Sunday night I was sitting watching The Simpsons, my favorite TV show, when I got a call from my father. He was watching the Extreme Home Makeover show and realized that the house was being built out of blue wood. He asked me “Why is this wood blue?” Confused, I was like “blue wood?” I asked him if it looked blue or if it was blue, and he said it was BLUE, the whole house. Not knowing what he was talking about, I did a little research on this blue wood he was talking about and found some interesting facts about it.

For starters, the wood is called Bluwood. Bluwood is a two-part pre-build wood protection system. Wood has a film that helps prevent moisture from seeping into the wood and also protects against fungi and wood eating insects.

Any wood can be treated. The film can be applied to any type of wood from 2 × 4 to OSB (oriented strand board). That means this film can be laid over subfloor, trusses, and even joists. It comes to the job site pretreated and can be sawed, nailed, and painted. Since the wood is pre-treated, it also protects the lumber as it is placed outside in the elements while the house is being built without protection (up to 6 months).

Termites This wood uses an insecticide and a fungicide that prevents termites and fungi from attacking the wood and destroying its structural properties. The film sticks to the fibers that termites like to eat, thus preventing them from eating it.

The system. The first part of the two-part system is the vapor barrier. The wood is wrapped in a film that creates a vapor barrier over the wood. This vapor barrier controls the absorption properties of the wood by not allowing it to absorb moisture, but it also allows the wood to breathe, allowing the moisture within it to escape. Kind of like a Tyvek home wrap. The second part of the system is a proven DOT insecticide and fungicide.

How does it work. The two-part system is applied to all six sides of the wood, which is called the infusion process. Once the infusion process is complete, this prevents moisture from being absorbed into the wood, but allows moisture to escape from the wood. Then, over time, the “brew ingredients” continue to migrate below the surface of the wood, which is why, in theory, the interior of the wood is treated. I never used wood so I really don’t know. I guess when you cut the wood it’s still protected. Through this process, the ingredients are attached to the wood at the cellular level.

Less suction cups that open and curl. Since wood has this vapor barrier, the film controls the rate at which moisture escapes from the wood. Prevent the wood from hollowing, splitting and / or curling, something we find more often today than before due to the fast milling process. So you no longer have to go to a large home improvement store and switch between a stack of 2x4s to find the 2 you need that are straight.