DRY ROT: THE ALTERNATIVE TREATMENT

 Curing without Chemicals

"I'm afraid your house has got Dry Rot": words that can terrify most people into diving for the Yellow Pages for the chemical treatment companies. But believe it or not, there is another way that uses no chemicals and can be a fraction of the cost.

This article is not meant as a guide to a particular problem or house but to explain the logic behind the environmental approach. Professional advice should always be obtained before tackling dry rot. The best known firm is Hutton and Rostron but there are others.

A firm that provides "green cure" for dry rot should be able to find and cure the source of damp and then provide better ventilation and replace damaged timbers, and check the building for hidden dry rot. The most effective way of finding pockets of dry rot within a building is with rot hounds, specially trained sniffer dogs.

So how come a fungus that grows naturally only in a few parts of Tibet can be so destructive in a house in Britain?

The design of very few houses is naturally conducive to the development of dry rot. What usually happens is that in time the circumstances around the house change.

Damp can get in through a leaking roof, or a downpipe, the dampcourse can get bridged by the raising of a flowerbed against the side of a house or a patio or even the council raising the pavement.

 Ventilation within the fabric of the house is essential. To see a piece of dry rot being removed from a house is quite an experience. It literally dies in front of your eyes, so exacting are the temperature and humidity conditions required for survival.

 On the outside of your house, if your floors are made of wood, you will see vents in the wall at ground level. These must never be obstructed as they allow air to enter the house & circulate under the floorboards preventing the build-up of humidity. The air should then be able to rise up between the outer walls and the plasterboard to the attic space. It is behind the walls that serious problems can be expected, especially in older houses. This is due to debris falling off the inside of the external wall and bridging the gap either between the skirting or the ceiling (see illustration). This bridging can be very severe as the blockage can increase the humidity and moisture can travel from the external wall to the woodwork.

leaking roof

Broken

 gutter

Bridging

 Obstructed

 air way

Vents

Damp course

 The bridging in the attic can be removed with an industrial vacuum cleaner which prevents the dirt falling down between the walls and causing more problems. While the vacuum cleaner is in the attic the whole area should be cleaned. Skirting boards can now be removed as gently as possible to avoid dislodging the bridging and the vacuum cleaner can then be used to suck up the debris.

 Vents may be put in the skirting board or floorboards. They are simply two inch diameter holes drilled side by side and covered with a nice brass grill. However if the vent is in the floor it must be backed with a fine wire mesh to stop cigarette ends or sparks setting the house on fire.

If a house has infected timbers that have not been treated but just dried out and aired will you be able to get a mortgage or even be able to sell it? Yes you will, as long as the work is approved by a valid professional and backed by professional liability insurance.

 For extra security humidity sensors can be placed within the fabric of the building which will warn of any reoccurrence of dampness.

While damaged load bearing timbers have to be replaced, a considerable amount of infected timber can be left untouched.

All right so how much does it cost? A lot less than the chemical method. R Moncreiff.