"BigWallop" wrote in message
...

wrote in message
...
DjB wrote:
We're in the process of renovating one of our ground floor rooms and
when we
removed the ceiling we discovered one of the joists in the floor above
has
been heavily damaged over the years by woodworm (which has been
recently
treated). I can wiggle the joist around and it has the consistency of
cork.

So the damage isn't woodworm, it's rot of some sort. The woodworm are
just taking advantage of the softness of the rotted wood.

Two other joists are also damaged but still seem to have strength. My
first
plan was to remove the damaged joist and install a new one but I've
realised
this is going to be difficult since one end is imbedded into the
exterior
wall and the other end imbedded into the sleeper (is that what it's
called?)
running across the fireplace hearth. Would my best bet be to run new
joists
in parallel with the existing ones using joist hangers? I've not used
joist
hangers before, is there a write-up somewhere on the Internet on how
to
use
them? Thanks for any help. The link below is to some pictures of the
problem.

You need to make sure you take enough out to be sure the rot is really
removed.

--
Chris Green )

Woodworm attacks start in your loft, fact. If it is Woodworm, you'll
know
if you see the little burrow holes, the only remedy is to replace the
whole
thing after you've treated the whole area with an appropriate solution to
rid you of the problem. Woodworm don't just sit in the wood, but do, in
adult form, sit inside the cavities of the brickwork and other little
hidey
holes, and only when they mate and lay their young on the soft wood, do th
ey
show up as burrowing little maggots. It's not the adult woodworm that
causes the problem, it's the young maggot that destroys the wood.

Have it checked out properly by Rentokil or some such company.

If it is only rot caused by dampness or fungi, then take the road of
replacing the whole of the effected area with a damp proofing timber
preserver, and make good any parts that have or are going to eventually
fall
off. Do it properly now before you end up with another load of work to do
in a few months time.

http://www.safeguardchem.com/WoodPre...n/woodworm.htm


---
BigWallop

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Thanks for the replies. In fact the 1st floor has only just been treated by
Rentokil. I called them in as soon as we saw a problem under the
floorboards. I asked their surveyor to assess the structural integrity of
the floor and he said it seemed to be ok but suggested we install supporting
timbers (for the floorboards) along the joists where the damage is the
worst. I thought about delaying the treatment until we had removed the
ceiling underneath but decided to go ahead as otherwise it would have meant
delaying the renovations. It's only now that we've removed the ceiling that
we can see that the one joist has suffered quite badly. There doesn't
appear any sign of rot, the damage does seem to be purely insect
infestation. I have a section of the joist which has been cut out by a
plumber and it is totally riddled with tiny passages where the worms have
burrowed. The room has never been centrally heated and I wonder if this
hasn't helped (this is a 130 year old house).

Since the joists have been treated do you think I can leave them in place
and install new ones alongside? Or would cutting it out be better?