“We replaced all damaged wood with treated timber and soaked it in creosote for good measure.”
Please, don’t do that. It’s a high suspect for cancer. Already some paints and most of the wood agglomerate glues are bad for health, but this!
Good luck still with your house, it’s vital to have a livable place for balance and creativity.
Reading on creosote tar and was interesting to see no citations (on Wikipedia) for the toxicity, and yet a couple studies against it:
“A 2005 mortality study of creosote workers found no evidence supporting an increased risk of cancer death, as a result of exposure to creosote. Based on the findings of the largest mortality study to date of workers employed in creosote wood treating plants, there is no evidence that employment at creosote wood-treating plants or exposure to creosote-based preservatives was associated with any significant mortality increase from either site-specific cancers or non-malignant diseases. “
I remember that the presumed health risks were discussed years before that date, and it has been avoided by some even before the ban.
See: CFCs, Dioxin, Asbestos, Global Warming, Glycophoshate, Neonicotinoids, etc etc etc etc etc etc etc
Its like slowly dropping bricks on people’s heads, destroying one life after the other, for literal decades. With rarely any consequences for the decision makers.