just found woodworm, is it expensive to treat?

Hi folks,

I have just had a bit of building work done in my house and they have found some wood worm, mainly under the stairs. We bought the house about a year ago and had a detailed survey which I thought would have picked it up!

Anyway, the workmen aren't sure if it's been treated or not - my first question I suppose is:

Is there a way I can tell if it's been treated?

also:

If it is 'fresh' and hasn't been treated, will it be expensive?

Thanks in advance guys!

See this for an excellent overview of your problem (if you really have a problem)

http://www.askjeff.co.uk/content.php?id=8

Think the AskJeff article could make you over cynical.
We lifted carpets 10 months ago to get damp-proofing done and there was no blatant evidence of anything amiss.
However a recent re-lift of the carpet so we could sand the downstairs found us with a problem. In parts the floorboards on the surface were marked, and there was one hole by the skirting board which I could push my finger right through. We got the downstairs chemically treated and the front room completely re-boarded.
Cheap and easy way to check the state of your floorboards whether the infestation is old or active is to lift a board and check the underneath.
Some of the ones that were removed in ours were crumbling away below what looked like a sound board from above.
The treatment isn't expensive and can be done yourself or you could get a reputable company in to give you advice. Though this place seems to dish out fairly good advice most of the time.

see //www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=66519 and look for a post by DavidP.

Thanks for the advice fella's. I've bought some relatively cheap stuff to spray on the infected wood - looking at the advice from Davey P I don't really need to worry and get the big companies in to sort it all out. Hell, if the stairs crumble away I'll just have to get some new ones!

Then don't use it before considering it is a poison, and you and your family will be breathing it in. Then sell it on ebay.