Creosote - the house built of old sleepers

[frbj]

Hello.
I am considering buying a holiday home and have found a property with a good location, consisting of two houses, at a good price (understandable considering the building materials?), and the estate agent has also lowered the price as the house has been deemed to have no taxable value!).

However, one of the houses is built from old railway sleepers, which are impregnated with creosote. We intend to demolish this house and build a new one with DIFFERENT MATERIAL but perhaps use the same foundation???
The question is, does anyone have experience demolishing such a house? What to consider? Can you dispose of the timber anywhere?

Could the ground around the house, the water (the well is about 50 m from the house), the foundation, and old furnishings have been damaged?

House number two, however, is made of different material, and we plan to live there during any renovations, etc., it's about 150 m from the other one.

I would be very grateful if someone in our long country could answer these questions or share their own experiences!

Best regards,
Fredrik

 

[saturnus]

Difficult question to answer, whether Creosote still contains harmful substances after many years. Maybe SJ or Televerket have investigated how it really is with their sleepers and telephone poles around the Swedish countryside. Many sleepers have also been sold to, among others, homeowners, who have sawed and crafted with them. I haven't heard of any reports of people being poisoned by these sleepers. Municipalities also built playgrounds where old sleepers were included. I also think that in the house you're talking about, there are as many spiders and other critters as in any other place. If the sleepers are built into walls, I can imagine they might emit some odor when panels or other materials are removed. But that they would affect the groundwater/well after so many years, I doubt it, but still, there's no need to stack up the remnants near a water source/well. On the other hand, Creosote was an excellent preservative (I still have a can left

 

[gaia]

Creosote is a mixture of chemical substances found in wood tar and coal tar. I don't know in what quantities. Wood tar is still used for external impregnation of wood, so it apparently does more good than harm when used in the right place :-/. Creosote-containing substances cannot be handled carelessly and allowed to seep into the ground, as has happened during tar and charcoal production and where many poles and the like were impregnated... which now requires soil remediation. In a way, wood tar is the wood's natural protective agent and originally exists in wood, but of course not in the large quantities as when we ourselves impregnate a plank with a highly concentrated mixture. I wouldn't be afraid to live in this house as long as there is no direct contact with impregnated surfaces and no bothersome smell inside. Seek more information about creosote and educate yourself about what you're actually afraid of .
gaia

 

[saturnus]

here is help http://www.pegasuslab.com/index.htm

 

[chris47]

Another link.
http://www.kemi.se/SiteSeeker/Search____3395.aspx?quicksearchquery=kreosot
/CC

 

[hajof70]

Dressed in green clothes and with an AK on my arm I participated about ~20 years ago in building sturdy bunkers whose direct-hit resistant roofs were supported by old sleepers and posts. They were impregnated with creosote. I participated in the sawing of this wood. Considering how my and other chainsaw operators' skin looked and how those working inside these bunkers felt, I wouldn't want to amuse myself with such a demolition. Not even with substantial body and respiratory protection....

 

[Eld]

Creosote contains arsenic, right? Not so healthy...