Dry Rot? Wet Rot? (I know it's rot of some sort!)

[HAJ]

Hi,

I joined a while ago regarding another property we were thinking of buying (an old chapel with rising damp); that sale finally fell through after we'd waited around for 6 months but we've just been today to view another property (200 years old - will we ever learn!).

It's an old farmhouse (1808) stone-built, in the middle of nowhere. The exterior walls look solid enough, theres a bit of the black spotty mould here and there and the place could do with a good clean (and a new bathroom, central heating, rewiring, kitchen, floors...the usual stuff).

All was well we thought, but on viewing the interior of the property we discovered that it was fungus city in there!

Quite apart from the usual black spotty mould that you'd expect in any old property that's been left uninhabited for a while; downstairs the exposed ceiling beams in the kitchen and dining room are completely covered with flecks of orange and white mould; the wall in the dining room behind the panelling feels damp and there's some very freaky looking stuff hanging from the ceiling ,
where the conservatory (upvc) joins the exterior wall has frills of orange stuff decking it as well

Upstairs in the bedrooms, there's white stuff on quite a lot of the woodwork in one part of the house, the ceiling in one bedroom is sopping wet, and also there's a couple of huge orange mango shaped mounds (actually the colour is exactly that of tinned peaches!) above a couple of the bedroom doors and the plaster has been eaten away.

The floor of the bedroom with the sopping ceiling squelches when you walk across it, and the wall in that bedroom is absolutely sopping as well.

Now - as I've become a little bit more experienced in these things - I did notice that where the mould/fungus/sopping wet walls and floor etc is, seems to be right under where the cold water tank was situated in the loft and so I'm wondering if there was a burst/leak/spillage at some point which has caused the mould to take hold. The dining room is also below the bedroom where the mould/fungus is the worst too.

I've done some research on the net and it looks like dry rot but I'm not 100 percent sure.

The problem with the property is this. It's a repossession. The auction for it is in a couple of days time and the estate agents doing the viewings have only been hired by the auction company for two viewings - of which the second was today. We are hoping that nobody would bid on the property and then we could nip in with an offer on it (because we do love it). But, the short timescale means that we're going to be pushed for time to get the results of the survey back before we (hopefully) make an offer.

So I was wondering...does anyone know what this is? Is it dry rot? Is it wet rot? And how horrible would it be to fix? I've already figured that the whole of the upstairs floors and joists will need to be replaced...
Any advice gratefully received

thank you

 

[Zebra]

I'm no expert on rot, but can share your experience of having to make up your mind quickly, on a property which seems to have a lot wrong with it.
I had two viewings on consecutive days, then put in an offer for mine; it was accepted, and then I thought "Oh my, what have I done?" I didn't get a survey. I simply assumed a worst-case scenario, as you are doing, and decided that even if I did have to replace all the joists and the staircase, new roof, all the windows and doors etc, I still wanted the house.
Three years on, and I've had to undertake things which I didn't imagine I would, of course, but many of them were things which I don't believe a survey would have showed up anyway, at least, it might have pointed to the problem, but I could see the problems for myself; it's the solutions to those problems which have taken so much time and thought. I did underestimate the work involved in the house, I don't think it would have been possible to work that out in advance, but I've enjoyed it, and love the house to bits.
This house you're looking at can be dried out, then if you have to replace timber, you will, and if you can repair it, you will, I'm sure. Perhaps you won't have to. Perhaps there'll be other things wrong with it which you don't know about yet. Or wonderful discoveries. If you love the house and its location, and you're up for the challenge of taking it on in that state, then make an offer.
At least you reckon you know the cause of the dampness, that's a good starting point!

 

[plasticpigeon]

Matt Green is your man for this. I don't think you need a survey, you can see there are lots of things wrong and the house will take a huge amount of work to make good, but if you really like it then maybe it is worth it. I like zebra have ended up doing a lot more on my property than I thought, and the most annoying thing has been dealing with tradespeople, none of whom have impressed me at all, and I would not wish to take on such a project again unless I could offload some work to really good tradespeople. Make sure you are ready for years of hard work if you go ahead!!!!

 

[88v8]

Eradicating dry rot - if it is - is no small matter.
Once established, it can creep through brick and stone.

Here's a site dedicated to it.
http://www.dryrot.biz/
Of course, they have an axe to grind.

And its picture gallery
http://www.dryrot.biz/photo%20gallery.htm

When the house dries out, it may be possible to save some of the woodwork. But I'd move very very quickly with the drying and treatment. You already have fruiting bodies there.
Best of luck.

Ivor

 

[MatthewC]

It's an old farmhouse (1808) stone-built, in the middle of nowhere. The exterior walls look solid enough, theres a bit of the black spotty mould here and there and the place could do with a good clean (and a new bathroom, central heating, rewiring, kitchen, floors...the usual stuff).

You forgot the roof, flashings, gutters and downpipes, the extensive replastering and is there any high ground against the walls? Apart from that, it sounds just like mine (see my blog - blue spot on right) except that I didn't have the fungus.

Tackle the damp questions first, starting at the top. Good luck!

Matthew

 

[HAJ]

Thank you everyone for your advice and comments.

Having taken a look at the below links - I"m nearly 100 certain that it is dry rot, which means that at least half of the upstairs floors will need to be replaced and some of the stone surrounding it as well. That's a bit scary to contemplate but at least it's not a listed bulding so they don't need to be replaced by hand-carved by craftsmen solid oak (not that I'd mind hand-hewn by craftsmen solid oak beams and floorboards - but we aren't millionaires!).

What I'd forgotten to mention yesterday is that the roof is a little strange. Originally the house would have been your typical dales farmhouse which is a two up, two down where the roof at the back sloped down into a single storey scullery/kitchen area. However, at some point (probably the eighties!) the owner has built up from the kitchen to make another bedroom but instead of (as I would think sensible) redoing the roof properly, they've added a new pitched roof which means that it's basically an upside down W shape. The worst of the damp is directly below this area so I'm making an educated guess that leaves have built up in the V, water has then pooled and is creeping through - hence the damp!

Flashing/guttering/drains all needs to be replaced (as they usually do, plus I'd lay money on the fact that the chimneys will need to be relined/repointed/capped etc!).

I think that we're going to be crazy, pray like mad that it doesn't sell tomorrow and then offer a price taking into account the fact that at the moment the property is unliveable (it also needs to be completely replumbed, rewired, replastered, insulated, refloored...) basically as it stands right now - it's a lovely plot with potential - in fact the estate agent who showed it to us suggested we bought it for the plot, razed it to the ground and used the stone to build a new house. TBH though, we like the fact that this one has stood there for the past 200 years - if we'd wanted a new build we'd have bought one!

I'll keep you posted!

 

[JoceAndChris]

Good heavens. I wish you the very best of luck and admire your courage! We'll be spending a hearty 6 figure amount on ours without those problems ( new render, roof, replumb, rewire, redecorate, water supply, kitchen, bathrooms, replastering bits etc etc) so I wouldn't take on your project without £100,000 to spend on it at the very least. But it would be a great project, I'm sure.

 

[plasticpigeon]

You don't need to get rid of everything with dry rot, especially not stones. You just need to stop the conditions (ie damp) that allows dry rot to flourish. One you dry the place out the fungus will go dormant and as far as I know eventually die. You only need to remove wood that is so badly affected that it is unsound, certainly not all timber and masonry within a 10 mile radius or whatever the damp proof companies say. Please have a look at all the different views on dry rot eradication and try and avoid those companies that want to sell you a service or product.

 

[Matt Green]

Thank you everyone for your advice and comments.

Having taken a look at the below links - I"m nearly 100 certain that it is dry rot,

WAIT!

That's not dry rot at all. It's Peziza domiciliana a cup fungus known for growing in very wet conditions on plaster, cement and other domestic surfaces. Dry the area out and make nominal repairs to the affected fabric.

Do nothing more.

Dr Matt Green
(-and I only pull rank when I'm annoyed.)

 

[HAJ]

Dr Matt

Thank you!!! First time I've ever had good news on a Monday!

(Now all I have to do is to sit with crossed fingers for the rest of today and hope that no-one bids on the place!).

 

[Roger H]

And the bad news is - it's carnivorous :shock: