below the surface of the wood, so, in theory, the interior of the wood is treated. I’ve never used wood, so I really don’t know. I guess when you cut the wood it’s still protected. Through this process, the ingredients are bound to the wood at the cellular level.
Fewer suction cups that split and curl. Since wood has this vapor barrier, the film controls the rate at which moisture escapes from the wood. Prevent the wood from hollowing out, splitting and/or bending, something we encounter more often today than ever before due to the fast milling process. So no more going to a big box home improvement store and changing a stack of 2×4s to find the 2 you need that are straight.