Is this dry rot?

[Socrates82]

Help! Long story short I had to investigate flooring which had dropped and I also believe we may have had wood weevils before (quite hard to identify). I have absolutely no DIY nous whatsoever. I have a joiner due to attend in a couple of weeks and in the meantime I need help in identifying potential rot. These photos are directly under the affected area. Does this look like dry/wet rot or similar? I'd appreciate any help - I'm incredibly worried, not helped by my lack of know how.

 

[noseall]

Dry rot is a fungus that looks like fine web. You look as though you have worm infestation. Spray it with an anti-worm infestation treatment.

 

[Socrates82]

Dry rot is a fungus that looks like fine web. You look as though you have worm infestation. Spray it with an anti-worm infestation treatment.

Thanks buddy - tbh my hope is that it is only woodworm.

 

[^woody^]

There are some strands there, but they might be spider's webs.

If the timber shows signs of crazing then it could be dry rot, if it just crumbles to dust and has holes all through it, then it most likely will be insects. Look for long strands of cotton, or fine web like substance going horizontally.

In any case, is that void adequately ventilated?

 

[noseall]

woodworm.

Just prey they are all holding hands.

 

[Socrates82]

There are some strands there, but they might be spider's webs.

If the timber shows signs of crazing then it could be dry rot, if it just crumbles to dust and has holes all through it, then it most likely will be insects. Look for long strands of cotton, or fine web like substance going horizontally.

In any case, is that void adequately ventilated?

Thank you. In your opinion, would a half decent joiner be able to confirm upon direct inspection? I believe the ventilation is okay inasmuch as I can tell: it's an old semi-detached property. The crawlspace links to the neighbour property and there is an exterior vent on the wall just above this area which despite being above joist level might be sufficient. Obviously, I wouldn't rate the air quality as high down there, but still.

As you can see, it appears that a floorboard is rotten through and the underlay exposed and above that is laminate. If worst case there was rot, I would want to know that it was contained and that by replacing some floorboards and treating the general area with something like Triple Action Wood treatment would be comprehensive enough, and I wouldn't have to consider investigating the wall cavity above floor level (certainly no sign of anything above floor level other than a dip in the flooring and some weevils in summer). Whatever incident caused this occurred over 3yrs ago so I would hope that also serves as an indicator.

 

[^woody^]

Thank you. In your opinion, would a half decent joiner be able to confirm upon direct inspection?

I wouldn't bank on it. He may be good at carpentry but lack experience in refurb work and what crops up. Or he may be an expert rot and crap at carpentry.

The other thing to bear in mind is that its not just a case of brushing some stuff on. Timber may ned to be removed, and way past the suspect areas too, and walls sterilised. And timbers injected or soaked not just brushed. It all depends on what it is.

If you can't work this out for yourself, and the carpenter can't say with any certainty, then you need to get it looked at professionally. You dont want this reoccuring after you've put all the nice new timber in.

 

[Leofric]

I would say it should be inspected by a woodworm and dry rot specialist firm who will carry out a survey and write a report outlining the damage and giving the recommended treatment . That would be the proper thing to do.

 

[scbk]

I can't see any dry rot in the picture, but plenty of woodworm holes and dust.
Woodworm tend to like damp conditions.

A local timber preservation company employs a squad of joiners, so they can do the whole thing. Cut out the bad timbers and x amount around it, fit new timber, and treat the whole area.