I have always heard you could not use pressure-treated lumber on the interior of a house
emo7
| Posted in Building Code Questions on
What about bottom plates that come in contact with concrete in a basement?
GBA Detail Library
A collection of one thousand construction details organized by climate and house part
Search and download construction details
Replies
Emmett,
Building codes require that any lumber installed in contact with concrete must be pressure-treated. Millions of homes in the U.S. have pressure-treated mudsills. These pieces of pressure-treated lumber are often visible from inside the basement, and they do no harm to occupants.
If you don't want to use pressure-treated lumber in these locations -- including for the bottom plates of basement partitions -- you can ask your local building inspector whether a layer of closed-cell-foam sill seal or peel-and-stick membrane on untreated lumber will work instead of using pressure-treated lumber. Some inspectors accept this approach; others don't.
Personally, I think that pressure-treated lumber in these locations is a good idea.