How to treat dry rot

Dry rot is a severe form of fungal decay that requires professional treatment to remove it from your home, repair or replace affected timbers and avoid serious structural damage.

Effective dry rot treatment begins with removing the source of moisture that created the conditions for rot and fungal growth.  Next steps involve removing plaster and timber infested with fungus and spores, applying a fungicide treatment and fixing any structural integrity issues. This may involve the removal and replacement of structural and decorative timbers.

For more help and advice on how to treat dry rot, contact your local specialists by clicking the button below or give us a call.

Peter Cox technicians will replace defective timbers and undertake repairs where necessary to retained sections,including structural and decorative timber.

All retained timber is treated using the latest fungicidal formulations to prevent further infection. Where necessary adjacent masonry is irrigated and surface sprayed with a biocide.

Below we outline exactly how our experienced and qualified dry rot technicians will remove the rot fungus and spores from your home, and what measures they will take to ensure your home will not suffer another dry rot outbreak.

A combination of moisture, damp timber and a lack of ventilation provides the perfect conditions for dry rot growth. This makes it essential to remove the source of moisture before continuing with any repairs.

If the dry rot has manifested underneath floorboards or in an underground room in your property, as it often does, Peter Cox waterproofing services may be necessary.

Timbers infected with dry rot will need to be removed and replaced by a Peter Cox timber repair specialists. Repairs will be made to structural and decorative timber where possible.

Any retained timber will be treated using the latest fungicidal chemicals to prevent future growth.

As dry rot growth tends to spread through masonry, fungicidal treatment of timbers is also recommended. If left untreated, the growth in the wall will continue to spread and will re-infect any new timbers in the vicinity that are replaced. An irrigation process is used, holes are drilled into the masonry and fungicidal fluid is pumped into the wall to stop any growth.

Rooms can be reoccupied just one hour after the dry rot treatment has been completed.

Many people assume that dry rot treatment only involves affected timber & wooden surfaces. This is misguided as the rot fungus spores can remain present in masonry and brickwork, so for full removal and to ensure that the fungus does not come back our rot team have a repair process to apply to plaster and brick walls.

• Affected plaster and rendering are to be hacked off and skirtings, panelling and ceilings are to be removed as described.
• Our dry rot technicians will apply a surface application of fungicidal fluid to brickwork. Concrete and/or exposed sub floors, together with any surface preparation as described.
• Fungicidal fluid is to be applied to the brickwork.
• All reinstated joinery timbers in contact with, or adjacent to, areas of masonry or plaster are to receive an application of fungicidal fluid.
• All treated wall areas previously plastered to be re-plastered except on earth retaining walls below ground level when a waterproofing agent should be used in the backing coat.

Epoxy resin techniques may be used for the repair of decayed beam ends, joint stabilisation and crack repairs. This is a cost effective method of replacing beams and timber structures as we can replace only the affected section of the beam.

Beams can be replaced using a treated timber splice resin bonded with reinforcement rods. The new timber splice can be either created in situ or pre-fabricated with factory fitted shear
connector rods.

Different design options can be used - even one with the 'end' constructed entirely of resin to prevent future water penetration into the timber.

Whatever work is required, all of our treatments comes with a 20-year dry rot guarantee. This offers our customers total peace of mind with regards to the future health of their property.

We also offer dry rot insurance that will extend to cover the whole house, not just the areas treated by our technicians. Our insurance provides future protection that major banks, building societies and even specialist insurers will not match.

Some forms of wood rot like wet rot remain localised to the source of water ingress which usually makes them easier to repair. Dry rot however is caused by the Serpula lacrymans fungus which can germinate and spread causing fungal decay across surfaces and can ultimately put the whole building at risk. Naturally, the extent and severity will have a direct impact on how much it costs to treat the problem.

Without conducting a thorough damp and rot survey, this uncertainty makes it impossible to provide an accurate estimate of costs. If your surveyor finds that either dry rot or wet rot treatment is required and you choose to conduct it with us then we will deduct the survey fee from your final bill.

Given that dry rot mycelium and fungus can have such serious effects on your property, you must contact a dry rot treatment specialist that you can absolutely trust. Whilst we have a multitude of industry qualifications and accreditations for our treatment process, our reviews on Trustpilot will give you an idea of what real customers have had to say about their experience of working with our dry rot team.

During a dry rot survey our surveyor may need to access your loft. While our experts are there they will let you know if they spot any missing or inadequate levels of insulation in your property. If our surveyor thinks you could save on your energy bills and reduce the carbon footprint of your property with a loft insulation top-up they will offer this as a no obligation extra. To find out more about our insulation service visit our insulation webpage.

Our highly skilled team can eradicate dry rot problems from any commercial or domestic property regardless of size or age.

We have highly qualified and trained surveyors and technicians in local branches all across the UK, so a dry rot specialist is never far away. Call the expert team at Peter Cox today or click the button below to book a survey online.