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How to Repair Rotten Wood
Repairing or treating rotten wood will enable you to prevent the spread and damage caused by either wet rot or dry rot, and protect your home from structural damage.
Our guide to treating wood rot will explain how to identify the different types of rot, and the different methods of treatment for rotted wood. If you think you may have identified either type of fungus in your home, or are looking for some expert help and advice to treat wood-destroying fungus, contact our timber repair and replacement specialist team today or request a rot survey using the button below.
How to identify wood rot
Before you can determine the best course of action to solve your wood rot problems, it is first important to identify whether your property is under attack from dry rot fungus or wet rot.
Roofing failures and leaking gutters are particularly common sources of the kind of conditions that can lead to an outbreak of wood rot. Other issues such as leaking baths, burst pipes or faulty washing machine machines can also allow water to spread over large areas.
While both problems are caused by water ingress, a lack of ventilation and high relative humidity, dry rot is the more severe of the two due to its ability to spread from the initial germination spot and attack other areas of the property.
How to spot what dry rot looks like
- Collections or orange or brown coloured spore dust
- Strands of fungal hyphae that have the appearance of silk
- Rot Fungus that looks like sprouting mushrooms
- The appearance of a cotton-wool like body called mycelium
Spot signs of wet rot
The way to spot what dry rot looks like is to look for:
Wet rot is a less serious problem, but you will still want to repair any affected surfaces. The signs of wet rot are:
- Fungal bodies localised to timber in contact with damp
- Flaky and brittle timber that has either darkened or lightened in colour
- Cuboidal cracking in the timber
For more information and pictures on the signs of fungus and rot, you can view our signs of dry rot and what wet rot looks like pages
Rotten wood treatment
Treatment for rotted wood begins with fixing or eliminating the damp problem that is facilitating the fungal growth, otherwise, any repairs will quickly degrade and the rot will return.
To fully eradicate the fungus, the method of repairing and treating rotted wood required will depend on the type of rot present in your home.
How to fix wet rot
Unless it has been allowed to fester for a significant amount of time, wet rot can usually be repaired without needing to replace any timber. After reaching dry wood by stripping away rotten timbers, and applying a fungicide by spray or brush you can apply a timber reinforcement paste or gel and fungicidal paint via brush to help prevent future rot problems.
How to treat dry rot problems
You will usually require a specialist survey and technical expertise as without their expert knowledge and the security that comes from long term guarantees offered by accredited professionals, there is always the threat that the dry rot spores in the air could create a whole new infestation.
Affected timbers will need to be thoroughly stripped back and treated with certified fungicidal treatment. In some cases, timbers will be damaged to the point that a cost-effective epoxy resin timber replacement solution will be necessary.
How to prevent wood from rotting
Despite their names, both wet rot and dry rot require damp and moist conditions to begin germinating. The best way to prevent this fungal growth is by ensuring there is a suitable source of ventilation in the property.
Condensation is the most common cause of damp problems in the UK, if simple DIY solutions like keeping windows open doesn’t dispel this rot causing moisture, then you will likely need to install a ventilation unit that will either introduce a source of fresh dry air into the whole house or just in selected rooms.
It is also the case that there are pre-treatments you can apply to timbers to help increase their resistance to dampness and rot. You can read more about these on our timber treatments page.
Your local wood rot specialists
If you are looking for professional wood rot treatment for your property, or simply want some help and advice with regards to fungal decay in timber, call Peter Cox today or click the button below to book a survey.
Peter Cox have local branches up and down the UK, so we will always have a professional wood rot treatment expert near you.
Next Steps
*Survey enquiries for your local branch will be directed to our dedicated central survey control teams across the UK. Calls to 0800 and 0808 numbers are free unless you are calling from a business phone, in which case the rate will be set by your provider.