Could the humble house spider  be the ultimate green way to reducing woodworm? According to a recent study at the University of Huddersfield the answer may be yes. The study conducted by Charles Hippisley-Cox puts forward the the suggestion that spiders speed up the decline of woodworm beetles and consume them prior to the completion of the woodworm lifecycle. It may well be that spiders provide those of us not keen on cleaning with the perfect reason for leaving those cobwebs in place!

 Woodworm treatment and advice

The best plan of attack when suspecting a woodworm outbreak in your property is still to seek the professional advice of a surveyor – leaving the treatment to spiders alone is no guarantee to curing the problem!

If you believe you have a woodworm problem check out our woodworm tips or request a woodworm survey on-line or by calling 0800 288 8660

The causes of penetrating damp

There are 2 main causes of penetrating damp problems in buildings – Lateral penetrating damp and building defects.

Lateral penetrating damp

This is caused when the external ground against the wall is above the internal floor level.

Penetrating damp from building defects

There are many issues that fit into this category. Defective roof coverings, poorly fitted windows and door frames, cracked brick work and faulty guttering and downpipes (as can be seen in our photo!). For more photos of dampness check out our Timberwise Facebook page.

Identifying penetrating damp

There are a number of tell tales signs to help property owners determine if they have a penetrating damp problem. These signs include:

- Damage to internal decoration

- Damage to plaster work

- Signs of wet rot and decay on skirting boards and floor timbers

- Localised damp patches. Random patches of damp and varying heights that show no signs of drying out.

- Mould growth. Normally accompanied with a must smell and spoilt internal decorations. (Mould can be removed with a mould removal kit)

Tips to prevent penetrating damp

The following tips are designed to give a little guidance on what to look for is you suspect a penetrating damp problem.

- Check Downpipes, gutters, flashing, rendering and window frames for sign of damage.

- Downpipes should always be clear to allow good water flow.

- Replace any damaged guttering.

- If the rendering is cracked as well as re-sealing any gaps that may be evident around window frames.

- Check window sills and in particular the drip groove. This is designed to shed rain water prior to it reaching the house wall. Any dirt of forms of blockage on the drip groove need to be removed.

Further penetrating damp help

Should you require advice call your local Timberwise office on 0800 288 8660 to arrange a damp survey or complete our on-line dampness survey request form. Our surveyor will visit the property at a time convenient to you and give an experts opinion on how to solve your damp problem.

Every client counts

For over 40 years Timberwise have been supplying property care services to home owners and businesses across the UK. Over that time the quality of our services has led to many satisfied clients.

Following every project, we ask our clients to complete a client satisfaction questionnaire covering all aspects of their experience with us, including the quality of the survey report, quality of workmanship, the professionalism of the the technicians, and the whole process from survey to completion.

We are delighted that overall 96% of clients would choose Timberwise again as their first choice for providing property care services. 97% of clients would also recommend Timberwise to others – indeed this is the main reson why people choose Timberwise – on the back of reccomendations from friends, family and industry professionals.

We are proud of the reputation we have built and are delighted to share with you testimonials and comments from our clients that we have obtained from our client care surveys. Below is just one of the testimonials from one of our clients who have benefited from our expertise. To see more testimonials visit our client testimonials.

“I can thoroughly recommend Timberwise to give you an honest assessment of what work is really necessary and whether you actually need to pay out for very expensive damp-proofing.  I had 6 firms look at my shower-room. Timberwise stood out as the only honest broker. Their excellent Surveyor Keith Defoe suggested I put a de-humidifier in the room for a few weeks to see if I could resolve the problem. In the meantime he gave me a quote both for full tanking and for a cheaper solution of applying a liquid damp proof membrane. He was happy to come back 2 months later to re-survey and told me the room was fine and didn’t need treatment. Some surveyor’s charged just to come out and the others would happily have taken £3000 or more to carry out unnecessary work to my room which incidentally had received a damp course treatment several years before. I expressed my surprise/delight at their approach and Mr Defoe told me they think honesty is the best policy. Going forward I would only use Timberwise for this type of work – I’ve had damp-proofing installed in two properties by two other installers one of whom has since gone bust. The other I would certainly not recommend.”

C M of London (Featured on Which? Local)  

To become one of our many satisfied clients call your local office on 0800 288 8660 or complete the on-line survey request form.

*figures from Timberwise 2011 client care survey

The impressive grade 1 listed Fountains Hall belongs to the National Trust. The National Trust and our team of woodworm specialists from Timberwise Leeds had more than just common furniture beetle to consider in the roof area. The roof area of the hall also provided a home to Brown Long Eared bats and Pipistrelle bats - as bats are legally protected great care had to be taken when considering treating the timbers.

Working in conjunction with John Drewett Ecology Timberwise were able to determine the best time of year to carry out treatments to the timbers as well as making sure that there was as little disruption as possible to the winged residents!

The Law and Bats

All bats and their roosts are protected by law throughout the UK. In general it is an offence to:

- Deliberately capture, injure or kill a bat

- Deliberately disturb bats in a way that would significantly affect their local distribution or abundance, or affect their ability to survive, breed or rear young

- Damage or destroy a roost (this is an absolute offence – claiming that you didn’t know it was there is no defence)

Further information on what to do if you find bats roosting in your property can be found on the Bat Conservation Trust website. For further advice on woodworm check out our woodworm pages or give us a call on 0800 288 8660.

At Timberwise we are passionate about caring for property and helping people make the most of their homes. With the major energy companies in the UK suggesting we all make better use of energy to keep energy bills down it seemed a good idea to look at some top tips on how we can keep our energy bills lower. With winter around the corner and the forecasters predicting another cold winter here are some top energy saving tips to help keep your energy costs down.

Top 10 ways to stop wasting energy and start saving money

1 Turn your thermostat down slightly. Reducing your room temperature by just 1C could help cut your heating bills by anything up to 10% or more. If you have a programmer, set your heating and hot water to come on only when required rather than all the time.

2 Is your hot water too hot? Your cylinder thermostat should be set at around 60C/140F

3 Close your curtains at dusk. This stops heat escaping through the windows. Also check for draughts around windows and doors. For draught proofing ideas check out the Timberwise Energy Saver Shop

4 Always try to turn off the lights when you leave a room.

5 Don’t leave appliances on standby. Also try and remember not to leave laptops and mobile phones on charge unnecessarily they all use valuable energy.

6 When possible, fill up the washing machine, tumble dryer or dishwasher. One full load uses less energy and costs less than doing two half loads.

7 Only boil as much water as you need (but remember to cover the elements if you’re using an electric kettle).

8 A dripping hot water tap wastes energy and in one week can waste enough hot water to fill half a bath.

9 Use energy saving light bulbs. They can last up to 10 times longer than ordinary bulbs, and using one can save you around £40 over the lifetime of the bulb. Energy saving light bulbs can be found on the Timberwise Energy Saver Shop.

10 Compare energy providers. Switching energy providers can save you hundreds of pounds.

A range of products to help you save energy can also be found in the “Timberwise Energy Saver Shop” For more advice on saving energy check out the DirectGov website.

Envirowise determined that the problems were associated with the excessive moisture present in the air within the cellar. As a result this moisture, was causing a condensation problem and in turn a mould problem. The solution was simple – the installation of an Envirowise Cellar Positive Pressure System.

Designed to create enough air changes to replace the moist wet air trapped in the cellar in such a way as not to interfere with the normal chilling of the beers The Envirowise Cellar Positive Pressure System is designed to control the humidity in the toughest of cellar environments and reducing the risk of condensation and mould forming on beer lines which in turn reduces maintenance and cleaning costs.

The Science behind the Cellar Positive Pressure System

The principles behind the system are simple: If the moisture laden air is replaced with clean fresh filtered dryer air any evaporation that then takes place can be absorbed into the internal atmosphere and washed out by the Envirowise Cellar Positive Pressure System unit before condensation has any opportunity to reform on any cold surfaces.

To work, the system requires an air supply from an external  source that is then ducted to the Envirowise Cellar Positive Pressure System. The system is designed to deliver an air flow either directly from the main unit or if necessary further ducting can be added to a desired point within the cellar.

Energy Saving Technology

The system benefits from our energy saving technology and operates within set temperature parameters hence the annual running costs are only around £10.00 per year.

The pictures below show the installation of the positive pressure system in the cellar:

Heavy mould growth and condensation on line pythons

Showing hanging moisture below the python and new mould growth above

Cellar Positive Pressure system air in-put direction grill

Looking for more information on positive pressure ventilation?

To find out more about our range of positive pressure systems for use in domestic or commercial environments check out our dedicated ventilation section of this website. Alternatively call your local Timberwise office on 0800 288 8660 or arrange an air quality survey to see how we can improve the air quality in your property.

The Granary, Dorset

The penetrating damp problem

The period, brick built, former granary located on the River Frome in Dorset and overlooking the Purbeck Hills suffered from intermittent damp penetration to the gable (river facing) wall, during adverse weather conditions, resulting in internal damp staining adjacent to window and door openings and water dripping from the window heads.

The main building has walls of 450mm solid brick, although the main river facing gable had been replaced many years ago with a wall of cavity construction, formed using extremely porous bricks on a lime bedding mortar.

Following our investigation it was established that the cavity trays fitted over the door and window openings were partially blocked and also unable to cope with the extent of water ingress. Water was also breaching the cavities elsewhere (acceptable) although moisture was building up in the base of the wall, as this wall was formed from the old foundations.

The Timberwise solution to penetrating damp

Options considered and discussed were to (1) render the wall, although destroying the aesthetic appearance of the overall building (2) rebuild, too disruptive and expensive or (3) apply an external coating to prevent lateral damp penetration and clean the cavity trays.

Now we at Timberwise are always cautious when recommending or using external silicone type coatings, as they can be very short term, but more importantly can change the visual appearance of the building, the most common problem being the glazing effect of the masonry caused by the silicone ingredients and to this point we would have probably decided against the use of these types of product.

However, Timberwise have been trialling a new product, which is a masonry protection cream which is breathable and when applied by brush or roller will penetrate to a greater depth than conventional liquid systems, thus its effectiveness will not be affected by the erosion of the masonry surface over time and will prevent rain penetration through the pores of the brickwork for many years to come.

Having undertaken our initial survey of the wall and carried out random Masonry Absorbency Testing (MAT) we put forward a proposal to undertake initial on-site trials with the product, which proved successful and was followed by a full application to the entire gable end of the building, including the cleaning and reforming of the cavity trays and weep holes.

Following completion of the works we can report that the Masonry Cream has penetrated deep into the external brickwork with no visual change of appearance to the wall and improving the thermal efficiency of the masonry by keeping it dry.

Drinks all round to a job well done! The pictures below shows the work we carried out.

Masononry absorbency testing being undertaken

One of the test areas 1 hour after application of penetrating damp cream

The same test area 4 weeks following full application with no visual change to the walls appearance

Carefully cutting in around the pubs painted banner

What should I do if I think I have penetrating damp?

Dont panic is the first thing! Timberwise are experts is finding solutions to damp problems big and small be it penetrating damp, rising damp or condensation. To speak to your local team call 0800 288 8660 or to arrange a visit from one of our surveyors simply complete our on-line damp survey request form and we’ll contact you to arrange the survey.

From the initial survey it was very apparent that the water leak had on-going for some considerable time (between 6 and 9 months) which had allowed plenty of time for problems to occur behind the scenes. Damage had taken place to the master bedroom floor, bathroom floor and landing floor as well at the kitchen ceiling below. Wet rot was found in parts of the property as a direct result of the water ingress allowed by the faulty bath seal. The Wet rot known as Coniophora puteana is one of the most common forms of decay found in the UK and occurs when wood has become soaked through water leakage.

All the Wet rot infected timbers were replaced and precautionary treatments applied to the remain timbers. The pictures below show the devastation that was caused:

With the bath removed the damage caused by the Wet rot is clear to see. Black mould can also be seen on the wall.

The chipboard floor has lost any strength it had as a result of the water damage.

The landing floor is ruined as is the plasterboard partition. More black spot mould can also be seen.

What should you do if you suspect a leaking bath / shower seal?

Ideally you must sort the seal out as soon as possible to avoid a water ingress and Wet rot problem as seen in the photos above. To help, below is a handy video showing the correct way to seal a bath to make sure that you stay leak free!

Do you have a Wet rot problem?

If you suspect Wet rot in your property don’t panic! Timberwise are experts in treating properties that have been subjected to dampness and Wet rot. To arrange a survey from one of our timber surveyors simply complete our on-line survey request form of call your local Timberwise office on 0800 288 8660.

The research that was recently published in the Science Journal, may lead the way towards finding new cost effective and practical treatments for dry rot. In the UK dry rot is one of the most destructive forms of fungal decay and can lead to serious problems with the structural integrity of buildings.

Research on the gene code of dry rot

Professor Fred Asiegbu , Professor of Forest Pathology at Helsinki University states that the gene code research gives much more insight into the lifecycle of dry rot amongst other aspects of this destructive fungus. Wood decaying fungi are divided into 2 distinct types – white rot and brown rot. Brown dry rot have a preferance for consuming cellulose and hemicelluloses where as white dry rot attack the mainly the lignin and cellulose components of wood.

Further information on the gene code and the research carried out into dry rot

To discover more about the research carried out in to dry rot visit the Science Daily website which gives information from Dan Eastwood of Swansea University.

Do you suspect dry rot in your property?

Timberwise have been treating properties with dry rot for over 40 years. We have a wealth of knowledge and understanding of dry rot and how to treat it in properties. To find out more check out our dry rot information page that features a video looking at dry rot in more detail. To speak to a surveyor about dry rot call your local Timberwise office on 0800 288 8660 or request a dry rot survey on-line.