Dry Rot Control

Rots are woodland fungi frequently found in houses and commercial buildings where dampness has entered, usually as the result of leaking gutters, downpipes, drains or roofing.

Dry rot can travel across dry areas made of any material to reach untreated wood to eat even treated areas. This ability, unique to Dry Rot, to travel outside of the damp area makes it dangerous to wood in buildings. You can treat masonry and timbers with wood preservatives to perfection, but a small pocket of Dry Rot can still be capable of emerging across the treated area looking for new timber to attack.

The strands of Dry Rot send out tiny, micro strands ahead of the main attack, looking for wood to eat - these are not visible to the naked eye - hence the need for treatment beyond the visible areas of wood decay. These strands can carry water within themselves, so they can 'walk' across dry areas and non-timber surfaces (plastic, metal, flooring) - hence the need for a barrier coating.

Symptoms of dry rot can be as follows –

• Wood breaking into larger cubes, fewer but larger cracks across the grain.

• Strands, like plant roots, dirty silver grey (brittle when dry)

• Skin, off white to silver grey, like felt

• Flat mushroom, brilliant rust red with rust red dust (spores) on surroundings

• Pillows of off white fluffy growths

• Damp skirting boards or wooden boards curve outwards (convex) along the grain

ASRS are able to offer a full range of treatments and repairs to eradicate your dry rot problems.

 

Wet Rot Control

Wet Rot is caused by fungi which thrive in timber in the presence of dampness, running water, poor ventilation, high relative humidity and bad maintenance or a combination of these conditions. It is sometimes called cellar fungus, Coniophora puteana and Mine Fungus, Fibroporia vaillantii. If left untreated will destroy the structural strength of timber.

Wet Rot is confined to wet areas only, they require a moisture content of approx 22% or over. Be aware of damp walls, damaged d.p.c or a bridged cavity as this will speed up the wet rot process. Other places to check for signs of wet rot are under the kitchen sink, bath, shower, washing basins, toilets and behind washing machines, basically anywhere a small leak from a water supply or a drain could go unnoticed for a long time.

Here are a few symptoms of Wet Rot:

• The rot will appear brown/grey although this will darken in later stages of decay

• The fruit bodies will appear as thin sheets of olive green or brown but they are mainly found in exposed areas

Timber will feel spongy and look darker than surrounding timber

• When dry the timber will crumble into fine particles

Wet rot often requires remedial action to stop the ingress of water rather than treating the wet rot itself

ASRS can correctly diagnose your problem then set about offering you the best solution to that problem, this can be in the form of fitting new timbers in the worst case resin repairs or timber resin splices.