Wine causes dry rot?

[Nemesis]

Well that's what it seems to suggest...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/main.jhtml?xml=/property/2007/06/30/prestoration130.xml

In general, good to see that proper repair is being promoted in the Torygraph!

(Not sure about demanding your builder is a member of SPAB though...)

 

[Penners]

According to some authoritative websites, dry rot causes timber to lose weight.

Memo to self: must drink more wine.

 

[Nemesis]

Sadly, Penners, I drink a great deal of red wine and can confirm that although I may have rot the weight has not diminished.

(Did you spot the CO 'joke' at the end of the article??)

 

[Nemesis]

PS - I'll sneak this in here as if I post separately it gets removed... another record set at 6.20 am re people online... I thought it was just me who did that!

 

[Penners]

Did you spot the CO 'joke' at the end of the article?

I suspect it's closer to the truth than like to think.

 

[Stephen]

Dry Rot is more correctly called Brown Rot.

Shame she got this wrong - wonder who told her about dry rot, or whether she simply got her notes mixed up?

 

[Nemesis]

It seems that she had it all 'treated' befor she heard of the SPAB... and presumably the 'expert' wasn't Matt who I am sure would have saved her a fortune!!! (Although he may have drunk the red wine...)

 

[Penners]

PS - I'll sneak this in here as if I post separately it gets removed... another record set at 6.20 am re people online... I thought it was just me who did that!

You know, Nem, you really should get out more.

 

[Nemesis]

I know. But it's early in the mornings when I get things written and edited and stuff. Mug of tea and bit of toast and the trusty computer...

And it's interesting that the numbers online to read our deathless prose have shot up... even if it's the massed membership of insomniacs anonymous.

 

[Penners]

Word must be getting around about the exceptionally high quality of advice, wit and general edification. :shock:

 

[Nemesis]

Graham says it's probably spambots seeking out places to put rude messages... would we notice?

 

[Moneypit]

Totally off topic I know but could I place an early request for Nemesis and Penners to join us for our Christmas dinner this year? The cross table discussion will be so much more entertaining than Elizabeth's TV message.

 

[Nemesis]

Actually after a couple of large glasses it's possibly more an under the table discussion...

 

[Penners]

Well what a very kind offer, Moneypit.

Sadly, I'll have to decline. I've been caught like that too often before.

"Do come and have Sunday lunch with us. Oh, and by the way, could you just help Bob to finish digging out the cesspit for an hour or two before we eat?"

 

[Matt Green]

It seems that she had it all 'treated' befor she heard of the SPAB... and presumably the 'expert' wasn't Matt who I am sure would have saved her a fortune!!! (Although he may have drunk the red wine...)

:shock: Thaaash a filfy lieeee.

serious mode: on.

There are a few things I don't like the look of in that article:

Meanwhile, beneath our feet, a nasty bout of dry rot was hatching. Spores for dry rot (more correctly called "white rot") are everywhere, all the time. They need a combination of timber, humidity and temperature to germinate - whereupon they spread at the rate of a metre every six months. Repair can cost thousands and isn't covered by insurance.

We had stored the wine in a badly ventilated corner of the cellar, in wooden wine racks and cardboard cases, thus creating perfect conditions. When frothy white tendrils spread across the floor, we only just caught it in time. It could have destroyed all the timbers of the ground floor.

As Stephen wrote, dry rot uses the brown rot decay mechanism.

A metre every six months is about right, comparable with most brown rots. Recent work in Germany (Huckfeldt 2006) suggests that cellar rot is capable of spreading at a faster rate*. Regardless, it won't spread outside the zone of wetting, although in a cellar thats everywhere.

Which brings us to: what happened then? You need more than just cheap crate timber and a damp cellar to get dry rot. Cellar rot, Poria type wet rots- yes all the time, but dry rot doesn't seem to germinate with just ground water**. Something must have happened. Either that dripping pipe had been discharging into the cellar or it had flooded. Assuming it was dry rot.

I know the paper doesn't want to get into the nitty gritty and you lot have a higher tollerance to my boring geekiness than most, but the vagueness does give some cause for concern.

Matt


*I don't have that paper to hand. His photo guide to strand forming building fungi published in Mycology last year is great though.

**Generally accepted by those with an interest and backed up by a bit of research by the BRE years ago.

 

[Nemesis]

Hic!