Subject: CPES for Treatment of Pine Borer Damage
Date: Tue, 07 Mar 2000

Hi,

I recently purchased a 120+ year-old log home. Logs are hewn pine and are relatively free of water damage, but pine borer insect damage is fairly extensive in some logs. The infected areas are spongy and dry, and material loss on the surface is minimal. I expect there may be some cavities and soft zones inside the logs. Would your CPES product be effective in restoring structural integrity to this type of damage?

Thanks.
Tom F.

Tom,

Spongy and dry is perfect for the infusion of CPES. It will harden the wood and give you substantial protection against further deterioration. Use the hole drilling technique outlined in the log home section of our web site. Allow the log to absorb all the CPES that it will. Soft zones in the log will also be hardened by the CPES. The wood should be reasonably dry.

If there are cavities you are concerned about then you will need to open the log and rebuild. However, good CPES infusion will give you substantial protection against rot/deterioration and you may elect to let the cavities go for now. If the house isn't settling or sagging then you may be able to avoid that work.

It's almost impossible to predict how much CPES you will need. Generally it is about a gallon per 4-6 feet.

Come back to us if we can answer further questions. We'll help in any way we can.

Doc