Apparatus for protecting metal from treated wood

Abstract

A combination comprises a piece of treated wood that is treated with a substance corrosive to metal, a metal fastener configured to couple the piece of treated wood to a structure, and an apparatus for protecting at least a portion of the metal fastener from the treated wood. Disclosed examples of the structure to which the piece of treated wood is coupled include a building foundation and another piece of treated wood. The apparatus for protecting the metal fastener form the piece of treated wood serves as an insulator and is configured as a bushing in illustrative examples.

1 . A combination comprising 
 a piece of treated wood that is treated with a substance corrosive to metal, the piece of treated wood having an aperture formed therethrough from a first planar surface to a second planar surface of the piece of treated wood,    a structure,    a metal fastener configured to couple the piece of treated wood to the structure, the metal fastener having a first portion that is received, at least in part, in the aperture of the piece of treated wood, the metal fastener having a second portion that mounts to the first portion to couple the piece of treated wood to the structure, and    a bushing having a first portion received in the aperture and having a second portion situated between the first planar surface of the piece of treated wood and the second portion of the metal fastener, the first portion of bushing extending from the second portion of the bushing substantially all the way through the aperture but terminating short of projecting beyond the second planar surface.    
     
     
         2 . The combination of  claim 1 , wherein the substance comprises at least one of the following: an ACQ formulation or a CA formulation.  
     
     
         3 . The combination of  claim 1 , wherein the piece of treated wood comprises a wooden board.  
     
     
         4 . The combination of  claim 3 , wherein the wooden board comprises one of the following: a 2-by-4, a 2-by-6, or a 4-by-4.  
     
     
         5 . The combination of  claim 1 , wherein the structure comprises a building foundation including cinder blocks.  
     
     
         6 . The combination of  claim 5 , wherein the metal fastener comprises an anchor having a C-shaped portion adjacent three surfaces of a first one of the cinder blocks and having an upstanding portion that extends upwardly from the C-shaped portion beyond an upper surface of a second one of the cinder blocks.  
     
     
         7 . The combination of  claim 6 , wherein part of the upstanding portion of the anchor provides the first portion of the metal fastener that is received, at least in part, in the aperture of the piece of treated wood, an end of the upstanding portion of the anchor is threaded and extends beyond the piece of treated wood, and the second portion of the metal fastener comprises at least one of a nut and a washer that mounts to the threaded end.  
     
     
         8 . The combination of  claim 6 , wherein the building foundation comprises a concrete slab beneath the cinder blocks, a lower segment of the C-shaped portion is embedded in a filler material provided between the first one of the cinder blocks and the concrete slab, and a upper segment of the C-shaped portion is embedded in a filler material provided between the first one and the second one of the cinder blocks.  
     
     
         9 . The combination of  claim 1 , wherein the structure comprises a concrete slab and the metal fastener is embedded, in part, in the concrete slab.  
     
     
         10 . The combination of  claim 9 , wherein the metal fastener comprises a J-shaped bolt having a lower portion embedded in the concrete slab and having an upper portion that extends from the concrete slab and through the aperture in the piece of treated wood such that part of the upper portion provides the first portion of the metal fastener that is received, at least in part, in the aperture of the piece of treated wood.  
     
     
         11 . The combination of  claim 10 , wherein an end of the upper portion of the J-shaped bolt is threaded and extends beyond the piece of treated wood, and the second portion of the metal fastener comprises at least one of a nut and a washer that mounts to the threaded end.  
     
     
         12 . The combination of  claim 1 , wherein the structure comprises a second piece of treated wood and further comprising a second bushing, the second piece of treated wood having a second aperture which receives a first portion of the second bushing, and the metal fastener extends through the first and second bushings received in the first and second apertures, respectively.  
     
     
         13 . The combination of  claim 12 , wherein the second piece of treated wood has a first planar surface facing away from the first piece of treated wood and has a second planar surface facing toward the first piece of treated wood, the second aperture extends all the way through the second piece of treated wood between the first and second planar surfaces, and the first portion of the second bushing extends substantially all the way through the second aperture but terminates short of projecting beyond the second planar surface of the second piece of treated wood.  
     
     
         14 . The combination of  claim 13 , wherein the first portion of the first bushing has an end surface that is substantially coplanar with the second planar surface of the first piece of treated wood and the first portion of the second bushing has an end surface that is substantially coplanar with the second planar surface of the second piece of treated wood.  
     
     
         15 . The combination of  claim 13 , wherein a first distance between the first and second planar surfaces of the second piece of treated wood is larger than a second distance between the first and second planar surfaces of the first piece of treated wood and the first portion of the second bushing is longer than the first portion of the first bushing.  
     
     
         16 . The combination of  claim 12 , wherein the metal fastener comprises a bolt that extends through the first and second bushings and a nut that couples to a threaded end of the bolt.  
     
     
         17 . A combination comprising 
 a building foundation,    a metal anchor having an end portion extending upwardly from the building foundation, at least part of the end portion being threaded,    a piece of treated wood that is treated with a substance corrosive to metal, the piece of treated wood having an aperture formed therethrough, the piece of treated wood being situated on the building foundation with the end portion of the metal anchor extending through the aperture,    a nut threaded onto the end portion of the metal anchor, and    an insulator having a first portion received in the aperture and having a second portion situated between the piece of treated wood and the nut, the first portion of the insulator preventing contact within the aperture between the metal anchor and the piece of treated wood, and the second portion of the insulator preventing contact between the nut and the piece of treated wood.    
     
     
         18 . The combination of  claim 17 , wherein the building foundation comprises at least two rows of cinder blocks, the metal anchor has a C-shaped portion that surrounds a portion of a first one of the cinder blocks, the anchor has an upstanding portion extending upwardly from the C-shaped portion, and part of the upstanding portion provides the end portion of the metal anchor.  
     
     
         19 . The combination of  claim 17 , wherein the first portion of the insulator extends substantially all the way through the aperture of the piece of treated wood.  
     
     
         20 . The combination of  claim 17 , wherein the building foundation comprises a concrete slab and the metal comprises a J-shaped bolt that is embedded partially within the concrete slab.  
     
     
         21 . For use with a piece of wood and a metal fastener, the piece of wood being treated with a metal-corrosive substance that has greater than 2% copper and that gives the piece of wood at least some electrolytic properties, the metal fastener having a first portion and a second portion that couples to the first portion to mount the piece of wood to a structure, an apparatus for protecting the metal from the piece of wood to prevent galvanic corrosion of the metal fastener, the apparatus comprising a cylindrical portion situated in an aperture formed in the piece of wood and an annular flange that extends radially outwardly from the cylindrical portion, the cylindrical portion includes a bore that receives at least a part of the first portion of the metal fastener, and the annular flange is situated between the second portion of the metal fastener and a surface of the piece of treated wood.