Wet Rot on floor Joist ends (pics)

[mazears]

What do i do with regards to these floor joist ends. It's on 3 of them directly below where the bath used to be. I think in time it has caused this rotting (wet rot?) It is quite crumbly although only appears to be on the bottom edge and not all the way through the beam, which is resting on the inner skin of brickwork. The wooden lintel above the window and below the problem beams is bowing and rotting considerably. A number of bricks are also loose below and above in the bathroom area.The bathroom floor bounces slightly above the problem beams..What is the best course of action to solve this please.

View media item 14620 View media item 14621 View media item 14623
Wooden lintel badly rotted
View media item 14622
Bathroom above with bad brickwork
View media item 14624
Window from outside seems fine
View media item 14625

 

[stuart45]

Looks like it could be dry rot.

 

[joe-90]

looks like dry rot to me too. That odd cube like effect is typical of dry rot.

 

[gregers]

and me,they both cuboild crack but going by the 1st pic with the grey hyphe and the way the lintol looks expect the worst.

 

[alittlerespect]

There's an old saying 'look after the outside and the inside looks after itself'!

Going by the external shot of the window, the wall above is looking in a bit of a poor state. The problem with the lintel has probably got worse since you replaced the timber windows with plastic as the timber window frame would have provided more support than the plastic counterpart.

Next item internal shot of timber lintel and joists above - as others have mentioned the problem is likely to be some localised dry rot - only real problem - this stuff can be a living nightmare to control/eradicate if not dealt with early on - fortunately the ceiling joists are in relatively good health to check them over get hold of a bradel and try stabbing it into the timber - if the bradel sinks in easily then you have a problem - looks like you already have a problem with the window lintel.

Solution: First point of call - get a dry rot specialist in to check out the situation and follow their advice.

One comment those white strands of material running over the face of the brickwork between the beam over the window and the ceiling joists are not cobwebs, more importantly they are (forgotten the term) microcondia comes to mind but it could be wrong - they are the strands associated with dry rot and it is by this means that the dry rot spores travel - and travel they will through brickwork, up brickwork, across steel pipework virtually anything that gets in its way.

Good news is that you have a relatively minor occurence - just get it checked out and/or sorted before it becomes a major headache for you!

Regards

 

[cmother1]

The white strands are called the mycelium. One of nature's true survivors.

 

[mazears]

Was going to buying those dry rot sensors that change from blue to yellow, but looks like everyone's saying it is definitely dry rot. I never even noticed the white strands across the brickwork! You're right, the outside rendering is very bad and probably the main cause of moisture, although i was primarily thinking it was from bath above (I've just bought this house; it's been empty 2 yrs with no ventilation). Looks like the lintel will need changing (presumably just on the inside?) but i'm hoping the 3 joist ends don't need cutting off ?. Bottom of joists are slightly crumbly and I have stabbed a razor blade into this area and it only goes in maybe 5mm. I'm on a tight budget so rather than call in the experts i was going to buy Boron gel/paste. Will this help to stop the spread of dry rot and stop the timbers from further rotting ? (+ eradicade the source of moisture ie. external rendering).

 

[stuart45]

Ideally when treating dry rot you should cut back the timber a couple of feet into the good timber and then treat the rest. You need to be carefull, as when you put the ceiling back and re-plaster, you won't be able to see whats happening and the dry rot attack could re-occur. This does happen, and is why companies are generally very through when treating it.

 

[joe-90]

You can get dry rot treatment from Screwfix or Wickes. Just use plenty of it and cut away as much as you can (and sort out the damp issues).