What rot is this rot...?

[nicobobinus]

And so my Period Property journey begins!

~1880s byelaw terrace need some love, with the "wood" effect double-glazing being a major target.

However, the actual issues need tackling first: roof & rising damp.

For my first post, I need my mind put at ease, or sent into a panic.
Here is a photo of a mystery fungus in the cellar:


It seems to be coming from the soil behind the (rough but lovely) stone resting wall. It's pure, brilliant white and has spread even further since I took this picture.


So, fungal experts of PPUK, what are we looking at? Is it dry rot, ready to spread to the floor joists...?

Thanks for your time, and thanks for having me.

 

[nicobobinus]

Here are a couple more pictures of an outbreak near the hole shown in the above photos.

 

[Toby Newell]

Paging @Matt Green

I'm sure he's just stuck in the phone box putting his underpants on the outside.

 

[nicobobinus]

Here is the fungus again, growing happily underneath some plastic membrane:




Very weird!
Should I treat it, or let it grow...?

 

[Matt Green]

Morning,

That's mine rot- Fibroporia (Antrodia) vaillantii it is a really salt tolerant timber decay species that uses the brown rot decay mechanism. It's commonly found below ground in mines for example and grows very slowly on usually quite durable timbers. It's growing on timbers embedded within or behind the walls. Remove any timber you find, but otherwise it's probably growing on timber you can't get to easily.

 

[nicobobinus]

Morning,

That's mine rot- Fibroporia (Antrodia) vaillantii it is a really salt tolerant timber decay species that uses the brown rot decay mechanism. It's commonly found below ground in mines for example and grows very slowly on usually quite durable timbers. It's growing on timbers embedded within or behind the walls. Remove any timber you find, but otherwise it's probably growing on timber you can't get to easily.

Thanks for your insight!
It must indeed be growing on something, but whatever that is is beyond the stone retaining wall of the house, and several feet below ground, so we'll never know...
The waterproofing people sprayed some masonry fungicide behind the plastic to keep it at bay.