h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

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.

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?

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<

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

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.

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.

Are you still around, Almoner99?

<BB<

Yes, thank you. Still here, but not every day (frankly, I forgot to check back whilst I was on holiday).

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<

Watch this space - I may be planning an article on the importance (or not) of having a hump...!

Your Guide Entry has just been picked from Peer Review by one of our Scouts, and is now heading off into the Editorial Process, which ends with publication in the Edited Guide. We've moved this Review Conversation out of Peer Review and to the entry itself.

If you'd like to know what happens now, check out the page on 'What Happens after your Entry has been Recommended?' at EditedGuide-Process. We hope this explains everything.

Thanks for contributing to the Edited Guide!

Congratulations! This Entry is an asset to the Guide