External applications include windows, cladding, decking, fencing and garden furniture. For external applications, softwood should be pressure treated. A new reclamation and recycling industry has developed over the last decade to process wood packaging and demolition waste. The material is either sold directly to the public or building trade for small home or garden projects, or is chipped and used in chipboard production, animal bedding or the garden. This has reduced the amount of waste wood going into landfill sites, is helping to ensure that the wood continues to fulfil a useful purpose and continues to lock up carbon, even after its first service life is complete.
Most softwoods require extra protection for exterior use.
Where used in fully exposed conditions, or in ground contact, they should be pressure treated with an approved preservative for improved durability and performance. In these cases it is likely that there would be sufficient protection to maintain the durability of the wood without the need for chemical preservation. Despite this, it is standard practice in the UK for such products to be treated with preservative. BS EN 942 specifies the requirements for pressure treatment of softwood joinery. Internal joinery does not generally require preservative treatment.