Mark wrote:
wrote in message
...
On 7 Mar, 22:34, RubberBiker wrote:
AIUI the diamonding pattern in the timber is characteristic of wet rot
and, as you say, the only remedial action required should be to cut
out and replace the affected areas. So long as the source of dampness
has been stopped, ther should be no more problems. Was that an
enclosed roof void with no ventilation?
Dear Tim
The fungus is unquestionably a brown rot but as dry rot is also a
brown rot that does not help!
The photographs have most of the characteristics of wet rot and none
of dry rot. The white part looks to me like a sporophore of C. puteana
(one of the wet rots).
The reasons for my opinion a
a superficial hard outer skin about 0.5 to 1.0 mm thick
the absence of obvious hypal strands
the absence of visible mycelial strands
the confined location

It was fine up to here

the characteristics of the location (in a roof timber without the
necessary lime mortar for dry rot)

But that's rubbish, the presence of lime mortar or not
has no relevance as to whether Dry Rot could form in the above case.

I don't think you can dismiss the effect that easily - cement based
mortars are far less likely to transmit moisture. As evidenced by the
number of soft brick walls that spall the first time there is a frost
after being repointed with an inappropriate cement based mortar (because
the bricks get saturated and can't shift the water into the mortar as
easily as they once did).

So a lime mortar will be more likely to admit moisture, even before you
get onto the effects of its pH.


--
Cheers,

John.

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