Imagine being tasked with the responsibility of overseeing the care and maintenance of historic buildings. After many years on the job, you are no longer terrified by the thought of an old building showing signs of dry rot. You know full well that modern timber preservation techniques are more than adequate to address the problem.
There are a lot of myths about dry rot that cause people to be unnecessarily fearful of it. Dry rot is a serious condition that needs to be addressed, but it is not the end of the world. There is no need to panic if signs of dry rot exist in your home. You just need to contact an expert like Thames Valley Timber Treatment.
One of the many myths about dry rot is that the individual strains of the fungus are prolific water producers. The myth suggests that dry rot is extremely difficult to get rid of because of this ability. But it is not true. It's rather easy to eliminate the water sources that help dry rot fungus proliferate.
A Little Ventilation Goes a Long Way Where Dry Rot Is Concerned
It is true that the fungus that causes dry rot can produce some of the water it needs to thrive. That water comes from the wood itself as it is being consumed. But that amount of water alone is not enough to sustain dry rot. There has to be another water source.
In structures suffering serious dry rot issues, there's almost always a source of standing water. The water doesn't have to be in the same location, it just needs to be in a high enough volume to create a humid environment. A lot of water vapour in the air is sufficient to meet the needs of the dry rot fungus.
With that said, it should be obvious that a little ventilation goes a long way to stopping dry rot in its tracks. In many cases of dry rot in commercial buildings, the problem is immediately addressed by locating any and all sources of standing water and eliminating them. If necessary, steps are taken to reduce internal humidity as well. Then timbers can be treated to eliminate any future spreading of the fungus.
Dry Rot and Historic Buildings
Just to illustrate how powerful a tool ventilation is for fighting dry rot, consider dry rot that might be found in a historic building. It is not uncommon for a timber preservation specialist to see signs of former dry rot outbreaks that seemingly died out on their own. What stopped an outbreak that could have occurred hundreds of years ago, before treatments were available? Ventilation.
If you suspect dry rot exists in the timbers of your home or commercial building, do not panic. Give Thames Valley Timber Treatment a call so we can send one of our technicians out to investigate. If an outbreak is found, we will treat it and advise you about how to prevent it in the future.