Dry Rot Services Leeds and Yorkshire

True Dry Rot attack of a floor in Cross Gates, Leeds – total collapse of the boards and joists – note the spore dust discolouring the top edge of the skirting board.
This Dry Rot is thriving beneath a floor in Wakefield, completely covering the joists and floorboards. Fresh fruiting bodies are forming here – also, note the pink and lilac with slight yellowing too. The droplets of water on the underside of the fungus are due to chemical exhalation and are known to contribute to the humid environment. The Latin name is derived from this appearance of ‘weeping’.
Close up view of a Dry Rot sporophore (fruiting body), found in a house in Armley, Leeds. The irregular pore structure releases millions of spores before shrivelling and dying. Sometimes extra fruiting bodies are produced by Dry Rot, when an infected building begins to dry out; this is thought to be a stress response.
This is not Dry Rot, but clearly shows how some rarer wet rots can look very similar. This is Mine Pore Fungus, Fibroporia spp, attacking sub-floor timbers in Horbury, near Leeds. The generic name is due to its liking for very wet and damp environments; like mine shafts, where it used to be a real threat to timber props. It has an interesting honeycomb type fruiting body – hence the ‘pore’ in ‘poria’. Treatment is the same as for any other Wet Rot.
Here is another fungus which we’ve seen mistaken for Dry Rot. This is a harmless cup fungus of the Piziza species, growing on damp plaster in a house in York. Correct identification saved our client a great deal of money.There are many fungi which occasionally grow in buildings – only a qualified remedial treatment surveyor (CSRT or CTIS), like Bryan of Jeff, should be consulted to identify and if necessary, specify treatment.

Dry Rot

…is the generic name for the wood destroying fungus: Serpula lacrymans.

We’ve treated and successfully eradicated scores of infections by this invasive and tenacious fungus. However, we’ve also lost count of the number of times we’ve been asked to eradicate Dry Rot, only to find, on arrival on site, the decay in question wasn’t dry rot at all - Misdiagnosis is common where this decay is concerned, so it really is important to get proper specialist advice.

Almost all decay in timber is caused by one of the more common Wet Rot species, which tend to be less fussy about their growing requirements; in effect, if wood is wet, more wet rots will attack the timber than will Dry Rot.

However, Dry Rot’s notoriety is well deserved, because when it does strike, the impact can be quite spectacular and the extensive fungal growth; with strands and sheets of fungus seeming to devour the wood, engenders respect and sometimes wonder – unlike wet rot, it can spread away from the initial source of moisture, even in part contributing to it’s own environmental needs, spreading by invasive growth and heavy spore distribution. As a result, secondary outbreaks, remote from the initial one are quite common.

We find it a bit less often than in the past though, yet with temperatures rising and rainfall coming in heavy bursts, more than steady drizzle, Dry Rot is predicted to make a comeback – but we’ll have to wait and see.

Treatment is quite straightforward – but the survey is critical; the initial inspection must be thorough enough, otherwise it is easy to underestimate the extent of infection and customers can find themselves with unexpected additional costs, once a job starts; this is what we at BT Preservation want to avoid.

We have the qualifications and experience needed to properly investigate the extent of the problem and specify a tailor made solution for you, with accurate costing you can rely on. Our principle surveyors, Bryan and Jeff have both seen hundreds of outbreaks; contact us for a detailed and professional survey.

These images were taken by Bryan on his surveys over the last few years and they illustrate the variable nature of Dry Rot and show how it is capable of causing severe damage.Click on these images for further information.

 

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