Dry Rot

whereschris

Hi there

I'm looking at buying a wreck of a house. Theres loads to do but thats the idea. I've been told that there is dry rot and being a novice with development i'm a bit worried. Does anyone have any advice? I've had a good look round and am going again today. I can see one problem area but otherwise I can't see anything.

Is there anything I should look for?

Thanks

beechescomposter

Get a wood/damp treatment company to have a look. They will usually give you a free quote. Many are shysters but it does no harm to ask.

davebelushi

whereschris wrote: »

Hi there

I'm looking at buying a wreck of a house. Theres loads to do but thats the idea. I've been told that there is dry rot and being a novice with development i'm a bit worried. Does anyone have any advice? I've had a good look round and am going again today. I can see one problem area but otherwise I can't see anything.

Is there anything I should look for?

Thanks

could you take some photographs of the problem area and post them on here? i may be able to help if you can.

thehairybuilder

Am not convinved your problem will be as bad as you think (or are told) it is .
Take a look here;
http://www.askjeff.co.uk/content.php?id=2

and note - Woodworm and dry rot are actually best dealt with by traditional building practices - fixing water leaks, providing good ventilation, and making sure the heating works. But most timber treatment "specialists" have only one aim, and that is to peddle chemicals.

maninthestreet

Dry rot is not something you can get rid of by providing good ventilation, fixing water leaks and making sure the heating works. If you can see one area affected, there will be others, out of sight, rather like the tip of an iceberg. If left untreated, it will eventually infect ALL timber in a property. Seek professional advice.

Doozergirl

Dry rot hides behind plaster and all sorts, it's very hard to locate. We renovated a place that we knew was riddled with it. We had to take the entire property back to bare brick and replace all of the woodwork and many of the floorboards and joists. We still found plenty of it where we weren't expecting!

If you're a novice developer, I wouldn't recommend taking on dry rot until you've got some more experience under your belt.

Doozergirl

thehairybuilder wrote: »

Woodworm and dry rot are actually best dealt with by traditional building practices - fixing water leaks, providing good ventilation, and making sure the heating works. But most timber treatment "specialists" have only one aim, and that is to peddle chemicals.[/I]

I'd say woodworm and dry rot are best *prevented* by fixing water leaks, providing good ventilation and making sure the heating works. It's also pretty obvious that you need to eliminate the source of the problem when you're trying to rectify something like dry rot, but to *deal* with it in that way would be like shutting the stable door after the horse had bolted

benood

Yes dry rot is much worse than wet rot or woodworm. It is one of the few fixable things that would make me consider just walking away from a property, but perhaps because of that you might be looking at a bargain.

Springy wooden floors are a bit of a giveaway I believe if you're taking another look.

whereschris

Thank you all for your replys

I've looked again at the place and can honestly say that I can only see one spot where the rot is. I've looked at the floorboards which are all exposed and under them in the cellar. The house is likely to for a good price. I think I will make an offer, subject to a dry rot and damp survey.

Mozette

Many Moons ago, but Rentokill sorted dry rot at my folks' house.