Help. Ruined new shed floor with creosote?

[Creative99]

Hi
I just got a new shed delivered last week and wanted to make sure it was as rot proof as possible. The shed floor is T&G but treated in a preservative that only last 3 months according to the manufacturer. Not knowing how to preserve it 2 days ago I stupidly painted the ‘underside’ of the floor in traditional creosote from an old bottle I’ve had for many years.
Now the smell is coming up through the floor and it stinks. Will the smell go or should I just buy a new floor?

I intend to use it as a small hobby workshop but just can’t stand the smell it gets into your clothes and everything. Certainly the last time I will be using creosote.

 

[John15]

Should fade after a few weeks.

John

 

[Phil Pascoe]

post1223171.html?hilit=10mm%20shed%20floor%20creosote#p1223171

I did tell you. :lol:

 

[MikeG.]

Smug mode:

........What are you hoping to achieve by creosoting the floor (other than making the building uninhabitable due to the smell)?

 

[Rorschach]

Is it real creosote, or the new creocote?

 

[Eric The Viking]

Ah, one of the evocative smells of my childhood.

My grandfather had a wartime contract to supply pit props and telegraph poles. In the late 1960s, one of the sheds at the mill had a long tank half full of creosote, which was still used to do the ocdasional long pole and fencing standards.

The real stuff is excellent and will last for a decent amount of time. The smell will significantly diminish after the more volatile components evaporate - several weeks. After that you will have good protection.

You have a choice: encourage good airflow by keeping door and window open (if the window does open), or put something like hardboard down on top (shiny side up), which reduce the smell (but probably won't eliminate it).

The good news is that, although the EU banned it for domestic use, there is no direct evidence it is carcinogenic (still used elsewhere, and by commercial contrractors here). Yes it stings on the skin, but apparently, that's about it. It was even sprayed on Saharan sand dunes back in the 1970s and 1980s to encourage vegetation to grow (refinery by-product).

Personally I'd use up the rest of the container on the outside bottom shiplap of the shed, especially on the end grain. You get rid of it without waste, all the smell happens at the same time, and the wood gets effective protection for a few years.

 

[timber]

When I made fencing I had a large dip tank, and used to order creosote by the ton and not the gallon I often wondered why, A very good preservative if done properly.

 

[thick_mike]

Sit in your shed and breathe deeply. The volatile components of the creosote will be filtered out by your lungs.

 

[Blockplane]

If I were in your position, and had access to "real" creosote, I would have used it too. The smell will soon fade (and it is the right time of year to allow plenty of ventilation) but the benefits will last.
I presume you are going to put some form of floor covering down? That may help reduce the smell inside the shed, but probably worth putting some form of barrier down if using what passes for lino these days lest the creosote affects it.

 

[Noel]

Did you buy two sheds?

The shed floor is T&G but treated in a preservative that only last 3 months according to the manufacturer.

I got a 7’ x 5’ shiplap shed from Argos ( supplied by Mercia sheds) but it’s got an OSB floor only 10mm thick

 

[Phil Pascoe]

=D> :lol: