Thread: Timber Driveway - How & what ?

Just thought I'd throw this in too :

http://ourhouse.ninemsn.com.au/ourho...ers/05/529.asp

It's a link to something someone else has done and includes a dodgy, small & low-res picture of the final product. The article mentions one method on how it's all put together but I'm just not comfortable with putting timber straight onto the ground for fear of it being eaten by termites within a matter of months instead of years or decades.

I have seen one done in old railway sleepers. It worked, not my taste, but thats neither here nor there.

What about new 3m long treated pine ones and retreat them yourself perhaps before laying

Yeah, double or even triple treated pine might be the only way I'll be able to get away with it. I was considering treating the treated pine before laying it all down and then re-treating it yet again once it had been installed just to be on the safe side plus that last treatment will be much easier to do as it'll just be a matter of rolling the treatment on ... so I may as well ;)

But is there anything else that can be done to avoid using all this nasty poison ? What about non-hardcore chemical based treatment like turps for instance ? Or, what about different timber types ?? Surely there's something that termites don't like or am I thinking of a mythical timber 'nirvana' ?

PS. Sleepers aren't the top choice for me either. I'd much prefer the 'cleaner' & sleeker look of the method used in the above link (ie. tough timber decking mounted slightly above the ground on close timber joists).

I agree. Cost is all

CCA treatment does stop white ants and timber rot if done properly. The problem is if the treatment do not do it properly ...or if you cut the treated timber. If you talk to any of the treatment works (and yes I used to send timber to one to get treated regularly) they can do different levels of treatment and provide you with a certificate if you wish but rarely will they guarantee the treatment if you cut it, which is why there was white ants in that cubby house. You can can an end treatment for applying to treated timber after it is cut but there is still no guarantee.

If you want to go with a timber driveway by some hardwood sleepers and get them treated your self to at least treatment level H5 – suitable for use in H5 Hazard environments – ground contact, aggressive (eg posts in high water table areas, bridge piles). This will minimise the risk of decay.

However you will have the risk of the arsenic salts and copper leaching into the soil around your driveway which is something else that you will have to consider.

We used recycled concrete for our drive - its not quite as big as yours! Apart from the price, and the environmental benefits I like the security of having a house surrounded by very crunchy gravel, its also better at soaking up rainwater - no runoff, and being from England, it makes me think I live in a stately home... most big old houses in Europe have very long gravel drives - have a look next time there's an ad showing a car pulling up in front of a big house.

We got the recycled concrete from QLD Recycling, next to the council tip at Nudgee. http://www.whitepages.com.au/wp/busS...efinement=true

Is your drive level? I don't know how you'd go with gravel on a sloping drive.

Originally Posted by Wood Butcher

... arsenic salts and copper leaching into the soil ... H5 Hazard environments ....

Yeah, that's the problem hey. The better the timber is treated the more nasty stuff can leach out and for longer too ! 'H5 Hazard Environments', wow ! You know it's serious stuff if it has to be represented by a number code system :0 Gees.

Thanks for the info though. That's all good to know.

Originally Posted by rhancock

Is your drive level? I don't know how you'd go with gravel on a sloping drive.

Yes 'R', the driveway does take a dive down about 2m from the road but then flattens out down beside the lower level house slab (yet more concrete we're not responsible for :). That stuff looks great for your place but as you say I'm not sure how that will go down the slope.

Nice house too by the way, gotta love a QLD'er hey :) It's freezing cold in Winter as we don't want to waste energy on heaters or reverse cycle AC etc. (especially with 13ft ceilings) but wow what a ripper she is in Summer ! Oh so cool & breezy with only a few ceiling fans for when it gets super-hot ! They sure knew what they were doing 70+ years ago :)

Hmm, this timber driveway idea is sounding more and more like a 'not-so-good' idea :( Pity.

Years ago the some of the very old streets in Melbourne were paved with wood blocks in exactly the same way we use paving stones these days.

Very vaguely seem to remember them being about 4" thick.

Up north I'd use 5" x 3" cypress (or 4"x4") and cut them into blocks and lay them.

A neighbour of mine used pine to make his front fence then soaked it in creosote.

It stunk for about 3 months but he has had no rotting or termite problems

Creosote is carcinogenic so I wouldn't use it in an exposed situation

Quite correct, we used to make a creosote based wood stain/preservative and had to take it off the market some years ago.

Wikipedia has agood write up about creosote.

The problem with wood preservatives is that if it is toxic to termites, it is almost invariable toxic to humans. The moral of the story? You can replace that piece of wood when it eventually rots, your body is another matter

Just a stupid question but if I don't ask, I wont know, wouldn't a timber drive be slippery in the wet weather compared to pavers or concrete?

From your first post, I assume you're trying to reduce your environmental impact, which is always hard when it comes to treating timber. There are a few "envrionmentally sound" treatments, but the only one I know the name of is Cooee, and I've never used it. Your other option is Cypress which is supposed to be termite proof ( or just termite resistant?).

BTW, its good to hear someone who thinks that something which "only" last 20 or 30 years is a compromise!

CCA isn't used any more - anything you can find will be old left overs, the newer treatments are ACQ and something else. I'm not convinced that in 30 years time they won't be banning these treatments too, though. There's more information here: http://www.treatedpine.net/ and here: http://www.tpaa.com.au/index.htm although neither site is impartial as they're run by the manufacturers.

The other thing you could do is talk to your local timber yard and see what they say. Its worth remembering that some treatments are surface treatments too (CCA for example) whereas some are pressure treated, and theoretically the treatment is impregnated all the way throught the timber ( ACQ I think). The Irish guy at Endeavour timbers is very knowledgable. They're at Northgate. https://www.woodworkforums.com/archiv...hp/t-8404.html

You're right about the qlder - beautiful in summer. We have put gas heating as it worked out the most efficient, along with lots of ceiling insulation - if we could work out how to keep the heat from disappearing through the windows I'd be happier. But summers - beautiful and no aircon - fans in all the rooms, shut all the doors and windows at 9am and the house stays cool all day. Open her up at dusk to let in the mozzies, I mean the cool night air.

i have seen a few driveways made from railway sleepers but over the years they have becone rough from sinking and bits spliting off them. and the people are just driving over there once perfictly maintained lawn.

but if you are still keen on doing this a lot of hardwoods are ok as they are to hard for the termires to chew. these are the same ones that are used for fence posts. ironbark, stringybark, grey gum, qld bluegum, bloodwood, and tallow wood are all good.