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| UK diy (uk.d-i-y) For the discussion of all topics related to diy (do-it-yourself) in the UK. All levels of experience and proficency are welcome to join in to ask questions or offer solutions. |
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Dry rot...
Hi all,
We've just discovered some dry rot in the house whilst renovating the en-suite (ground floor, in the extension, with a flat fibreglass roof). We've knocked off all the plaster and render from the block walls and plan to treat them with some cuprinol dry rot stuff, and we're replacing all the wood from the room. However, when we took down the ceiling plasterboard, we found that the rot had touched the ends of two of the joists (about 60cm worth, from ends towards the middle). As we've not long purchased the house, cash is kind of tight - we've got access to some acro-props if need be - can anyone recommend what the best thing to do here is? We're edging towards splicing in two new joist ends. Cheers Phil |
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#2
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"Phil" wrote in message om... Hi all, We've just discovered some dry rot in the house whilst renovating the en-suite (ground floor, in the extension, with a flat fibreglass roof). We've knocked off all the plaster and render from the block walls and plan to treat them with some cuprinol dry rot stuff, and we're replacing all the wood from the room. However, when we took down the ceiling plasterboard, we found that the rot had touched the ends of two of the joists (about 60cm worth, from ends towards the middle). As we've not long purchased the house, cash is kind of tight - we've got access to some acro-props if need be - can anyone recommend what the best thing to do here is? We're edging towards splicing in two new joist ends. Sorry but as you've removed the ceiling anyway I'd seriously recommend removing the joist and burning it and any other wood within 3 feet. I know this sounds traumatic and expensive but the spores will be well spread around and it's better to fix it all now than have to come back later. That said if you've got the props and can do the work yourself joists aren't expensive. |
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#3
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Phil wrote:
Hi all, We've just discovered some dry rot in the house whilst renovating the en-suite (ground floor, in the extension, with a flat fibreglass roof). We've knocked off all the plaster and render from the block walls and plan to treat them with some cuprinol dry rot stuff, and we're replacing all the wood from the room. However, when we took down the ceiling plasterboard, we found that the rot had touched the ends of two of the joists (about 60cm worth, from ends towards the middle). As we've not long purchased the house, cash is kind of tight - we've got access to some acro-props if need be - can anyone recommend what the best thing to do here is? We're edging towards splicing in two new joist ends. Cheers Phil Phil, In my experience, there is only ONE way to treat *true* dry rot - and that is to be drastic. Very briefly: Remove and replace ALL timber within the infection area and upto 3 feet (1metre) away from the last signs of the infection and burn it - even if its not showing signs of dry rot. Hack off ALL the render and plaster within the area stated above and dispose of it carefully (try not to drop it around the house). Properly treat ALL the wall on the exposed parts with the correct chemical solution. Treat ALL new timber again with the proper solution. Mix a dry rot killer with the render and then re-render the exposed walls. Ensure that all ventillation grills are open to ensure a good airflow. Bear in mind that *true* dry-rot fungus will spread through brickwork, stonework, render etc to infect timber far from the original site if not treated properly. Again, in my experience, if the infection is fairly serious, I would advise that you contact a specialist firm to carry out the chemical kill procedure for you, as they have the expertise to do the job properly and will usually give a guarantee on the work they have done - the added bonus is that the will correctly identify the rot. With regards to my statement of *true* dry rot - there is wet-rot fungus that looks similar to dry rot and the simple cure for this is just to eradicate the incoming moisture and the job is done - after replacing the rotten timber. As a matter of interest, I have seen new floors and windows replaced in a house where the dry rot had not been properly treated, and these lasted all of two years before needing to be done again - it was expensive as the rot had progressed to other areas as well. Hope this helps. Brian G |
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Mike wrote:
"Phil" wrote in message om... Hi all, We've just discovered some dry rot in the house whilst renovating the en-suite (ground floor, in the extension, with a flat fibreglass roof). We've knocked off all the plaster and render from the block walls and plan to treat them with some cuprinol dry rot stuff, and we're replacing all the wood from the room. However, when we took down the ceiling plasterboard, we found that the rot had touched the ends of two of the joists (about 60cm worth, from ends towards the middle). As we've not long purchased the house, cash is kind of tight - we've got access to some acro-props if need be - can anyone recommend what the best thing to do here is? We're edging towards splicing in two new joist ends. Sorry but as you've removed the ceiling anyway I'd seriously recommend removing the joist and burning it and any other wood within 3 feet. I know this sounds traumatic and expensive but the spores will be well spread around and it's better to fix it all now than have to come back later. That said if you've got the props and can do the work yourself joists aren't expensive. I would nopt be so drastic. My old house was full of rot when I took it down, but it was confined to areas that had existing damp problems. Once you get the damp out, the rot dies. Just make good as you see fit, but pay 110% attention to damp. |
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#5
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Thanks everyone for all the replies. We've already removed and burned
all the wood from the room - the problems set in we think when the roof leaked and was replaced - but it was apparently wet for a very long time (we weren't the owners then). As far as the dry rot is concerned, there were no fruiting bodies, and no sign of any red spores. However, the skirts had "cubed" and there was mycelium on the plaster, leading up to the joists (hidden behind tiles). The main affected areas were around the shower cubicle. We've gutted the room and will be refitting it very soon. I do plan to coat all blockwork and all new wood in the appropriate chemicals, and probably use plasterboard on the walls. We're just trying to decide now whether to splice in new joists or to just rip out the two affected (and one on either side of these) - as well as the 2x4 that they're resting on, oh and the fascia board as well. Phil |
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#6
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"Brian G" wrote in message ... Phil wrote: Hi all, We've just discovered some dry rot in the house whilst renovating the en-suite (ground floor, in the extension, with a flat fibreglass roof). We've knocked off all the plaster and render from the block walls and plan to treat them with some cuprinol dry rot stuff, and we're replacing all the wood from the room. However, when we took down the ceiling plasterboard, we found that the rot had touched the ends of two of the joists (about 60cm worth, from ends towards the middle). Besides a roof leak. Just a thought; that dampness isn't in part due to lack of a proper vapour barrier, on the warm side of the walls/ceilings, thereby allowing house moisture to condense inside the structure and cause rot? |
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#7
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Phil wrote:
Thanks everyone for all the replies. We've already removed and burned all the wood from the room - the problems set in we think when the roof leaked and was replaced - but it was apparently wet for a very long time (we weren't the owners then). As far as the dry rot is concerned, there were no fruiting bodies, and no sign of any red spores. However, the skirts had "cubed" and there was mycelium on the plaster, leading up to the joists (hidden behind tiles). The main affected areas were around the shower cubicle. We've gutted the room and will be refitting it very soon. I do plan to coat all blockwork and all new wood in the appropriate chemicals, and probably use plasterboard on the walls. As long as you do deal with the damp, there is no need to chemicalise anything. If you dont address the damp, nothing you do will prevent re-rot, but chemicals can delay it. IIRC copper is effective against plant lifeforms, so you can treat it with copper sulphate in emulsion paint if you want. NT |
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#8
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Brian G wrote:
Phil, In my experience, there is only ONE way to treat *true* dry rot - and that is to be drastic. Very briefly: Remove and replace ALL timber within the infection area and upto 3 feet (1metre) away from the last signs of the infection and burn it - even if its not showing signs of dry rot. binbags are somewhat more convenient disposal I find. Hack off ALL the render and plaster within the area stated above and dispose of it carefully (try not to drop it around the house). no need. Properly treat ALL the wall on the exposed parts with the correct chemical solution. no need. No plant life can survive being dried out. Treat ALL new timber again with the proper solution. or if its a wet prone room, get tanalised timber. Mix a dry rot killer with the render and then re-render the exposed walls. way off Ensure that all ventillation grills are open to ensure a good airflow. Bear in mind that *true* dry-rot fungus will spread through brickwork, stonework, render etc to infect timber far from the original site if not treated properly. only if you dont fix the damp. And even then it can only grow on damp wood elsewhere Again, in my experience, if the infection is fairly serious, I would advise that you contact a specialist firm to carry out the chemical kill procedure for you, as they have the expertise to do the job properly and will usually give a guarantee on the work they have done - the added bonus is that the will correctly identify the rot. you dont work for one of these ripoff companies do you? With regards to my statement of *true* dry rot - there is wet-rot fungus that looks similar to dry rot and the simple cure for this is just to eradicate the incoming moisture and the job is done - after replacing the rotten timber. no, there is no type of dry rot that survives dryness. The solution is always dryness. As a matter of interest, I have seen new floors and windows replaced in a house where the dry rot had not been properly treated, and these lasted all of two years before needing to be done again - it was expensive as the rot had progressed to other areas as well. of course, if you dont fix the damp, that will happen. Hope this helps. Brian G Sounds like someone's been talking to a dry rot treatment salesmen. This advice is quite off track, and the facts wrong. It can be difficult to get a shower room dry if you have several people taking showers. The best solution to this is a humidistatic dehumidifier. NT |
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#9
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Phil wrote:
Hi all, We've just discovered some dry rot in the house whilst renovating the en-suite (ground floor, in the extension, with a flat fibreglass roof). We've knocked off all the plaster and render from the block walls and plan to treat them with some cuprinol dry rot stuff, and we're replacing all the wood from the room. However, when we took down the ceiling plasterboard, we found that the rot had touched the ends of two of the joists (about 60cm worth, from ends towards the middle). As we've not long purchased the house, cash is kind of tight - we've got access to some acro-props if need be - can anyone recommend what the best thing to do here is? We're edging towards splicing in two new joist ends. thats the logical thing, if its easier than replacing the whole joist. Add joist hanger and bolt new section on. You dont need acro props, just cut wood to the right length and jam it in to prop it. If youre going to pull it about, it could slip and fall, so a good idea to attach prop to joist in case it moves. Rots are caused by damp, dry rot included. (The name is a bit misleading.) So the most important thing is to fix the source(s) of water. I dont know all the dimesnsions, but I'm tempted to say it might be sufficient on a small roof to simply fit some load spreading noggins and leave it at that. Depends NT |
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#10
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On Sun, 3 Apr 2005 18:29:09 +0100, "Mike" wrote:
Sorry but as you've removed the ceiling anyway I'd seriously recommend removing the joist and burning it and any other wood within 3 feet. I know this sounds traumatic and expensive but the spores will be well spread around and it's better to fix it all now than have to come back later. That said if you've got the props and can do the work yourself joists aren't expensive. You are being too pessimistic "burning it and any other wood within 3 feet" is not necessary. The source of damp and any infected wood should be removed and perhaps some poison should be spread in the area. I wonder if extra long joist hangers are available for this situation Yes I know that several people have said all this already but I wrote the message yesterday and failed to send it so you are getting belated pearls of wisdom Anna ~~ Anna Kettle, Suffolk, England |""""| ~ Lime plaster repairs / ^^ \ // Freehand modelling in lime: overmantels, pargeting etc |____| www.kettlenet.co.uk 01359 230642 |
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#11
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I would nopt be so drastic. My old house was full of rot when I took it down, but it was confined to areas that had existing damp problems. Once you get the damp out, the rot dies. Just make good as you see fit, but pay 110% attention to damp. Isn't this confusing wet rot with dry rot. Dry rot brings its own moisture in from its roots just like ivy, hence the name. Wet rot can only survive in damp and will die when the moisture goes. I found my dry rot specimen thriving in a thin void where cement render and bricks had separated due to poor adhesion, and growing from next door through a crack in the brick work. Conditions were desert dry but it had almost reached my ceiling joists.. After cuprinol dry rot treatment it hasn't reappeared since 1989 so I hope its gone. rusty. |
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#13
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Rusty wrote:
I would nopt be so drastic. My old house was full of rot when I took it down, but it was confined to areas that had existing damp problems. Once you get the damp out, the rot dies. Just make good as you see fit, but pay 110% attention to damp. Isn't this confusing wet rot with dry rot. Dry rot brings its own moisture in from its roots just like ivy, hence the name. It does not. Wet rot can only survive in damp and will die when the moisture goes. As wiul 'dry' Dry is called dry because it leaves a superficially dry powdery residue rather than wet rot which leads to sponginness and superficially damp appearances. I found my dry rot specimen thriving in a thin void where cement render and bricks had separated due to poor adhesion, and growing from next door through a crack in the brick work. Conditions were desert dry but it had almost reached my ceiling joists.. After cuprinol dry rot treatment it hasn't reappeared since 1989 so I hope its gone. If it was growing they were not dry. rusty. |
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#14
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"The Natural Philosopher" wrote in message ... Rusty wrote: I would nopt be so drastic. My old house was full of rot when I took it down, but it was confined to areas that had existing damp problems. Once you get the damp out, the rot dies. Just make good as you see fit, but pay 110% attention to damp. Isn't this confusing wet rot with dry rot. Dry rot brings its own moisture in from its roots just like ivy, hence the name. It does not. Wet rot can only survive in damp and will die when the moisture goes. As wiul 'dry' Dry is called dry because it leaves a superficially dry powdery residue rather than wet rot which leads to sponginness and superficially damp appearances. I found my dry rot specimen thriving in a thin void where cement render and bricks had separated due to poor adhesion, and growing from next door through a crack in the brick work. Conditions were desert dry but it had almost reached my ceiling joists.. After cuprinol dry rot treatment it hasn't reappeared since 1989 so I hope its gone. If it was growing they were not dry. Well OK, a fine distinction. Moisture must be ultimately necessary. Wet rot needs local moisture and isn't mobile through dry parts. Dry rot can carry moisture from any wood it has infected through its tendrils which can grow for many metres through arid conditions in search of more damp wood. So it's highly mobile Also I believe it doubles up on this creeper propagation by throwing off spores from the white candy floss effect, but I never had this. rusty |
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#15
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"Rusty" wrote in message ... "The Natural Philosopher" wrote in message ... Rusty wrote: I would nopt be so drastic. My old house was full of rot when I took it down, but it was confined to areas that had existing damp problems. Once you get the damp out, the rot dies. Just make good as you see fit, but pay 110% attention to damp. Isn't this confusing wet rot with dry rot. Dry rot brings its own moisture in from its roots just like ivy, hence the name. It does not. Wet rot can only survive in damp and will die when the moisture goes. As wiul 'dry' Dry is called dry because it leaves a superficially dry powdery residue rather than wet rot which leads to sponginness and superficially damp appearances. I found my dry rot specimen thriving in a thin void where cement render and bricks had separated due to poor adhesion, and growing from next door through a crack in the brick work. Conditions were desert dry but it had almost reached my ceiling joists.. After cuprinol dry rot treatment it hasn't reappeared since 1989 so I hope its gone. If it was growing they were not dry. Well OK, a fine distinction. Moisture must be ultimately necessary. Wet rot needs local moisture and isn't mobile through dry parts. Dry rot can carry moisture from any wood it has infected through its tendrils which can grow for many metres through arid conditions in search of more damp wood. So it's highly mobile Also I believe it doubles up on this creeper propagation by throwing off spores from the white candy floss effect, but I never had this. rusty There appears to be a certain amount of conflicting information as to why exactly Dry rot is so called - another source that I had read stated that it was probably so called because it could exist in timbers with a lower moisture content than wet rots. Others suggest otherwise. One article I did come across was relatively informative in describing the conditions required for dry rot, the mechanism of it's breakdown and suggestions for remediation: http://www.human.cornell.edu/units/d...al96/fungi.htm Scottish Heritage (or whatever they're called) also published some research on dry rot remediation - along with other preservation societies they have a very big interest in rot management without drastic replacement of ancient timbers. They had constructed models where dry rot was deliberately allowed to grow and thrive, and then introduced ventilation into the equation - the effect on the rot was dramatic and rapid decline. Two courses of action are common to pretty much all advice on treatment: remove the source of moisture (ie fix leaks, etc) and restore proper ventilation. I'd replace timber if it was structurally compromised, but I think that talk of removing all timber in the vicinity & burning it, and replastering the lot is complete overkill - spores are going to be everywhere in the environment by this point anyway, so it's not going to make much difference. I've had to tackle rot on three occasions now - twice in my house and once in our rented flat (caused by upstairs soil pipe leaking into internal boxwork over the course of 6 months or so...). I haven't burnt a single piece of timber due to it (reckon that this is the equivalent of middle ages burning witches at the stake) but have sorted out ventilation, and replaced timber where it was structurally knackered. Touch wood (!), it hasn't returned, and nor has the musty telltale smell. -- Richard Sampson mail me at richard at olifant d-ot co do-t uk |
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#16
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In article ,
The Natural Philosopher writes: Rusty wrote: Isn't this confusing wet rot with dry rot. Dry rot brings its own moisture in from its roots just like ivy, hence the name. It does not. It does actually. It needs a source of moisture to germinate and grow, but once it starts, it can carry the moisture it needs from the source (which must be maintained moist) to distant dry timber. (I wouldn't use the term 'roots' -- they're hyphae in the timber.) If there is a very copious water source available, you can sometimes see the hyphae that carry it away 'leaking' tiny water droplets, possibly on the off-chance they are next to a nice piece of susceptable timber. I've also seen some suggestions the hyphae can extract moisture from the air, but I suspect this may just be confusion as a result of seeing the tiny droplets of moisture on the hyphae. The hyphae pass this moisture as a cellulose disolving enzyme into the dry wood, and hoover up the cellulose in order to grow more hyphae. The removal of the cellulose causes the wood to shrink (hence the cubing/cracking effect), and most significantly lose to all its strength which is provided pretty much entirely by the cellulose. Dry rot is not native to the UK, and can't grow in our outdoor climate, only in the micro climates which form inside buildings. It is native to the caves in the Hymalyas, where it feeds on the tree roots which come through the rock crevices. It was brought back to the UK in the hulls of wooden ships, and probably got to infect some of the merchandise or packing cases which were then carried across the UK. -- Andrew Gabriel |
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#17
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Andrew Gabriel wrote:
In article , The Natural Philosopher writes: Rusty wrote: Isn't this confusing wet rot with dry rot. Dry rot brings its own moisture in from its roots just like ivy, hence the name. It does not. It does actually. It needs a source of moisture to germinate and grow, but once it starts, it can carry the moisture it needs from the source (which must be maintained moist) to distant dry timber. (I wouldn't use the term 'roots' -- they're hyphae in the timber.) If there is a very copious water source available, you can sometimes see the hyphae that carry it away 'leaking' tiny water droplets, possibly on the off-chance they are next to a nice piece of susceptable timber. I've also seen some suggestions the hyphae can extract moisture from the air, but I suspect this may just be confusion as a result of seeing the tiny droplets of moisture on the hyphae. The hyphae pass this moisture as a cellulose disolving enzyme into the dry wood, and hoover up the cellulose in order to grow more hyphae. The removal of the cellulose causes the wood to shrink (hence the cubing/cracking effect), and most significantly lose to all its strength which is provided pretty much entirely by the cellulose. Dry rot is not native to the UK, and can't grow in our outdoor climate, only in the micro climates which form inside buildings. It is native to the caves in the Hymalyas, where it feeds on the tree roots which come through the rock crevices. It was brought back to the UK in the hulls of wooden ships, and probably got to infect some of the merchandise or packing cases which were then carried across the UK. Interesting ... how does it get into ones house? I have a very old property, damp and previously poorly maintained ... I was surprised (and err relieved) not to find any when we gutted it a few years back. Alex. |
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#18
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"Anna Kettle" wrote in message ... On Sun, 3 Apr 2005 18:29:09 +0100, "Mike" wrote: Sorry but as you've removed the ceiling anyway I'd seriously recommend removing the joist and burning it and any other wood within 3 feet. I know this sounds traumatic and expensive but the spores will be well spread around and it's better to fix it all now than have to come back later. That said if you've got the props and can do the work yourself joists aren't expensive. You are being too pessimistic "burning it and any other wood within 3 feet" is not necessary. The source of damp and any infected wood should be removed and perhaps some poison should be spread in the area. I believe I read this as the recommendation of the Agony Uncle on www.periodproperty.co.uk some years ago. The problem with poison is you may miss some of the rot and then it will return. As their ceiling is down I'd still replace. Joists are only about £6/metre after all - I expect the poison will be of similar cost. |
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#19
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In article ,
AlexW writes: Interesting ... how does it get into ones house? Spores from the fruiting bodies of another infestation, blowing around as dust. It's probably pointless trying to avoid the spores as there will be enough infestations around that the spores will get everywhere anyway. The trick is not to have the right situation for them to germinate anywhere. Bringing infested timber in to the house would be another route, but that's probably relatively rare. I have a very old property, damp and previously poorly maintained ... I was surprised (and err relieved) not to find any when we gutted it a few years back. I found only one tiny bit in mine. A small piece of wood (probably less than 1"x1"x2") screwed to the wall under the bath had obviously been kept damp by water leaking between the bath and the wall. It caught dry rot. The hyphae grew out of it across the wall like a 2-dimentional tree. However, they are blind and had set off in a direction where there was no timber for some distance. They had used up all the cellulose in the small wooden block without finding another source of cellulose, so the dry rot died by itself. There was no evidence this growth ever produced a fruiting body (which would have left the spores around as a brown dust for a few feet radius). I saw some large infestations some 25 years ago when I was first looking to buy a house. I started by looking at houses which were in a bad state (read cheap). In a poor photo (there was no photo, but imagine a poor photo), one had what might have looked like a shag-pile lined celler, but was actually a dry rot lined celler, with hyphae looking like small tree trunks coming up through the ground floor and heading off into the first floor. (I didn't buy it, and actually I didn't dare walk around much of it. I had this terrible urge to have a shower as soon as I got back home, as though it might infest me;-) -- Andrew Gabriel |
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#21
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Brian G wrote:
wrote: Brian G wrote: Phil, In my experience, there is only ONE way to treat *true* dry rot - and that is to be drastic. Very briefly: Remove and replace ALL timber within the infection area and upto 3 feet (1metre) away from the last signs of the infection and burn it - even if its not showing signs of dry rot. binbags are somewhat more convenient disposal I find. Great until the spores spread the rot around a little. dry rot spores in landfill are not a problem. By the time you remove a roomful of rotten wood, the spores are all over the place already. It is not the spores that are the prime problem, it is damp. Properly treat ALL the wall on the exposed parts with the correct chemical solution. no need. No plant life can survive being dried out. Dry rot actually sucks the moisture out of what it is infecting all plant life does that. All plant life can not take up sufficient moisture to survive when its environment is too dry. This is qiute basic stuff. - so even if you cure the damp you've still got to kill the mycelium. no you dont work for one of these ripoff companies do you? Nope, just retired from a building maintenance environment where as a chippie and a general formeman I had the dubious honour of working on well over fifty houses infected with various levels of dry rot. So you did work for companies that did the kind of treatment you advocate? As a matter of interest, I have seen new floors and windows replaced in a house where the dry rot had not been properly treated, and these lasted all of two years before needing to be done again - it was expensive as the rot had progressed to other areas as well. of course, if you dont fix the damp, that will happen. The damp was fixed in the original area - but someone (not I) took the decison that the rot wasn't bad enough to go the whole hog. looks like it wasnt Sounds like someone's been talking to a dry rot treatment salesmen. This advice is quite off track, and the facts wrong. Talking to the tech-reps (not salesmen) a tech rep is not a salesman? Rep means representative. and the bodies that actually did the spraying along who obviously also have heavy financial incentives, ie a very biased viewpoint with a few experts NOT connected with the dry-rot companies - we had a whole department of these hanging on 'coat-hangers' just waiting for us to call on their services. impartial expert advice is available. It can be difficult to get a shower room dry if you have several people taking showers. The best solution to this is a humidistatic dehumidifier. I've yet to see a dehumidifier completely dry a room where there is a constant dampness and not hermetically sealed. Strange, I've not seen them have any problem. One of the risks of dehumidifiers is that people can be tempted to get a cheaper non humidistatic one and end up drying everything to a crisp. NT |
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#22
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#23
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The Natural Philosopher wrote:
wrote: Rots are caused by damp, dry rot included. (The name is a bit misleading.) So the most important thing is to fix the source(s) of water. Hear hear. What about beetle and worm infestations though? I'm still as puzzled by that as when I first read it  NT |
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#24
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AlexW wrote:
wrote: Brian G wrote: For future ref... I was wondering how dry is dry enough here? Thinking of situations where very dry conditions (I have 18" thick rubble filled walls) are difficult to achieve (at least in a timely manner). Drying the air out is a fast process. Drying the bulk of the walls is pretty slow of course. But moulds need poor ventilation as well as damp to thrive: expose the wet bits and the surface dries fairly quickly, and the ventilation doesnt help the mould survive any either. Also, timber is not often all that dry esp. when new (even the kiln dried stuff) - thinking here of patching the effected area might introduce moisture, at least temporarily. If its in dryish air there wouldnt be a problem, its long exposure where rot sets in. Vic houses were built without any kiln drying, and there was no CH then so they dried more slowly. They didnt normally rot. In those types of situations is it not prudent to use a chemical approach also to prevent reoccurence? Certainly yes on anything exposed to the great outdoors, but not indoors. Its just not needed, and not really effective either. The thing is to fix the damp problem. Only if you cant or wont for some reason do chemicals then become important. NT |
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#26
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On Wed, 6 Apr 2005 00:29:33 +0100, "Brian G"
wrote: Remove and replace ALL timber within the infection area and upto 3 feet (1metre) away from the last signs of the infection and burn it - even if its not showing signs of dry rot. binbags are somewhat more convenient disposal I find. Great until the spores spread the rot around a little. Doesn't treating the surface of the timber care of that? Also what do you think of injecting boron based chemicals into the wood? I'd expect if it gets/stays damp they will spread inside the wood and stop more rot. I've yet to see a dehumidifier completely dry a room where there is a constant dampness and not hermetically sealed. IME they do a good job of keeping the humidity level under control, if the damp is due to condensation then they will dry it out, but if due to water leaks etc then the affected area will stay damp. cheers, Pete. |
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#27
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#28
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#29
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On Thu, 07 Apr 2005 09:18:35 +0100, The Natural Philosopher
wrote: I agree that damp is the cause of all rots, but what is the best way to deal wih worm and beetle attack to timber? For worm - central heating. I _think_ the same is true of beetle Anna ~~ Anna Kettle, Suffolk, England |""""| ~ Lime plaster repairs / ^^ \ // Freehand modelling in lime: overmantels, pargeting etc |____| www.kettlenet.co.uk 01359 230642 |
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#31
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Rob Morley wrote:
In article , "The Natural Philosopher" says... wrote: Brian G wrote: dry rot spores in landfill are not a problem. By the time you remove a roomful of rotten wood, the spores are all over the place already. It is not the spores that are the prime problem, it is damp. Properly treat ALL the wall on the exposed parts with the correct chemical solution. no need. No plant life can survive being dried out. Dry rot actually sucks the moisture out of what it is infecting all plant life does that. All plant life can not take up sufficient moisture to survive when its environment is too dry. This is qiute basic stuff. But rots are not plants. They are fungi. Just because they don't photosynthesize doesnt mean they're not plants. Fungi are not plants. Thats why they are called the 'third kingdom' Animal Vegetable Fungi |
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#32
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The Natural Philosopher wrote:
wrote: Rots are caused by damp, dry rot included. (The name is a bit misleading.) So the most important thing is to fix the source(s) of water. Hear hear. What about beetle and worm infestations though? I'm still as puzzled by that as when I first read it I agree that damp is the cause of all rots, but what is the best way to deal wih worm and beetle attack to timber? white sauce and bread? NT |
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#33
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On Thu, 07 Apr 2005 09:18:35 +0100, The Natural Philosopher
wrote: wrote: The Natural Philosopher wrote: wrote: Rots are caused by damp, dry rot included. (The name is a bit misleading.) So the most important thing is to fix the source(s) of water. Hear hear. What about beetle and worm infestations though? I'm still as puzzled by that as when I first read it I agree that damp is the cause of all rots, but what is the best way to deal wih worm and beetle attack to timber? Magnetron from a microwave and a long extension lead*  Doing bothsides of a 2" joist should take care of 'em! But I would have thought there are surface and injectable treatments that will do the trick. * = don't try this at home! cheers, Pete. |
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#34
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Listen to the guy who gave the detailed how to instruction, burning and removing etc. the other people are guessers and you will most certainly live to regret not tackling it properly. I made that mistake and it cost me dearly to put it right. dry rot is a fungal infection of the wood and travels via brick work plaster and wood all over your house if not treated, curing any damp is sensible but will not stop it once you have the infestation.
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