A Conversation for Dry Rot, or how not to have your house eaten
Peer Review: A87906081 - Dry Rot, or how not to have your house eaten
almoner99 Started conversation Mar 9, 2018
Entry: Dry Rot, or how not to have your house eaten - A87906081
Author: almoner99 - U15002866
Written by someone involved in the damp proofing and timber treatment industry as a small guide to those who are not. The entry is not exhaustive or excessively detailed, nor is it designed to be a DIY guide.
A87906081 - Dry Rot, or how not to have your house eaten
SashaQ - happysad Posted Mar 10, 2018
Hello almoner99 and welcome to Peer Review!
Thank you for writing this excellent Entry - just what we need in the Guide, as it is concise, informative and contains a goodly dose of humour!
I've heard of dry rot, but didn't know much about it, so I appreciate your guide to the 'mushroom ninja'
One question I did have was about "although dry rot is a "brown rot", not all brown rots are dry rot" - could you say a little bit about what else might appear?
A87906081 - Dry Rot, or how not to have your house eaten
Bluebottle Posted Mar 12, 2018
Welcome to h2g2 - this does indeed seem a very interesting and welcome entry.
Can I ask where you've mentioned that it affects masonry, do you mean it attacks the masonry itself (bricks and stone), plaster and/or mortar on the masonry, or does its spores lie dormant in masonry to later infect timber?
I thought it was a problem just for wooden houses, but obviously not.
<BB<
A87906081 - Dry Rot, or how not to have your house eaten
Florida Sailor All is well with the world Posted Mar 13, 2018
My biggest contact with dry-rot has been with wooden boats. This seems to be a bit of a contradiction as boats usually live in the water and tend to be a bit damp. As the Entry says it is just a form of 'brown rot' The old adage was to remove the affected wood, take it to a safe place and burn it!
Just another thought for the Entry
F S
A87906081 - Dry Rot, or how not to have your house eaten
almoner99 Posted Mar 13, 2018
Basically, anything that is not a brown rot is a white rot, and anything other than dry rot is a wet rot! Confused yet?
Brown rots are so named after the cubing and dessicating effect they have on timber, but only dry rot propagates itself and can survive after the source of moisture is removed, as it seems to create its own.
A87906081 - Dry Rot, or how not to have your house eaten
almoner99 Posted Mar 13, 2018
We have quite a few houses in the UK built using lime mortars to hold the masonry together. It tends to be softer, and doesn't contain harsh alkaline Portland Cement (as a rule). It is also quite prous, and allows the building to 'breathe'. Pre-Victorian bricks were also generally hand made, sometimes from poor quality materials, and can be highly porous. It is the capillaries in the bricks and mortar that the fungus exploits, using the moisture in the substrate (and possibly some nutrients, but nobody is quite sure about that yet.
Also bear in mind that these older buildings are not of a cavity construction, but often 9" solid brick, or thicker.
A87906081 - Dry Rot, or how not to have your house eaten
Bluebottle Posted Apr 4, 2018
Are you still around, Almoner99?
<BB<
A87906081 - Dry Rot, or how not to have your house eaten
almoner99 Posted Apr 10, 2018
Yes, thank you. Still here, but not every day (frankly, I forgot to check back whilst I was on holiday).
A87906081 - Dry Rot, or how not to have your house eaten
Bluebottle Posted Apr 11, 2018
That's okay – you don't have to be here every day, just wanted to make sure you've not left.
I'm still hoping to read what you'll write about next.
<BB<
A87906081 - Dry Rot, or how not to have your house eaten
almoner99 Posted Apr 12, 2018
Watch this space - I may be planning an article on the importance (or not) of having a hump...!
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SashaQ - happysad Posted May 4, 2018
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Peer Review: A87906081 - Dry Rot, or how not to have your house eaten
- 1: almoner99 (Mar 9, 2018)
- 2: SashaQ - happysad (Mar 10, 2018)
- 3: Bluebottle (Mar 12, 2018)
- 4: Florida Sailor All is well with the world (Mar 13, 2018)
- 5: almoner99 (Mar 13, 2018)
- 6: almoner99 (Mar 13, 2018)
- 7: Bluebottle (Apr 4, 2018)
- 8: almoner99 (Apr 10, 2018)
- 9: Bluebottle (Apr 11, 2018)
- 10: almoner99 (Apr 12, 2018)
- 11: h2g2 auto-messages (May 4, 2018)
- 12: SashaQ - happysad (May 4, 2018)
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