Found out my pressure treated deck wood was rated for ground contact - from a lumber yard guy in Tulsa

I spent three weekends building a raised planter box for my wife using regular pressure treated lumber from Home Depot. Then a guy at a lumber yard in Tulsa told me that stuff is only rated for above ground use and will rot in 3-4 years if it touches soil. He showed me the stamp on the end of the board that says "ground contact" or "GC" for the good stuff, and regular PT doesn't have it. The price difference is like $2 more per board, which for my whole project was maybe $30 extra. Has anyone else dealt with rot from using the wrong grade of pressure treated wood?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_avery8d ago

Used to think all pressure treated lumber was the same until I had to replace a set of fence posts after four years. The rot was bad enough that I spent a whole weekend digging them out. That stamp check is the real deal.

lucashart8d ago

Yeah, ground contact rating is worth the extra few bucks.