Housing is one of the fundamental needs for people everywhere. As the world’s population grows, we need more housing with a greater variety of options. This demand presents challenges not only for the pace of building but also for building materials.
Sustainable building resources for a growing population
In order to meet increasing housing demand, builders are speeding up construction with innovations in prefabrication techniques that enable faster, high-quality construction. And, manufacturers are developing materials that fit this turnkey model while enhancing the safety and quality of building design.
For many forward-thinking builders and manufacturers, wood and wood products for a versatile, sustainable, and cost-effective building material.
Why wood construction?
Manufacturers use borates across a wide variety of wood construction products including:
- Lumber and plywood
- Engineered wood products such as oriented strand board (OSB), fiberboard, and particleboard
- Mass timber products such as cross-laminated timber (CLT) and wood plastic composites (WPC)
Today’s builders choose these wood and timber products because they deliver practical benefits. Wood construction products can be:
- Engineered to be as strong as steel or concrete in building structures
- Pre-fabricated away from a building site, dramatically reducing build time and costs
- Environmentally beneficial because timber continues to store CO2 even after harvesting
Of course, there are downsides: Wood burns. And it’s also prone to attacks from fungi and pests.
Borates for wood protection
Using borates to protect wooden structures is key to the long-term health of these buildings. But how do they work?
Borates to stop rot and infestation
Researchers in different climates around the world have studied the efficacy of borates in wood. They have found them to be effective wood preservatives capable of controlling both fungal and insect pests in timber.
Borates are not directly lethal to an organism but rather are considered to be biostatic, and control degradation by inhibiting necessary oxidative metabolic activity at the cellular level—a constant energy-producing process necessary for life. Because this activity is fundamental, borates are effective against a broad spectrum of pests, with no known development of resistance.
Borates for fire safety
Across building applications, boron is an ideal fire retardant solution, helping construction companies meet building codes and industry standards.
During a fire, borates form a strong and stable char that inhibits flame combustion and suppresses smoke formation and afterglow. Slower flame growth and less smoke means people have more time to escape a burning structure.
U.S. Borax products for wood treatment
We offer a number of products to meet your specific needs.
Borogard® ZB protects engineered wood
For all its versatility, availability, and environmental virtues, aspen falls prey to fungal infestation more than most woods. Untreated OSB components can succumb rapidly and badly to rot. The bonded wood chips absorb water and, when wet, the panels can become an ideal home to fungal colonies.
In order to exploit the aspen's sustainability, manufacturers needed a fungal deterrent that kept its potency over many years. Additionally, an antifungal needs to be:
- Environmentally-friendly
- Economical
- Non-volatile
- Compatible with the manufacturing process
During OSB manufacture, Borogard ZB's slow-release zinc borate is sprinkled into the shavings and adhesive mix before the hot-pressing stage. A relatively small amount provides fungal protection in all climatic conditions.
If the wood stays dry, Borogard ZB's tiny crystals stay dormant. But if OSB gets damp, the zinc borate dissolves into action against fungus. It’s actually mobile in damp wood.
Learn more about Borogard ZB.
Tim-bor® Industrial: High safety, low environmental impact
Tim-bor Industrial provides effective protection against fungi responsible for the biodeterioration of natural-fiber products and insects such as the Formosan termite and wood-boring beetles.
Building designers are looking into the materials they choose to be sure they won’t adversely affect long-term human health. Although borates are effective against insects and fungi, they have low mammalian toxicity and pose virtually no risk to people or pets. As a refined borate product, Tim-bor Industrial doesn’t contain any heavy metal components and, as it is applied as an aqueous solution, does not use organic solvents.
Tim-bor Industrial delivers the highest concentration of boron at the maximum possible solubility and rate of dissolution in water making it an affordable and durable treatment in a variety of applications and products including:
- Solid wood
- Lumber and plywood
- OSB
- Engineered wood
- Millwork, windows, and doors
- Mass timber
- CLT
- WPC
Learn more about Tim-bor Industrial.
Optibor® and Polybor®: Fire retardancy and suppression
Some of the most commonly used fire-retardant chemicals in the wood industry are boric acid (sold as Optibor) and disodium octaborate tetrahydrate (DOT, sold as Polybor).
These water-soluble borates are especially effective in vacuum or pressure treated wood. In this method, the wood is impregnated with flame retardants in an aqueous solution. In engineered wood products, such as medium density fiberboard (MDF), a class A (ASTM E84) fire rating can be obtained by incorporating borates into the product during the manufacturing process.
This way, the borate is not just on the surface but integrated deep into the wood to provide durable, safe, and long-lasting protection.
Learn more about Optibor and Polybor.
Need help with boron in your wood protection formulation or application?
U.S. Borax technical experts are well-versed in the advantages of using boron products in wood. We actively support the efforts of the American Wood Protection Association (AWPA) and the Western Wood Preservers Institute (WWPI) to ensure the highest standards for effectiveness, environmental safety, and protection of human health in wood protection products.
Resources
Boron is also an essential micronutrient for tree growth. Learn more about how U.S. Borax products help sustainability at the source: