Dry Rot Returns

otronics · Post by **otronics** » Wed Sep 11, 2019 10:31 pm

Hello.

Following on from this: viewtopic.php?f=64&t=89742

and this: viewtopic.php?f=64&t=90276

I have had a small amount of dry rot return in my utility room (the dining room floor nearby which was affected last time seems OK as it has since had vents installed).

The timber in my utility room is obviously damp again (a short bit of door architrave and skirting board are the bits affected as you can just about see in the photo below).

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I'll replace the timber in the utility room in the coming days but what is causing the damp on (what is partly) an internal wall?

Rainwater doesn't get to the outside wall portion as it's covered by corrugated roofing and there are no leaks.

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What was pointed out last time is that the outside concrete floor is higher than the floor of my house but again, it doesn't get wet.

More photos showing the affected area:

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: P9100007.JPG (47.02 KiB) Viewed 2869 times

: P9100008.JPG (41.31 KiB) Viewed 2869 times

: P9100009.JPG (43.66 KiB) Viewed 2869 times

Thanks.

wine~o · Post by **wine~o** » Fri Sep 13, 2019 12:57 pm

Just looks like damp to me, nothing like dry rot. Possibly condensation ?

otronics · Post by **otronics** » Fri Sep 13, 2019 7:12 pm

It's not too obvious in the photos but I can see the fungus behind the skirting and door trim.

There are spores on the floor and elsewhere too.

wine~o · Post by **wine~o** » Sat Sep 14, 2019 5:42 pm

otronics wrote: ↑Fri Sep 13, 2019 7:12 pm It's not too obvious in the photos but I can see the fungus behind the skirting and door trim.

There are spores on the floor and elsewhere too.

In which case the original problem was never corrected.(sorry didn't click on the links in your original post of this threadd) Everything that is showing signs of dry rot needs removing plus one metre in every direction (up down left and right.)

treat everything within another metre of that.

otronics · Post by **otronics** » Tue Sep 17, 2019 12:45 am

Damp identified - I lifted my large mat and it was stuck.

Lots of dry rot fungus under there.

It was wet under there. Water was trapped between my lino floor and the rubber underside of the mat. (I think this is due to tumble dryer use - humidity created. Lesson learned).

Removed fungus from floor and mat.

Mat and floor bleached.

Infected timber removed and destroyed.

New timber ready to be fitted but I'm giving the area an air for a week or two although most of it is already dry.

Have started to clear spores and will do more later but of course you can only do so much.

It is nowhere near as bad as last time and hasn't spread to the dining room (again - the subfloor is now ventilated).

wine~o · Post by **wine~o** » Tue Sep 17, 2019 4:40 pm

Bleach isn't going to touch it. https://www.screwfix.com/p/sika-sikagar ... lsrc=aw.ds

for one example. apply liberally.

otronics · Post by **otronics** » Tue Sep 17, 2019 9:34 pm

I've treated nearby timber with that (although it is dry which is the best 'remedy').

It was the lino floor and underside of the mat that was bleached (can't use wood treatment on that!)

wine~o · Post by **wine~o** » Wed Sep 18, 2019 4:55 pm

You do need to destroy any remaining spores though.

Stargazer · Post by **Stargazer** » Wed Oct 16, 2019 8:13 pm

Several years ago I had a worrying problem with dry rot on supporting wood beams in damp mouldy cellar. After much googling I used a combination of boric acid & borax mixed to a paste with water which I sprayed and/ or painted on. Repeated it a few times in case it fixed the problem. Later I used same recipe for an attack of horrible mushroom growth under bathroom floorboards ( small drip from toilet over time ughhh) that looked as if they belonged in Day of the Triffids - worked again. It’s also the only thing that stops mould regrowing on my cellar walls - and added bonus it’s has little odour & is non toxic.