june.horne
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I have some decay in a roof beam in the loft. I'd like to treat it before in gets any worse. Should I chisel out the decayed wood before applying any wood preserver/woodworm treatment?
Many Thanks
Many Thanks
- Thread starter june.horne
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Matt Green
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:?
By 'decay' do you mean damage by wood-destroying fungi or do you mean insect damage?
Is the beam wet?
Is the damage getting worse?
Is the fungus (?) active?
Do you have active 'woodworm'? Piles of dust under the holes, insect bodies being found near windows, freshly cut holes, that sort of thing?
How big are the 'woodworm' holes? 2-3mm for furniture beetle, 5-6mm for death watch beetle, the difference is import as the remedies are different.
Assuming it's furniture beetle damage, the insects are active, the beam was wet and is now dry due to some change in condition, there is no longer any active decay, and the beam has been cleaned of any dust.... then apply some treatment fluid to the affected area of sapwood using a brush. No need for chisels.
Matt.
By 'decay' do you mean damage by wood-destroying fungi or do you mean insect damage?
Is the beam wet?
Is the damage getting worse?
Is the fungus (?) active?
Do you have active 'woodworm'? Piles of dust under the holes, insect bodies being found near windows, freshly cut holes, that sort of thing?
How big are the 'woodworm' holes? 2-3mm for furniture beetle, 5-6mm for death watch beetle, the difference is import as the remedies are different.
Assuming it's furniture beetle damage, the insects are active, the beam was wet and is now dry due to some change in condition, there is no longer any active decay, and the beam has been cleaned of any dust.... then apply some treatment fluid to the affected area of sapwood using a brush. No need for chisels.
Matt.
skier-hughes
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If you doa search for rotten wood you'll find 99.9% of the time it is recommended to leave the wood to dry out by ensuring any possibility of it getting damp is removed.
Woodworm only survives in the damp, so no damp, no woodworm, good wood, no chemicals, great life
Woodworm only survives in the damp, so no damp, no woodworm, good wood, no chemicals, great life
CliffordPope
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"Woodworm only survives in the damp, so no damp, no woodworm, "
That's what everyone always says, but in my experience it is not true. My woodworm especially like bone-dry wood.
That's what everyone always says, but in my experience it is not true. My woodworm especially like bone-dry wood.
d49xc
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I few years ago I bought a 2m strip of corner quadrant moulding from somewhere like B&Q.
Fitted it in place..forgot about it
Some months later - std sized woodworm holes appear together at one end of the moulding with characteristic wood dust underneath holes.
I'd assumed that was Kiln dried wood!
So it was a case of remove quadrant section, treated adjacent areas with chemicals, re-fit new piece, repaint etc, etc.
Fitted it in place..forgot about it
Some months later - std sized woodworm holes appear together at one end of the moulding with characteristic wood dust underneath holes.
I'd assumed that was Kiln dried wood!
So it was a case of remove quadrant section, treated adjacent areas with chemicals, re-fit new piece, repaint etc, etc.
Matt Green
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d49xc said:
That is classic Lyctus (Powderpost beetle) emergence. It's a pest of lumber yards that pupates when the timber is put in situ. They feed on sapwood with a high nitrogen content so they tend to occur in cheaper, decorative timber items that isn't quite good enough for structural use. Once they emerge they fly off to another freshly cut tree.
MatthewC
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I was once given a present in Uganda - a ten inch high wooden carving of a seated warrior dressed in barkcloth. When I got home, I noticed a few woodworm size holes in the barkcloth; close investigation revealed LOTS of holes all over it, so I soaked it in some nasty chemical bought in a local shop - been OK since! Presumably then, this would have been the Powderpost beetle (or something else similar). I don't know the type of wood but it is quite light and eucalyptus is very common over there.Matt Green said:
NB The LPOC recently issued a new leaflet about woodworm and didn't mention removing the source of dampness as an eradication technique...
Matt Green
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There are all sorts of tropical wood borers that could have got into the statue. A number of different Bostrichid beetles come in on imported items.
That's a bit silly. I wonder if they received any 'sponsorship' for that leaflet?
Getting folks out of the mindset that all timber is equally susceptible to attack is really important, only sapwood and only sapwood with a raised moisture content is ever going to be at risk. The moisture content doesn't have to be raised by much, and being in a cold roof void might be sufficient to p put it up to above 16/17/18% where furniture beetle can survive. It the sapwood is a bit soft and the larvae can move through it without spending too much energy then the risk increases. Not that there is much to worry about when you consider the total volume of potentially susceptible timber in a period building.
MatthewC said:
That's a bit silly. I wonder if they received any 'sponsorship' for that leaflet?
Getting folks out of the mindset that all timber is equally susceptible to attack is really important, only sapwood and only sapwood with a raised moisture content is ever going to be at risk. The moisture content doesn't have to be raised by much, and being in a cold roof void might be sufficient to p put it up to above 16/17/18% where furniture beetle can survive. It the sapwood is a bit soft and the larvae can move through it without spending too much energy then the risk increases. Not that there is much to worry about when you consider the total volume of potentially susceptible timber in a period building.