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- 5 Apr 2006
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Hi everyone
i've just been ripping out some old boarding in my loft to have my insulation redone (the boarding was like a very soft thin chipboard or something and couldn't suport a persons weight making it quite dangerous)
When I ripped it up I found a significant amount of woodworm in some of the ceiling joists. One joist in particular has holes all the way along its length and was rather crumbly. There was also sawdust next to the beam along its length, although i don't know how long it's been there as I imagine the boards over the top would have sheltered it from being disturbed.
I'm not sure what to do about it as there seems to be a lot of conflicting advice given. Some say treat with chemicals whereas others say that after a few years the timber is too dry for continued infestation, the treatment is toxic to humans and not very effective, plus the holes show that the beetles have left the wood so treating is like shutting the door after the horse bolted as it were. I'm also concerned about the toxicity of the treatment as the very bad beam is above the bedroom.
In addition I found a spot in the eaves with wet rot. It was just by the outlet for the bathroom extractor and the pipe had come away from its mounting plate so it was partially blowing the extracted air into the eaves. I've fixed the fan pipework but I'm curious to what i should use to treat the rot. Can anyone recomend a specific brand or product?
Cheers for any help
Phil
i've just been ripping out some old boarding in my loft to have my insulation redone (the boarding was like a very soft thin chipboard or something and couldn't suport a persons weight making it quite dangerous)
When I ripped it up I found a significant amount of woodworm in some of the ceiling joists. One joist in particular has holes all the way along its length and was rather crumbly. There was also sawdust next to the beam along its length, although i don't know how long it's been there as I imagine the boards over the top would have sheltered it from being disturbed.
I'm not sure what to do about it as there seems to be a lot of conflicting advice given. Some say treat with chemicals whereas others say that after a few years the timber is too dry for continued infestation, the treatment is toxic to humans and not very effective, plus the holes show that the beetles have left the wood so treating is like shutting the door after the horse bolted as it were. I'm also concerned about the toxicity of the treatment as the very bad beam is above the bedroom.
In addition I found a spot in the eaves with wet rot. It was just by the outlet for the bathroom extractor and the pipe had come away from its mounting plate so it was partially blowing the extracted air into the eaves. I've fixed the fan pipework but I'm curious to what i should use to treat the rot. Can anyone recomend a specific brand or product?
Cheers for any help
Phil