Why is the Northwest Climate ideal for the use of BoraShield?
What are the biggest enemies to a newly constructed home?
Why do homes have pest infestations regardless
of adhering to Building Codes?
How does BoraShield make a home Fire Resistant?
How is BoraShield applied to the home?
Will this add time to or delay the construction process?
What is BoraShield Structural Treatment made of?
What else is Borate used for?
Is this product toxic or harmful to people or the environment?
Q: Why is the Northwest Climate ideal for the use of BoraShield?
A: The Northwest climate is primarily influenced by the Pacific Ocean; nine months out of the year, the mean daily temperature ranges between 40 - 60º F and the humidity varies between 50 and 80%. This has a profound effect on the building process in that it makes building materials thoroughly wet, cold, and prolongs the duration at which some builders "dry out" their structures prior to interior finishing. The BoraShield Structural Barrier requires at least 15% moisture content to diffuse deep into the frame and sheathing. Therefore, despite the wet conditions found in this region, the nature of the BoraShield Structural Barrier changes our wet climate from a detriment to a benefit.
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Q: What are the biggest enemies to a newly constructed home?
A: Besides fungi potentially attacking a structure, another threat comes from wood destroying insects. Depending where in the Northwest you are building, there are two that will be your primary and secondary: Carpenter Ants and Sub-terranean Termites.
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Q: Why do homes have pest infestations regardless of adhering to Building Codes?
A: Building codes are enforced to eliminate sources of moisture but not necessarily to prevent these insects from finding harborage or a source of food. Carpenter ants do not need an immediate moisture source in a home, instead they get there's from natural sources. The visquene under a house reduces the evaporation into a crawl space, but it is also another source of water for the pests as it condenses underneath. The BoraShield Structural Barrier is there, guarding against these type of pests.
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Q: How does BoraShield make a home Fire Resistant?
A: The BoraShield Structural Barrier will provide some resistance to the heat and flames when it does burn through to the frame and sheathing, thereby giving more time before its flash-over. A fire does two things to wood; it heats it up, and creates flammable gases. Once the gases ignite, it heats up exponentially and results in total flash-over of the frame and sheathing. As a char layer forms, the borate interacts with the moisture content in the wood and toughens it with a glaze, effectively resisting the flash-over and preserving the structural integrity of the frame and sheathing. However there is one element, relative to the protection of a home that BoraShield Structural barrier can neither prevent nor reduce; Fire is determinate on preventative safety measures, and the furnishings and finishings within a home.
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Q: How is BoraShield applied to the home?
A: Application of the BoraShield Structural Barrier is logistically simple, labor intensive, non-hazardous, and is absolutely unobtrusive to building progress. The BoraShield Structural Barrier is applied by hand-sprayer at the labeled rate of 5 gallons per 1000 square feet of unfinished wood surface area. During application, the wood surfaces are sprayed to the point of run-off and will be temporarily but thoroughly wet afterward. The treatment diffuses into the wood by osmosis using the water carrier and ambient moisture content in the wood. The barrier takes between two to six days to complete (dependent on the size of the structure), and will dry to the pre-treated state within a few days. A powder is also applied to the tops of sill and bottom plates at the labeled rate of 0.05 ounces per square foot. Borashield-treated lumber and sheathing is colorless and odorless, and it looks and handles like untreated materials.
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Q: Will this add time to or delay the construction process?
A: There is absolutely no restriction to any other building process during the rough-in construction phase and thereafter. It can be drilled, sawn, glued, and painted. Any material dimension and species may be used in the borate treatment; it allows the use of any type of fasteners, and can be used in contact with any other building material. Treated wood waste can be disposed of in the same manner of untreated wood.
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Q: Is this product toxic or harmful to people or the environment?
A: There is absolutely no question of the many roles that this product plays in our society. Under normal controlled handling and use they're considered safe; posing no risk to humans, animals or environment. Despite the millions of tons mined, processed and distributed around the globe annually, far greater quantities are introduced into the environment by natural forces such as meteorological, atmospheric, and volcanic activity.
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