Is there a grant available for treating woodworm?

k0022626

I have just been told that my nana's house is riddled with woodworm and needs treatment. I got three quotes but they all come in at £2,500 or above. Plus there is the expense of moving her out of the house for two weeks while the work is done; and there is the cost of replacing the carpets that have to be ripped up (they are gluied down) to get to the infected timbers underneath. It's a nightmare as we just don't have the cash to get it done, but equally we don't were her home to be eaten alive.

Has anyone heard of grants for this?

Thank you.

illzlee

erm, in a word, no.

her home insurers will be able to advise as to the validity of any claim due to the damage caused, including incidental damage such as replacing floorcoverings depending on the insurer.

In my experience, grants are there to improve buildings of interest, or whole areas of deprivation - not just because a building has been neglected.

Good luck with the remedial work, i hope the 'infestation' can be stopped.

iamcornholio

Obviously, your mother should ensure that her insurance policy covers this before contacting them to make a claim. If not covered, then it might be wise to cancel the policy and take up a new one which does provide the cover

paddedjohn

Do it yourself and save nan a couple of thousand, its very easy and the chemical can be bought from b&q for about £30 for 5l which goes a long way. Just empty the room, remove the carpets and floor boards and brush the solution on the affected timbers, simples.

dampdaveski

Koo
Subject to your nan's financial status you may be able to get some joy from your local council. Your local authority will have a private housing grants dept or similar.
This may involve an interest free loan to get the work carried out by one of their approved contractors, OR as is becoming more popular amongst local authorities they may do the work for you and take some equity from the house, which is paid back when it's sold.
These things are means tested and don't happen over night, if the house is classed as 'dangerous' it might speed things up.
None of the above is set in stone of course, but it's worth a phone call to your local council.
You should use a PCA registered contractor www.porperty-care.org

It sounds like it's either a very big house, or there is a lot of floor replacement to do for that money
hope this helps


DD

k0022626

thank you so much to everyone who posted a reply. I think I know where I'm going now. Happy saving people.

27col

It would need an awfully heavy infestation of woodworm to make a house dangerous.

dampdaveski

27col wrote: »

It would need an awfully heavy infestation of woodworm to make a house dangerous.

Depends on what you class as dangerous.
Poor quality floorboards that are made from the sapwood of a tree that isn't a durable or resiliant species won't take very long at all to lose its 'strength'. Putting your foot through a floor can be quite dangerous or am I missing the point?


DD

27col

I was thinking more of the larger structural timbers.