If they were treated, they could still have a lot of chemical in them and could be a source of leaching and contamination. The question is: Were they treated in the first place? If they were commercially treated, it's possible that there might be incision marks on them (which allow for deeper chemical penetration). This said, the absence of these marks does not mean they weren't treated commercially or that they weren't treated by a do-it-yourselfer. You could cut through one of them to see if there is any evidence of a different color to the wood around the outer perimeter. Unfortunately, however, no visual inspection is going to give you an absolute answer. The other thing you might look to is what condition the posts are in that went into the ground many years ago (if any remain). Lack of decay below-ground might suggest that they were treated. Those are all of the indications I can suggest. If you want absolute certainty, the best thing would be to take a sample to an analytical chemical: a decent lab should be able to test for the presence of arsenic for not a huge amount of money.

lucy you should be alec baldwins daughter... to say "whatever" makes you a rude, thoughtless little pig. I like the article. Thanks for taking the time to put this together. i bought a couple of these on ebay to use in my walk in terrarium and they work wonderfully. one is for reg heat and other is for backup.

I've been using Aura since it came out. I am not a professional painter but repaint my rooms frequently. I do love Aura in any room but bathrooms. I have used it in 2 different houses, and painted in 4 different bathrooms in 2007, 2008, 2012. Each of the bathrooms has proper ventilation and the exhaust fan is always used when showering. All of the walls were properly cleaned before painting. In every bathroom where it was used, the paint has streaks. Some of these can be "washed" off but re-appear soon again. Do a search on Aura paints and you will see this is a wide-spread problem in bathroom use. I will continue to use it in other rooms but no more bathrooms!

Paintguy, thanks for the tips. As we've been pondering what to do, we're leaning toward hiring a pro to do the ceilings, rather than have my husband try it. We had the first guy come to take a look to give us a bid yesterday. He took a look at the ceiling I painted, and said he thought that my problem was that I was putting even pressure on the roller, rather than putting more pressure on one side so the paint got "pushed" in one direction, rather than squeezing out both the sides. This makes sense to me for the 3 or 4 roller edge marks I got on the ceiling, but maybe not for what I'm calling the "flashmarks" which is more just a different sheen showing on each separate roller pass. He said he thought the sheen difference was from the even pressure also. What do you think? Would even, rather than angled, pressure on the roller cause flashing? He said he would roll the ceilings, but I'm still concerned about using C2, given that you and other experienced painters have said you have had trouble with the flashing, as I assume you guys are using the roller with the right pressure--so if you're still seeing flashing, maybe roller pressure is not the reason (?) If I want to stick with the C2, should I give this painter a miss, and look for one that will spray the ceilings? It sounds like spraying prep is a big deal, so would most painters be more likely to roll than to spray? (We have just bought the house, and there is no furniture in yet, but still, carpets, flooring and fixtures would need to be protected, since the house is empty he said he could spray, but it would cost more). He seemed to think there was no reason to spray, that he could get a flawless ceiling by rolling--I have concerns though, given what you and others have had to say about rolling C2 on ceilings. Do you think I should insist that he spray, rather than roll? Funny you mention the thing about adding the sand. We have a friend who is a major do-it-yourselfer, who is doing a huge renovation on his house all by himself--he's undaunted by tasks that most would never attempt on their own. In true "renaissance man" form, he is always coming-up with innovative ways of doing things. He has flawless ceilings, and I asked how he did it. He told me he added sand to the paint, and I was shocked, as I'd never heard of that! But it sure looks great! I think though, if we can get an affordable bid, we'll let a pro tackle those ceilings for us. Having attempted to do this myself, I've gained a real appreciation for the value of hiring someone who knows what they're doing with paint. I think my future painting efforts will be limited to small jobs that involve walls only, when we're not under pressure to paint the whole house quickly in order to move in. Let me know what you think about having the pro spray vs. roll the ceilings--assuming we stick with C2.