Damaged Floor - Mold

[xbot]

Hi all,

I went to my locla Wickes today to pick up some boards to lay in my kitchen. I am trying to match them to some existing boards so was please to find some which were 20.5cm thick Redwood PSE which is a near perfect match. Closer inspection of the boards though revealed some water damage, the manager said they had been left outside and because of the plastic packaging some mould has developed, he offered me the 4 packs of (5 x 2.4 meters) for £48 - 48 metres in total so I paid £1 per meter.

Now that I have go it home I am starting to wonder if this was a bargain, is it safe to put this down?

This is the worst of the damage:

Another but with less damage:

This is a board from the middle of the packet, top and bottom look ok but side has some damage:

This is a board which I have cut down and sanded:

I have read that you can kill the mould with bleach but most guides say that it will not penetrate porous materials. My fear is that there is mould below the surface.

So what are your thoughts, should I take it back or use it?

Thanks.

Rob.

 

[AronSearle]

Depends on your tastes really?

The boards will be structrually sound, the mould will be harmless to you and the timber, but the blue staining can be very hard to remove, bleach can have mixed results.

Some people hate it, harrods (yes that shop) used to sell blue stained cladding as a premium product.

 

[xbot]

The boarding will be covered so I am not bothered if they are cosmetically not 100%. What I am worried about most is the possibilty of the damage infecting the joists and other goo dtimber that makes up the sub-floor. Is that possible with midew mold?

I have rubbed the boards down and I am going to piant them with some wood presevers that seems to protect against most problems.

Does that sound sufficient?

Rob.

 

[AronSearle]

Mould and fungal spores are in the air, so don't worry about "contamination" so to speak.

If the timbers are now dry, I wouldnt bother doing anything with them in terms of preservative.

The only worry is that if they are a little high in moisture content, they may shrink a bit more in use than normal, nothing much to worry about though if you know what you are doing.

 

[xbot]

That's great thank for putting my mind at ease.

Rob.