Plastic End "Caps" for 2x4s?

I have a few workbenches that were built into the basement of 2x4s and 4x4s. I don't like having the ends of the wood sitting on the concrete, which gets sorta damp on humid summer days. I'd like to be able to put some kind of plastic or rubber cap on the ends that sit on the floor.

Any ideas whether something like this exists?

Thanks,

vince

be creative, you only need to break the bond between the two. How much of the existing wood is stained or decayed?

I usually just paint or seal with oil, the end of some pressure treated wood when I do new stuff, And I will cut out the damaged pieces on old stuff and again use a scrap of PT wood,, old piece of rubber cut from a tire and glue it with some pl400 construction glue.

Cover the bottom with plastic package seal tape, sticky window tape, etc. other than just pressure treated wood which is not waterproof: Pressure-Treated Sill Plates and the Building Code | GreenBuildingAdvisor.com

A capillary/thermal break, as Inspector said.

Gary

Vince:

I think I have a better idea.

What you COULD do is simply drill a hole into each leg and insert a borate rod, and then tap a small cork or stopper over the hole. Borates are very effective against a wide variety of fungii, including those fungii that feed on wood and cause it to rot. However, they're not harmful to mammals. We even wash our clothes with one form of borates called "Borax", which you can find in the laundry detergent aisle of any supermarket.

The way borates work is that they're very highly soluble in water. So they're inserted into holes in dry wood where they remain inactive as long as the wood stays dry. However if the wood gets wet, then the borate dissolves in that water and diffuses throughout the wet wood, thereby protecting that wet wood from wood rot. That's the only time you need protection as dry wood won't rot.

And, in this situation the borates will remain inside the wood since as the wood dries out, the borates will remain behind in the wood cells to keep the wood protected against wood rot.

Typically borate rods are sold as either "Impel rods" or "Cobra rods". Cobra rods also have some copper hydroxide in them which coats the surface of the hole once the borates dissolve completely. Since rain water can collect in this hole, the copper (which is a natural biocide) provides additional protection to protect the wood at that spot.

Borate treatment is popular amongst people who own log homes because of the ability of borates to diffuse throughout wood. Borate treatement is the only way of protecting the whole log because the borates will diffuse throughout the wood as long as there's moisture present through which it can diffuse. No other wood preservative will diffuse through wood like this.

I use Impel rods in the wooden window frames in my building to protect them from wood rot.

Just Google "Impel rods" or "Cobra rods" or "borate wood preservatives" and you should find lots of information on, and people selling these products.

Guys, thanks for all the ideas, most of which I'm familiar with. The borate rods are especially interesting, but what I'm really looking specifically for are plastic caps rather than the old butter containers I've been using. I'm going to do more searching at cookware stores...

Thanks,

vince

Vince:

I'd pop down to the places listed under "Ladders" or "Scaffolding" in your yellow pages. You can buy parts for all of the better quality ladders from the manufacturer, and it occurs to me that all aluminum extension ladders would have pivoting slip resistant feet and non-marring end caps which would be approximately the right size to fit a 2X4.

I'm thinking that if you can find a non-marring end cap that happens to fit over a 3 5/8 by 1 5/8 aluminum side rail, you'd be in business. Alternatively, you might just be able to modify those pivoting slip-resistant feet on an aluminum extension ladder to fit your 2X4's.



You also might want to Google "Wooden Play Structures" to find the makers of wooden play structures for children. There very well may already be a plastic cap that fits on 2X4's, and I'm thinking that the people that make wooden play structures may have already done the same search as you, and you might want to find out what they use on the ends of 2X4's so that little tykes don't poke their eyes out on them.

Hi How about just folding some thick plastic around the bottoms and tacking it in place. What comes to mind is old milk crates.

perhaps the product at the following link will do the trick:
http://www.pacifictrailers.com/steel-vinyl-end-cap-for-2-x-4/

Perfect! I instead used Rubbermaid food containers from Menard's so I could use some 4x4 and 6x6 sections *** basses as well.

Thanks!

Coat them with roll on truck bed liner- DONE

This may prove to be counterproductive if the caps do not insulate. The wood will still get cold and collect moisture, only to be trapped inside the caps. The moisture is not coming from the ground but from the air. Coating them, however, would keep the moisture out and protect them.

A better option would be to seal off your basement and keep the moisture down with a dehumidifier and AC unit. If moisture is collecting, you probably will have a lot of other issues.