Woodworm in the attic

Zola.

We are in the fairly later stages of agreeing to buy our first house..... a 1960s house (not signed anything though). Got a detailed home buyers report done and it was all fairly excellent..... but it found a bit of woodworm in the attic.

I then got a specialist out to look at it today and he said it would be £300 to treat it all in the attic, and that all the insulation would need to be thrown out and replaced, ball park figure of £500 or so for the new insulation.

We are meeting the solicitor tonight to discuss, he has the deeds but we wont be signing anything until we've been advised.

We should be looking to get that off the total house cost right?

We will be replacing all the carpets in the house. But I am slightly concerned that we will buy the house, and run the risk of possibility of finding more on the second floor when the carpets are lifted. If it got in the attic it could have gotten in the other parts of the house?

Any advice would be much appreciated.

kingstreet

Did you pay to get an independent surveyor to look at the woodworm, or a "free" report from someone who is a woodworm treatment contractor?

As I understand it, woodworm is interested only in new "green" wood and after forty years any woodworm activity is likely to be long over.

You may have been quoted for unnecessary work.

G_M

Are you sure the woodworm is active?

Far more likely the worm were there 40 years ago and have long gone. The holes they left of course will not miraculously fill up!

A wood treatment company will then point to these (now harmless) holes and say "Eee by gum! That's a nasty case (suck teeth). That'll be around £300 to treat"

Woodworm do not like hard dry wood. Only nice fresh yummy wood. Is the wood damp? Is it rotted and crumbling?

As for the insulation, if it has to be stripped out, it can be replaced free by one of the ECO suppliers (eg British Gas).

kingstreet

Check to see if woodworm contractor has a dart in his pocket!

Zola.

Yes it was a woodworm specialist.

He did say the woodworm were active yes and it needed treatment, what can you do? The attic itself seemed fine but I didnt go rubbing my hands on all the wood to find out. The insulation looks a bit grubby anyway.

How can the insulation be free to replace? Is that on terms of signing up to them? We dont have Gas either, the house is heated via oil.

G_M

Zola. wrote: »

Yes it was a woodworm specialist.

He did say the woodworm were active yes and it needed treatment, what can you do? The attic itself seemed fine but I didnt go rubbing my hands on all the wood to find out. The insulation looks a bit grubby anyway.

How can the insulation be free to replace? Is that on terms of signing up to them? We dont have Gas either, the house is heated via oil.

https://www.britishgas.co.uk/energy-saving-products/home-insulation/free-insulation

Most of the main utility suppliers offer the same.

It is a government requirement they they provide it (I'm not sure if the government pays, or it is funded through higher prices to all their customers!)

Zola.

Awesome thanks.

I have filled in the form to ask the question and they will do a call back. Not getting my hopes up as there is currently insulation, but it has to be thrown out...

But you have to ask right?
Here is hoping..

SG27

If there is active woodworm in the attic then there will also be a damp problem could be condensation or a slipped tile or something. As others have said, a woodworm specialist will have a vested intrest in finding active woodworm to treat. The best surveys are from independent surveyors. These cost a couple of hundred pounds normally.

eddddy

Zola. wrote: »

...
He did say the woodworm were active yes
...

Apologies for sounding cynical, but did the woodworm specialist put that in a written report? And if so what precise words did they use? For example:

"There is active woodworm"
"There is evidence of active woodworm"
"There may be active woodworm"

As SG27 says, if there is active woodworm, there is a damp problem. What did the "woodworm specialist" say about the damp problem?

There's lots of discussion on the internet about this topic - it's worth having a read. But when reading a site, take note of whether the site belongs to a company that sells woodworm treatment services. They may not be painting a balanced picture.

Here's a starting point: http://www.askjeff.co.uk/woodworm-the-hole-in-the-argument/

[Deleted User]

Zola. wrote: »

How can the insulation be free to replace? Is that on terms of signing up to them? We dont have Gas either, the house is heated via oil.

Remove insulation prior to treatment if it needs to be done. (Then you have no insulation).

Treatment completed.

Phone for free insulation.

When I got it, it was £1 a roll and I installed it myself. But offers change all the while.

AlexMac

deannatrois wrote: »

Remove insulation prior to treatment if it needs to be done. (Then you have no insulation).
Treatment completed.
Phone for free insulation.
When I got it, it was £1 a roll and I installed it myself. But offers change all the while.

These schemes vary by area and while they are funded via the utility companies, are subcontracted to independent companies whose only interest is getting the money. So while loft insulation is a harmless no-brainer (we had ours done by British Gas a couple of years back and it makes a fantastic difference to the temperature of the upstairs rooms!) be cautious if they also offer cavity wall insulation.

The blog-osphere abounds with tales of inappropriate treatment;
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/property/advice/11411880/Could-the-cavity-wall-insulation-scandal-rival-PPI.html

And if you really want to take advantage, remove some of the existing loft insulation before their survey visit. Bizarrely, we found that because we had SOME in place, we had to pay £250 towards the job (still great value), whereas if we'd had none to begin with, it would have been free!

And to return to the original Q; I would recommend not letting some cowboy timber treatment Co spray toxic chemicals around above your (or your kiddie's?) bedrooms. Unless the loft timbers are so undermined that they crumble to the touch, leave well alone. The Victory and the Mary Rose probably have woodworm and they're older than the house.

In fact I read somewhere that only 2% of the Mary Rose's timbers were affected!
http://peter-cox-property-services.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/wharf-borer-beetle-nacerdes-melanura.html