Print This Page Why Build With Borates? THE “WHOLE HOUSE” TREATMENT CONCEPT Using preservatively treated Southern Pine for the framework of the entire structure offers the property owner one of the best-known, most cost-effective materials for full protection against Formosan termites. This concept is known as “whole house” treatment. Builders and homeowners in states where Formosan termites are most active are beginning to use the "whole house" treatment concept to protect their properties. Successful examples of new construction employing this concept are found throughout the Greater New Orleans area, where battling the Formosan subterranean termite has become a way of life. Comparitive Cost COMPARATIVE COSTS: TREATED vs. UNTREATED The added cost of using treated wood framing, even for use in the entire wood framing structure of a home, is very modest when considering the entire investment homeowners have in their property. This added cost can be considered a minimum insurance-type cost used to protect what is often a person’s single largest investment: their home! The alternative cost of repair, eradication, or replacement of structural members due to attack by Formosan termites in unprotected homes is almost always exponentially higher than the small added cost of using treated wood framing at the time of original construction. Recently, research conducted as part of the Economic Impact Committee of the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry (a working group organized within the Louisiana Formosan Termite Initiative Project) generated the cost comparisons shown below for entire-home framing concepts. Costs were compared for using treated wood with costs of traditional untreated wood for all structural lumber and panel products needed to frame the structure. A NATURAL PEST CONTROLLER Borates are naturally occurring salts that result from the combination of two elements, oxygen and boron. Borates are found as mineral deposits around the world, with a particularly large store in the United States, in the deserts of California. They have long been used in hand soap powders and laundry boosters. Borates are also found in contact lens cleaners, eye washes, cosmetics, ceramics, medicines and dozens of other common products. Because they are considered benign for human health, borates are perhaps the most suitable wood preservatives for interior construction components. Borates are also inorganic, which means they contain no volatile organic compounds (VOCs). VOCs are air pollutants sometimes associated with various health and odour complaints. Without harming humans, borates are effective at inhibiting pests such as termites, beetles, carpenter ants and wood–rotting fungi. In fact, since the 1940s, borates have been successfully applied to wood products to protect them against insect attack. Two main classes of borate are used in wood preservatives: sodium borate and zinc borate. Disodium octaborate tetrahydrate (DOT), is a sodium borate specifically designed for treating lumber and other solid wood products. Zinc borate, a low solubility borate, is used for the preservative treatment of wood composites such as oriented strandboard, hardboard and wood–fiber/plastic composites. All Robbins Borate Pressure Treated Lumber Borate-Treated wood products are treated to the .42 pcf (DOT) retention level effective against Formosan termites. How Borates Work The mode of action is not fully understood, but borates appear to disrupt the digestive process of the insect, causing it to starve. For fungi, borates are generally thought to work by preventing enzymic activity at the cellular level of the organ-ism. A broad range of insects and fungi are inhibited by relatively low levels of sodium borate (approximately 0.2% by weight) in wood products. Termites require a higher level of preservative, depending on the termite species. For example, the Formosan subterranean termite (one of the world’s most economically significant pests for wood products) re-quires approximately 2% borates by weight in lumber. Termites will initially nibble the borate–treated wood and then spread the chemical through their large colonies during grooming activities in the nest. These termites quickly learn that further consumption of this wood is dangerous to the colony’s health and move on to find a better food source. Homeowners Traditional termite control treatments in new construction simply treat the soil, sill plates or wood surface. Soil treatments and bait traps do not stop flying termites, carpenter ants, wood boring beetles, or decay fungi and are easily compromised during construction or even by tasks like gardening. Surface treatments also do nothing to prevent infestation of structural wood – which is hidden from view. To build lasting protection into your home, build with borates using Robbins Borate Pressure Treated Lumber Borate Protected Lumber, the most effective and economical way to protect against termites, decay and rot. The cost of building in protection with borate treated wood is far lower than the cost of repairing and treating homes over time. On average, using Robbins Borate Pressure Treated Lumber borate treated products adds two percent to the construction cost of a home. For a 2,00 square-foot home, that translates to between $3,000 and $4,000 – a one-time expense that is far lower than the cost of repairing termite damage or applying permanent treatments. Builders and Architects Forty-five percent of all new homes in the United States are being built in high hazard termite and decay zones. Homebuilders face short and long term liability associated with this known and destructive hazard. Using Robbins Borate Pressure Treated Lumber borate protected products is a hassle-free, low-cost way for builders and architects to significantly upgrade a house – better quality and durability with no need for design or construction changes. Robbins Borate Pressure Treated Lumber products also carry a 20-year warranty that builders can pass along to their customers.  Robbins Borate Pressure Treated Lumber borate protected wood means additional inventory and working capital requirements for dealers. It means a high-volume, added-value product. Robbins Borate-Treated Wood building materials don’t just protect homes and homeowners; they also protect your profits. Protection that also helps retailers differentiates two product lines.  The best way to expose target organisms to borates is to treat their food source or immediate environment. Wood-destroying insects such as termites attempt to eat borate-treated wood. This minor grazing allows borates to be transported as part of the termite’s food supply back to the colony, and from one termite to another. Insects such as carpenter ants that burrow into lumber but don’t use wood as food are also exposed to borates through contact with borate-treated wood.  Robbins Borate Pressure Treated Lumber borate protected lumber even protects against the Formosan termite. Formosan termites destroy wood by building a tube around conventionally treated wood surfaces. BOR-A-GUAD™ borate treated lumber is water-soluble, so the borates will migrate toward the tube, killing or repelling the insects.  When timber is exposed to moisture, decay fungi can infest and destroy wood. Using borate preservatives puts the wood-destroying organism in constant and direct contact with the borates. As with insects, the borates in the treated wood interfere with the metabolic processes of decay fungi.  Boron’s functionality is based on its ability to form complexes with various sugar alcohol compounds such as vitamins and co-enzymes. Reaction of borates with co-enzymes containing these molecules has been found to diminish the ability of organisms to process food and energy, causing the target organisms to “starve” and eventually die. The result: long-lasting wood protection and insect control.  Using borate treated wood for structural components builds protection against wood destroying organisms directly into the framing package, lowering the need for pesticides. From termites to rot and decay, Robbins Borate Pressure Treated Lumber borate protected lumber acts as a sentry against these silent, hidden threats.