Rotten skirting board - potential dry rot caused by damp?

WobblyBob · Post by **WobblyBob** » Sat Jul 15, 2023 10:50 pm

Hi, I spotted a rotten skirting board and think we have dry rot

We have a couple of local damp/timber companies coming round in the next two weeks for a survey. I was planning on pulling up the alcove flooring and unboxing the pipes that are close to it.

Is it also worth lifting the kitchen flooring to check the floorboards and joists at the same time? Any pointers would be great on wherever “removing all unaffected timber within 1m” is real or not, or what can be done to stop the damp.

- Noticed a ~35cm section of skirting board in our alcove has rotted and bubbling/flaking of plaster/paint in that area
- It is a 100 year old solid brick house with a 1970s block and brick extension
- I think it’s plaster bridging to the concrete foundation, moisture caused the dry rot and can see hyphae
- No other wood has softened or has visible signs of rot
- No asbestos in wall texture, we had it tested.

dewaltdisney · Post by **dewaltdisney** » Sat Jul 15, 2023 11:03 pm

The first thing to check is the washing machine union, so often a slight weep can soak the wall and surrounding wood over a period of time. Check the connection by tying kitchen paper around the joint. I have seen this so many times leading to the issue you have.

DWD

WobblyBob · Post by **WobblyBob** » Sat Jul 15, 2023 11:58 pm

Thanks for the suggestion, will make sure to have a check on the connections and waste at the back. I couldn’t see any laminate floor warping underneath it when I checked.

Washing machine is ~18 months old, so should still be in decent shape.

dewaltdisney · Post by **dewaltdisney** » Sun Jul 16, 2023 7:31 am

The machines are usually okay it is the hand-turned union for the cold feed to the back of the machine. An insignificant drip over 18 months could well cause this. Do the kitchen paper test to eliminate this line of thought first. See the grey coloured hose fittings I am talking about https://www.screwfix.com/p/washing-mach ... 5m-x/10955

DWD

Grendel · Post by **Grendel** » Sun Jul 16, 2023 5:35 pm

To go back to your original question I'd try to expose as much as possible. It looks like dry rot so will need exposing at some point for treatment and as you have a couple of weeks you could spend the time carefully and sympathetically removing stuff as in my experience the guys doing the treatment work to a schedule and might not be as careful and might just rip surrounding areas out.

WobblyBob · Post by **WobblyBob** » Sun Jul 16, 2023 9:18 pm

Thanks for clarifying it regarding the hose.

@grendel - yeah, I could imagine they do it pretty quickly.

Unfortunately I found out today that the alcove laminate is laid over old vinyl tiles which are very similar to the asbestos paper backed ones we found under the cooker. So will need to get them removed and will have to take up the kitchen flooring as well.

Also spotted the bathroom copper piping was cemented in with no padding around it so will need a plumber to fix it.