Jump to:
You may have come across the term ‘pressure treated’ a lot when shopping for a garden summer house. It refers to a high-pressure process that infuses the wood with chemical preservatives. This makes the outdoor structure resistant to rot, decay, and insect damage. But the benefits don’t stop there; here, we’ll highlight why this option is worth the investment.
Pros of pressure treatment for a summerhouse
Pressure Treated Summer Houses are Pest-Resistant
Wood is a fantastic building material for garden buildings. It’s stronger than most steel for its weight, yet it also makes a tasty snack for fungi and insects such as termites. That’s what pressure treatment is for—protecting wood from being munched.
The chemicals inside pressure treated timber, which gives it a green tint, fight off pests, such as termites and woodlice. It comes from the copper compounds, including copper azole and DCOI, used in the treatment. These wood preservation mixtures are broad-acting fungicides and insecticides. You won’t have to deal with pests causing severe damage to the wood, which is likely with untreated wood.
Note: The effectiveness of the treatment may diminish over time. Apply a wood preservative or sealant every few years to maintain protection. Clear wood preservatives and water-based and oil-based sealants are great options.
A Pressure Treated Summer House is Anti-Moisture
With chemical help, wood can forestall condensation and decay around your summer house. Alkaline Copper Quaternary (ACQ) preservatives are another compound that protects wood from decay. It’s water-based, which helps improve the structure’s water resistance. This prevents moisture penetration and minimises condensation buildup in return. Plus, it inhibits rot-causing fungi and bacteria often triggered by damp conditions.
This proves how much more durable pressure-treated wood is than its untreated counterparts. Overall, it’s capable of better withstanding moisture-related damage from environmental changes. A pressure-treated summerhouse is no exception!
A Pressure Treated Summer House is Low Maintenance
The pressure treatment itself means the summer house has undergone a special treatment. This makes it less demanding in terms of care and maintenance than untreated wood. Some pressure-treated summer houses even offer a 15-year protective guarantee against rot. This means it won’t need re-coating with a preservative for a long time, saving you time and effort.
A fitting example is our very own BillyOh Switch Pent Tongue and Groove Summerhouse. It comes pressure-treated with a 15-year guarantee as standard, among other fantastic features. It has an Eco Quilt insulated roof, floor, and walls for year-round use. You also get to enjoy loads of natural light with the floor-to-roof windows around the garden room.
A Pressure Treated Summer House is Long Lasting
Pressure-treated summerhouses, being pest-resistant, anti-moisture, and low-maintenance, help toughen them up. With all these qualities combined, you have a weatherproof summer house with a longer lifespan! The treated wood can last up to 40 years when properly cared for, so you won’t have to worry about replacing your garden building anytime soon.
Note: Pressure-treated decking and flooring may need to be replaced every 10 to 15 years. These parts aren’t immune to damage from constant use. Periodic replacement will help maintain safety and appearance.
Cons of pressure treatment for a summerhouse
Pressure treatment costs more
It’s no secret that pressure treatment summer houses cost more upfront: from £150 added to the price of the building. That said, the alternative is to paint the building with a fresh coat of treatment every year (a requirement of the guarantee). In the long run, the cost of buying cans of treatment each year could amount to a number close to or exceeding the price of the pressure treatment.
And then, of course, there’s the time saving. It doesn’t sound like a lot of work to treat the building every year, until you have to actually take the hours out of your precious time off to go and do it.
So in the long run, the added cost provides a great deal of piece of mind.
Pressure treated summerhouses take longer to arrive
All of our wooden summerhouses are made to order, manufactured at our warehouse in England from Scandinavian spruce. When we receive orders for pressure treated buildings, the manufactured parts then join the queue for the pressure treatment machines. After this process has been completed, the parts then need to dry for at least 2 weeks before they are safe for transit.
The result of this is an approximate 2-4 weeks added to the manufacturing time. Of course, this extra wait will result in a higher quality product in the end.
You can’t paint a pressure treated summerhouse straight away
When the timber parts for summerhouses have gone through the pressure treatment process, there will still be wet preservative inside even after it arrives at your property for assembly. Freshly pressure treated timber has a green tint which fades over the course of years. This means you will likely be tempted to paint it with your colours of choice as soon as your building is assembled.
However, painting timber that still has wet preservative inside will trap that moisture in there, and then you will cause the rotting issue that the treatment is supposed to prevent. Buildings where this error has been committed have been known to come out with orange splotches as bacteria starts to grow under the paint.
Pressure treated timber should be allowed to dry for at least 4 months before painting. If your building has been erected during a particularly cold or wet time of year, extend that to 6 months, just to be safe.
Conclusion
Pressure treatment remains an excellent value choice for buying summerhouses, depending on your needs.
Whether you’re buying your summerhouse pressure treated or untreated, you will receive excellent value from Garden Buildings Direct. Check out our summerhouse buying guide to help you make your purchasing decision.
Learn more about pressure treatment: How Long Does Pressure Treated Wood Last?
