Is heat treated woodsafe

[Birb]

Is heat treated wood/lumber safe for parrots? I was thinking of using this 2 in. x 4 in. x 10 ft. Standard & Better Kiln-Dried Heat Treated Spruce-Pine-Fir Lumber 161659 at The Home Depot - Mobile for toy making.

 

[SailBoat]

Heat treated wood is brought to a specific temperature and maintained at that temperature for a specific period of time to kill any bugs that maybe living with in that wood. This lumber is commonly used for shipping container construction into areas that specifies / requires this type of treated lumber.

This type of lumber normally cost a bit more than standard lumber. It would be great for anything involving your parrots. Assure that you are not buying construction grade lumber unless you are building something that will be supporting weight or you are planning for a MAC or a Too chewing on it.

 

[Birb]

Okay so that's what I thought! I just wanted to douecheck, better safe than sorry! It is for a macaw, but how/where would I find non construction grade? Would home improvement stores (home depot/Lowe's) carry it? Sorry I'm kind of clueless about this! Thanks for your help!

 

[bill_e]

If you are just looking for soft wood to cut up for toys then what you show in your link is what you want, it's simply a heat treated 2x4.

 

[wrench13]

'Boats is right, spot on. What you never want is chemically treated wood. They force preservatives into wood under high pressure an heat,to withstand out door use for like 20 years. Great stuff for building decks, deadly for parrots. If the wood has a greenish tint or cast, it's poison for your baby or your bird; check with the lumberyard.

 

[wrench13]

Hey ! Bill how are ya an how's Nike?

 

[bill_e]

Hey ! Bill how are ya an how's Nike?

I'm doing great, thanks for askin. I've been retired for a little over a month and I'm busy as heck relaxing

Nike is great, kinda...She's very hormonal over this last week or two to the point where I don't trust her on my shoulder....she will be sitting there calmly and then raise her headdress and go nuts.

Women!!!

 

[SailBoat]

Construction grade lumber has a greater number of growth rings per inch.

In the big box stores and most lumber yards, all 2 x somethings are construction grade. Its just a matter of sales volume. Lets face it, 2 x 6 x length is used 99.99 percent of the time for construction applications.

In rare cases, finishing lumber in a 2 x something can be found in a Woodworker's Specialty Stores. Be ready to pay near three times the cost of a big box store's construction grade 2 x something.

The big box stores will have 'finishing lumber,' which is wide grain (few growth rings per inch). In this group a 1 x something is fairly common. Thicker cuts will get you back to the specialty stores.

If you are willing to take the time to sort though the shipping stack of lumber, it is possible to find 'lighter' than normal 2 x somethings in a stack. Note that the store staff will be weary of what you are doing, but will generally not halt you: If you stack the lumber back properly!

Here your goal would be to find the 'lighter' 2 x somethings in the stack. The lighter boards will be somewhat softer than standard. But, note that the vast majority of 2 x somethings will be standard or heavier. After all their use is for building something!

If you visit your local big box store during off hours, commonly evenings for the lumber section (contractors are not in the store). You can ask the staff if they (or other customers) have pulled any lighter than normal 2 x somethings from shipping stacks. Tell them why you're looking for this type of lumber. Remember, this stuff will be rare, maybe a couple per shipping stack.