It's serious, but it isn't a catastrophe. You can treat is right where it is to stop any more rot / insect damage with something like bora-care.
Dry Rot...
I haven't dealt with much dry rot in the rehabs that I've done in the past but in my own house (built around 1900 and we bought it 6 months ago) I'm discovering pretty extensive dry rot and what looks like small big trails. The girders and many of the joists have this damage. It's all in the original lumber, and mostly the sections that contact masonry. I've heard a lot about spraying, using chemical treatments and quarantining the dry rotted material. How serious is this? Will replacing the damaged sections and keeping moisture off of them be enough? I don't have much experience in termites, bugs, fungus... (this is in south central Indiana)
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If you hammer the joists/girders do you see "powder" coming out of any holes?
Are there small 1/8" holes all in the joists?
If so the the joists/girders were infested with powderpost beetles.
Very common problems in older houses with rough cut lumber.
Most times the beetles were already in the wood when it was milled.
A house that old the infestation could be gone. Any new infestation there will be fresh dust being pushed out of holes at the areas where the joists have yet been damaged.
Are there small 1/8" holes all in the joists?
If so the the joists/girders were infested with powderpost beetles.
Very common problems in older houses with rough cut lumber.
Most times the beetles were already in the wood when it was milled.
A house that old the infestation could be gone. Any new infestation there will be fresh dust being pushed out of holes at the areas where the joists have yet been damaged.
BoraCare works very well and is safe
Dry rot won't get worse if the wood stays absolutely dry.
Kind of an oxy Moran isn't it?CarpenterSFO said:Dry rot won't get worse if the wood stays absolutely dry.
You MUST first stop the moisture issue causing the dry rot. Then you can address the wood repair.
Boracare or termidor work great for the termites.
Until the carpenter ants come marching through, and nothing is left. :laughing:Dry rot won't get worse if the wood stays absolutely dry.
Seems the ants can sense where the softer dry or wet rotted wood is and then go to town building a nest.
I had thousands of ants living in an old window sill. They left after I ripped down the jungles of vines up under the siding there. When I got rid of my old AC condenser and lifted the plastic pad underneath, there was a colony of millions. All I did was remove the pad, really ruined their lives. I haven't seen an ant since... fingers crossed.Until the carpenter ants come marching through, and nothing is left. :laughing:
Seems the ants can sense where the softer dry or wet rotted wood is and then go to town building a nest.
We just did a rot repair with tons of carpenter ants. Every stud along a 24 foot span, plus the non existent header and missing mudsill.
We knocked the old wood to bits until we only had good solid wood, for the most part, then vintage green deathed it and most of the new wood (25% Jasco) and sprayed ant killer and poured powder in there. We also removed the old insulation and resheetrocked and sheeted it.. What a mess.
It isn't a very happy home for those guys (the ants) now. :no:
We knocked the old wood to bits until we only had good solid wood, for the most part, then vintage green deathed it and most of the new wood (25% Jasco) and sprayed ant killer and poured powder in there. We also removed the old insulation and resheetrocked and sheeted it.. What a mess.
It isn't a very happy home for those guys (the ants) now. :no:
Thats when the Boracare comes in handy.I had thousands of ants living in an old window sill. They left after I ripped down the jungles of vines up under the siding there. When I got rid of my old AC condenser and lifted the plastic pad underneath, there was a colony of millions. All I did was remove the pad, really ruined their lives. I haven't seen an ant since... fingers crossed.
I did a window sill like that a few years ago, I asked homeowner if he had any bug spray. He said he would look, came back with something from the 50's like in a cartoon. A big piston that you pulled back and forth with a very rusty container of who knows what attached to it.
It worked real well but smelled for a few days.
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