Help needed - Woodworm

[Tom]

Bourbon creams for me, please. And a cuppa to dip them in

 

[Penners]

Bourbon creams for me, please. Amd a cuppa to dip them in

Oh, don't you start! I'm having quite enough trouble with Feltwell, in another thread. :evil:

 

[Penners]

oh shut up Granddad

As a granddad-about-to-be-very-soon, I will spring to Penners' defence

Well, good luck, Matthew. As a grandfather of four boys under five, I'd advise you to enjoy your peace and quiet while you can!

 

[Tom]

Bourbon creams for me, please. Amd a cuppa to dip them in

Oh, don't you start! I'm having quite enough trouble with Feltwell, in another thread. :evil:

Oops, sorry

 

[CatherineB]

Divebubble, there is another very important forum member whom you will come to know well if you stick around...

Mr Fred Drift... :roll:

(he usually has a lot to say, once the main business of the post is out of the way :wink: )

 

[middi]

Divebubble, there is another very important forum member whom you will come to know well if you stick around...

Mr Fred Drift... :roll:

(he usually has a lot to say, once the main business of the post is out of the way :wink: )

Absolutely right. We have applied ( to our conscience) to have him listed :wink:

Middi

 

[Penners]

Mr Fred Drift... (he usually has a lot to say, once the main business of the post is out of the way )

Very true, Catherine. He's a garrulous fellow. But life would be pretty dull if we all discussed the same subject endlessly, don't you think?







That's my excuse, anyway, and I'm sticking to it. :wink:

 

[divebubble]

Hello Everyone and thanks for the welcome to the forum. Just wanted to say that your all mad, and thats a compliment in my eyes!

To give you an update on this thread, having taken Matts advice I contacted a 'reputable specialist' in timber treatments and am waiting for us to exchange (hopefully in a day or two) before instructing him to survey the property. Our LB Officer gave us his contact details along with a few others so knows his methods and presumably approves of them? Interestingly though she said if the recommendation is to remove the L&P in order to treat the wood then LBC would be forthcoming providing the L&P is replaced with new L&P.....how much????? His view is to let sleeping dogs lie and wait to see if active does indeed mean 'active' and then treat accordingly but by removing the moisture and increasing the ventalation then its highly likely the problem will resolve itself and the original L&P should be left well alone. I prefer his approach and so I hope with crossed fingers that his survey recommends his preferred treatment route rather than the take it down and start again view of the 'bad' salesman.

Time will tell and so will the tissue method, thanks guys, much appreciated.

Divebubble & Fish!

 

[Flyfisher]

Just wanted to say that your all mad, and thats a compliment in my eyes!

Well, it takes one to know one so pull up a chair and join the asylum - you'll be a fully paid-up member anyway once you exchange on your new listed property, so you might as well join in with the rest of the eccentrics here.

But I must warn you that beneath the thin veneer of jolly japes and banter there are some seriously knowledgeable and professional members lurking here like coiled springs ready to pounce on all manner of questions and problems. So, please join in and let us know how you get on. Photos are always welcome and, as mentioned, it's helpful to know at least the county you're in (add it via your 'user control panel) so that any answers may be more fully answered. You may even find your conservation officer is lurking here as well.

 

[FamilyWiggs]

Welcome DiveBubble & Fish - what an intriguing moniker!

I've nothing new to add, except to agree with what the various reprobates upthread have advised.

In 5 years of PP ownership, I've learned that the most useful skills needed are caution and common sense.

Joce is spot on when she says to live in the house for a while first. There are two reasons for this - firstly to get a feel for the house and what the priorities really are; and secondly to come to appreciate that you don't really own something that is 200,300, or 400 years old. You have the privilege of being its temporary custodian before passing it on to future generations. This might seem like a philosophical point, but I think most of us on here agree on this principle and it largely guides what we do.

The danger of rushing in quickly to big changes, is that you think the house should be adapted to your needs and that this can justify quite radical changes. Whilst this is undoubtedly true in part, it's also surprising how you slowly come to appreciate features of the house and adapt your living to it as well. We lived here for 2 years before we did anything to remove the 1970s fakeover - I'm so glad we did. I learned so much and we changed our plans to something much more sympathetic than I fear we might have. :shock:

The third useful thing to do,as you have done, is get to know your local Conservation Officer. I'm told they are normally very helpful - so don't be put off by the gruff b()gger that inhabits this forum :wink:

It goes without saying that daily (hourly!) visits here are essential. This forum is a goldmine of useful information and advice, and an even richer seam of useless diversion (much of which is Penners' fault, or RobGils! 8) ).

We have a tradition on here that newcomers must satisfy our insatiable appetite for PPUK Porn (house pics!), otherwise we'll request loads of damp/woodworm surveys on your behalf!

 

[biffvernon]

Treatment specialist suggested removing all plaster work (presuming it to be lathe and plaster)

He presumed wrong. There will be no lathes in the plaster.

Middi's comment about the woodworm not going further than the sapwood of oak is a phenomenon I sometimes make use of in making furniture, leaving the worm-riddled sapwood to create special effects in positions where strength is not critical.

There are some odd situations where woodworm do seem to thrive. Some older plywood was made with glues that were particularly nutritious and that seems to compensate for conditions drier than they would normally be expected to cope with.

 

[Stephen]

There will be no lathes in the plaster.

You hope!!!

I have heard of all manner of things being found within the fabric of historic buildings. I am sure somewhere I have a photo of a bedstead found in the layers of a thatched roof.

I am late to this thread (my wife tells me I am always late anyway - or at least slow), but welcome to ... what sort of name is that?!

I echo all that has been said. However, before entering into too much surveyor bashing remember UNCLE IS WATCHING YOU.
Without knowing all the facts and precisely what was put in the report we cannot be certain the surveyor was an idiot. However, the one thing of which we can be reasonable certain (with a few honourable exceptions) is that many of the treatment industry are more interested in lining their pockets than diagnosing correctly.

The best advice is to wait until Spring.

That said (and here I put on my negotiator's cap), if you are negotiating a price on the property to have a report that says you need to spend lots of money on the property could actually be helpful. :shock:

The other issue here is whether in fact there are more serious problems that have not been picked up if the surveyor was of the idiot rather than intelligent variety.

Just a few thoughts to throw in the ring for discussion.

Have a nice day everyone.

OH... by the way.

This is slightly OT

Yesterday I was with a few old buddies of the 'rising damp is a myth' sort and we were discussing some ridiculous 'treatments' we had come across. So far we are at 2m above ground level for the highest injected DPC. The question, nay challenge, can you beat it???

If you know of or have evidence of DPC injection (or other treatment) in ridiculous situations (particularly height above ground level) let us know.

Stephen (the mad Uncle)

 

[Matt Green]

Yesterday I was with a few old buddies of the 'rising damp is a myth' sort

Did you ever agree on a definition of rising damp with the PCA after that Architects' Journal article?

Schrijver system at first floor level, but that's shooting fish in a barrel.

 

[Penners]

This forum is a goldmine of useful information and advice, and an even richer seam of useless diversion (much of which is Penners' fault...)

I take the gravest possible exception to your telling the truth, FW. :evil:

 

[Penners]

He presumed wrong. There will be no lathes in the plaster.

divebubble - just in case you should imagine that this is some sort of serious comment on the structure of your house, I should perhaps explain that it's an old, running joke* on PPUK.

This is a lathe:

And these are laths:

*...for want of a better word. :roll:

 

[MatthewC]

And these are laths:

And quite beautiful they are too. I wish that the ones I'm working on looked like that!

 

[Penners]

Well, there's an oddity - my picture of a lathe has disappeared. It was there when I posted!

Here's another attempt:

 

[Flyfisher]

Call that a lathe? THIS is a lathe . . . well the chuck of one anyway: :wink:

 

[JohnB]

As this is a topic on woodworm, this is a more appropriate lathe

 

[Penners]

Call that a lathe? THIS is a lathe . . .

Thank you for pointing that out, Mr Dundee. :wink: