Thread: Black Joists - Really Black?

Any thoughts to why they're so dark?

It's not sooty. It's not wet...

All still very solid and supportive - home over 60 years old.

Sprayed with something??

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I have seen a few houses like that, I think it was treated with creosote when it was new or shortly thereafter.

Hey Bruce...

That's what I told Realtor it looked like - in small areas it looked like tar on it (The sappy areas I thought)...

You can see it some of the pics how it 'leached' into the wood slat flooring a tad in areas.

oh yeah, No sign of any WDI anywhere btw!

What was the ventilation like under this home?

Creosote! Oh and by the way they stopped using it for several good reasons... ;

Creosote, Asbestos, and Lead.
Oh my!

Creosote odour would be detectable.

No vapour barrier, thermal bridging, floor is warmer and joists colder therefore attracting dirt, and possibly dormant mould/staining.

Water vapour coming up out of concrete floor of basement and through concrete block.

Don't think the joists were sprayed, there is no overspray on subfloor.

Pigmented wood stain (ebony, walnut, etc.) Poorly applied. Note the blocking has been stained too.

Originally Posted by H.G. Watson, Sr.

Pigmented wood stain (ebony, walnut, etc.) Poorly applied. Note the blocking has been stained too.

H.G. I have to give you kudos for the most improbable answer.

Originally Posted by Garry Sorrells

H.G. I have to give you kudos for the most improbable answer.

Maybe they are not stained Ebony or Walnut, but really are Ebony or Walnut.
Or, maybe they are timbers from a sunken ship.
Sitting on the bottom of lake Superior for hundreds of years would have darkened them.
The high moisture and mineral content could cause bleeding into the adjoining wood.

Either way, those have got be be some valuable floor joist.

Hope that helps

A coating of some kind appears to have been applied, this much we can say. A brush was used, not spray.

There is no mistaking the smell of creosote. Unless you were wearing noseplugs down there, it probably is not creosote. At least, I wouldn't say without proof.

It could be some kind of coal tar preservative.

could be copper green if no creosote aroma.

..........decking not as old as framing?

That is a termite treatment used long ago.

Originally Posted by Bruce King

I have seen a few houses like that, I think it was treated with creosote when it was new or shortly thereafter.

Ditto, looks like creosote, WDI treatment prior to floor decking installation = preventative measure

Have to agree framed, treated, then decked.