Above Ground Treated Lumber Remains Building Code Compliant for Deck Joists and Support Beams

News provided by

Wray Ward

Mar 16, 2016, 09:25 ET

(PRWEB) March 16, 2016 -- Deck joists and support beams treated to Above Ground retention levels (UC3B) will remain building code compliant when the American Wood Protection Association (AWPA) publishes updates to its Use Category System (UCS) in the 2016 Book of Standards later this year.

"The use of subjective language in the latest revisions has created confusion in the marketplace about the standards,” said Bill Fields, President of Viance LLC. Everyone should understand that Above Ground treated wood currently used and sold remains acceptable under the IBC and IRC building codes for the most common deck framing applications.”

While there are certain conditions that require Ground Contact treated material, the AWPA U1 standard will continue to allow Above Ground treated wood to be used for decking, fence pickets, railings, deck accessories, as well as deck joists and support beams.

Viance has always had confidence in the open peer-review, standard-setting process of the AWPA and especially values the 5-year reaffirmation process that helps ensure that material treated to the standards performs as expected. It’s with this confidence that Above Ground treated materials produced to the AWPA standards with Viance’s preservative treatments will continue to be covered under the terms of the Lifetime Limited Warranty, when used appropriately in Above Ground code compliant applications.

All of Viance’s residential preservative systems are recognized under the stringent AWPA standards, which are directly referenced by both the IBC and IRC building codes. To ensure that customers are getting treated lumber materials that are produced under the AWPA standards, look for AWPA U1 and a quality CheckMark on the end tags. Only materials treated to the AWPA standards, and is third party inspected by an ALSC-accredited agency, may use the CheckMark quality indicator.

Retailers, builders, code enforcement officials and homeowners can learn more at http://www.treatedwood.com/options.

Ashley Moran, Wray Ward, +1 704-926-1376, [email protected]