Dry Rot /Insurance Claim?

Joto_2

Hi
Last week I noticed we have some Dry Rot in a corner of our dining room along the skirting board. At the moment it has spread about 2 foot either side of the corner. 2 yrs ago we had a flood from the bathroom above which came down onto this area ( could this be caused from this flood?) the insurance company didn't replace the skirting boards at the time and we have since moved insurance company. We also have a down pipe out side about 2 foot away from the area.
I've just had a company out to quote for the work which will involve them taking the damaged skirting board off, hacking the plaster off in that area and putting something into the walls and surrounding area. The floorboards and sub floor doesn't appear to be affected, although they on't know for sure until they start on the work.
I've been quoted £800 does this seem a fair price, is it something we can do ourselves, can I go back to our original insurance company if it's down to the original flood ( The cistern broke and was leaking over night and we had a couple of inches of water all through the kitchen and dining room.).
Sorry for all the questions I'm not sure what I should be doing

ukmaggie45

Are you sure it's Dry Rot? This tends to happen when the damp hasn't been dealt with as I understand it. Dry Rot is very invasive - spreads with strands that look a bit like cotton.

If it is Dry Rot, you are likely to notice the smell from it if it has produced a fruiting body.

This looks like a useful site to read about how it spreads and so on.

I can't comment on the price quoted. But I think you should look for more information. I recall Jeff Howell's books being recommended on these forums, though not necessarily this particular one, before. I think he has written about Dry Rot maybe in his newspaper articles too.

Wish I could help more - had a friend who had problems some years back, but can't remember all the stuff I found out back then, bookmarks all gone in computer crashes... I use delicious.com now!

Find out what they want to put into the plaster. And then check it for it's safety record.

Best wishes, and Good Luck!

ukmaggie45

This is ukmaggie45's OH here.

Remembering some of our past dealings with insurance companies, if you think the problem you can see now might possibly be a delayed effect of a problem you previously made a claim for, they would probably insist on seeing your present problem themselves before you start doing anything about it. Otherwise, they might well argue that they weren't given an opportunity to determine for themselves whether they are liable. And if they are liable, they may have an opinion on what does or doesn't need to be done now.

Joto_2

Hi, thanks for the advice and link. Unfortunately it is dry rot, although I think we have caught it in the early stages ( I hope/think so anyway) and yes, it does have the strands and the fruiting /mould growth, which is what brought it to my attention. I've got someone giving me a second opinion/quote tomorrow so hopefully I'll know a bit more then.
I'm going to have to telephone the original insurance company and see where we stand. I was hoping someone may have had this problem in the past who could advise the situation.