How to seal pressure-treated joints

[Kristina J]

A year ago, I built a wooden staircase to the garden, made of pressure-treated wood. I mitered the corners at 45 degrees and was quite pleased with the joints, but now the joints have slid apart so that the joint is half a cm wide. Now I'm wondering if there's any way I can fill the joint so it doesn't look so bad. Maybe with Plastic Padding's chemical wood? Or are there other ways?

 

[topmount]

A year ago, I built a wooden staircase to the garden with pressure-treated lumber. I mitered the corners at 45 degrees and was quite satisfied with the joints, but now the joints have separated so that the gap is half a centimeter wide. Now I'm wondering if there is any way to fill the gap so it doesn't look so bad. Maybe with Plastic Paddings kemisk trä? Or are there other ways?

Hi, the cheapest and best option is probably to buy a new plank and redo it. Do you mean that the planks have shrunk in length? It's common on the width, but usually, not much happens on the length.

 

[ricebridge]

Wood moves. Now it has been cold. Then it contracts. Wait until it has been warm for a while and see how it is then.

 

[Kristina J]

Hello, the cheapest and best option is probably to buy a new plank and redo it. Do you mean that the planks have shrunk in length? It's common for them to shrink in width, but not much usually happens in length.

Yes, thanks, redoing the steps is of course an option, but it was far too much work to get it OK in the first place, so I'm looking for an alternative for improvement. It must have shrunk in length, as the 45-degree mitered joints have become so large. So I'll continue to look for some type of filler.

 

[Kristina J]

Hello, the cheapest and best thing is probably to buy a new plank and redo it. Do you mean the planks have shrunk in length? Shrinking in width is common, but in length, not much usually happens.

Wood moves. It's been cold now. Then it contracts. Wait until it's been warm for a while and see how it turns out then.

Oh, can it get better! Then I'm happy to wait and see what happens.

 

[ricebridge]

If you're going to fill the joints, I suggest you caulk them, as is usually done on wooden boats. Google "caulking" (not "something" 😁) to learn how it's done.

Why caulk? Well, because the caulking compound is water-resistant and allows the joint to move with temperature changes.

 

[Kristina J]

If you're going to fill the seams, I suggest caulking them, as is usually done on wooden boats. Google "caulking" (not "nånting" 😁 ) and you'll learn how to do it.

Why caulk? Well, because the caulking compound withstands water well and allows the joint to move with temperature changes.

Thanks, I'll read up! Exciting

 

[Hans G2]

It will continue to vary over time. When it's wet and humid, it swells, and when it's warm and dry, it dries and contracts. So all types of hard filler are doomed to fail. Some type of elastic sealant/caulking might work, but it can also end up looking significantly worse than today after a season or two when everything has moved back and forth a bit again.

 

[optimizer]

Wrong post

 

[Kristina J]

It will continue to vary over time. When it's wet and humid, it swells, and when it's warm and dry, it dries and contracts. So all types of hard putty are doomed to fail. Some kind of elastic caulking/jointing might work, but it can also end up looking much worse after a season or two when everything has moved back and forth again.

Thanks for the info, then I think I'll wait until it gets warmer and drier, and see how it goes. If I'm not satisfied, I can try some form of jointing.