Dry rot updates

[Willsa]

I thought it might be an idea to make an Updates thread on me dealing with the dry rot in the downstairs timbers of my Victorian terrace.
I'm taking a slow, let-it-die-naturally (for the most part!) approach. Going from the premise that a dry house will put an end to it's spread. Putting the theory to test!

This is how it was 4 months ago with the rot behind the skirting, behind the concrete plaster "tanking", under the stairs. All affected walls are internal.

 

[Willsa]

In the last four months, I have taken all the actually affected, rotted timbers away.
There are no skirting boards downstairs, the bottom three steps of the stairs are gone, a couple of architraves gone.

I have, however, left timbers just touched by the rot but still fully solid in place. Instead of cutting everything away, I'm trying to create conditions where the rot can't grow.

I have even left some hyphae in place, so I can observe them shrivel and dry (which they have). It's like a visual test of how exactly unhappy the dry rot feels. It might also help me pin-point the problem areas of damp if the fronds happen to not dry out in a spot.

There is no plaster on the bottom 1.2 metres of the walls - it was a hard concrete "tanking" anyway and I belive was fully guilty of creating some condensation behind it and the shroom was spreading happily there.

In the four months of winter, all the brickwork has dried wonderfully well. I've been heating and ventilating, and even though there's no radiator in the hall and the weather is not conducive for drying, it still has worked.

I have had major roof repairs done that sorted a major cause of water-ingress.
Every single one of the gutters and downpipes was fully blocked and decaying - those are new too.
The downpipes were discharging by the foundations of the house with no drain- holes present. The downpipes have been rerouted.

 

[Willsa]

The next step, I'll fungicide-wash the brickwork, heat-gun (it's great at killing spores and also woodworm ) all the remaining wood, paint the remaining and the new wood going in with a preservative.
The missing parts and anything nearest to the ground will be rebuilt in treated oak. I've noticed the dry rot loves pine, not hardwood.

The bottom stair step will be ventilated with a grille.

It's a bit of an experiment but at least the drying-out stage seems to be going well.

Fingers crossed for me!

 

[Willsa]

The unknown is the possibility of a fungus-contaminated wood under the concrete flooring.

Once again, I'll just have to make sure it's not nice for it to come up...

I'll update again in spring/summer once I've started the steps of putting the downstairs back together!

 

[Willsa]

Oh, I'm also making sure no timber touches the concrete floor (the floor is cold and uninsulated.)
I use plastic spacers to create small separation gaps.

 

[steveb]

Ah very interesting, thanks.

That hyphae (new word learned today) is exactly what I had between the lime rubble walls and the tanking. It seemed to have grown on the lime wall surface but also managed to get between the coats of original lime and created an area of growth, either detaching the render from the wall or exploiting an already weak patch.

I am at the same stage, all 2 layers of tanking removed (cement, then plastic) and letting it dry. I do get water come in under the floor when it rains though so I suspect I have another battle on my hands there. The whole floor has been removed and is ready to go back

 

[malcolm]

That is completely mad. It must have been soaking wet there and your photos are really useful. I like the idea of leaving some of the horrid looking fungus in place and watching it die as the wood dries out. It won't be a problem after the wood has dried.

You are doing all the right things and it's really good to see that.

 

[paulc]

The downpipes were discharging by the foundations of the house with no drain- holes present. The downpipes have been rerouted.

I'm a big fan of the Flowplast interceptor gullies. Got them on all my downpipes and will sometimes go out when it is chucking it down just to marvel at the flow of water.