The older part of my house is built on creosote pilings.  I wasn't around
when it was originally built, but I'd bet they were salvaged from a dock
demo project somewhere along the coast here.  When we moved in, the space
under the house was skirted and insulated to protect the plumbing and
provide some low quality damp storage with a gravel floor.  It was
re-designated a shop when I moved in and after fighting a losing battle
with rust I dug the ground down a bit to accommodate some PT joists, vapor
barrier and 1-1/8" T&G ply and get a 7' ceiling.  Added a small Monitor
stove so I could sleep better on cold nights and not have to get up every
half hour to see if the water was still running.  I re-did the skirting
with better insulation and dry wall and thought I could contain the
creosote with plastic wrapping and a Masonite jacket.  It helped some, but
it still smells like creosote down there.  I have had the thought to jack
up the house and replace all the pilings with PT 8X8's, but I don't think I
have enough horsepower in me anymore.  Goes without saying that if I was
starting from scratch, I wouldn't use creosote treated timbers even if they
were free.  They're OK where the wind disperses the volatiles and you don't
have to spend much time, but they don't do much for the ambiance in the
shop.

Phil

On Fri, Jun 22, 2012 at 10:31 AM, Gary Katsanis
<gtgrouch@r...>wrote:

>
> It's still out there
>
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