Client: Domestic
Our client, a homeowner in Leicester, contacted Timberwise to determine the presence and extent of damage from an infestation of wood boring beetles in the ground floor of their home. The property was a detached house of cavity brick construction and was both occupied and furnished at the time of our inspection. The weather was sunny and dry.
Challenges
As the property was occupied and furnished at the time of our inspection, this creates a challenge in accessing as many areas of the property as possible. In the case of wood-boring beetles, leaving an infested area untreated can result in the infestation spreading to newly repaired areas over time, so it is vital to identify their total presence to avoid any chance of reoccurrence. Thankfully, this is a regular challenge that our surveyors face, and they were able to draw upon years of experience to navigate the property successfully and ensure that all problem areas were identified within the property ahead of remediation.
Observations
After a brief external investigation, the only issue identified by our surveyor was an inadequate set of air bricks leading to the sub-floor timbers. Without an adequate amount of air bricks, this will reduce air flow to the sub-floor and put them at risk of fungal decay. However, the main cause for concern was identified within the property.
After an internal inspection of the property, woodworm infestations were identified throughout the ground floor rooms. Woodworm is a collective term for a collection of wood boring beetles and weevil larvae that thrive within timbers. Once these larvae mature, they bore out of the timber to mate, laying eggs within the same timbers they emerged from. These species feast on the timbers over many years, weakening them until the point of collapse. Check out our Woodworm Treatment page for more information on the types of wood boring beetle, how to identify an infestation, and the effect they can have on your property if left untreated.
In this case, the woodworm infestation was extensive, and the beetles had been feasting upon the ground floor timbers for a considerable amount of time prior to our visit. Many of the present timber floorboards and joists were past the point of remediation and would only get weaker as the woodworm continued to feed on them. This presented a significant risk to both the client’s health and their property if the floors were to eventually collapse.
Solutions
Our surveyor called upon their years of experience to devise the ideal plan to not only tackle the incumbent woodworm infestation, but also protect against future outbreaks of both wood boring beetles and wet rot.
The first problem to navigate was how to begin work. As the client was currently living in the property, it would not be feasible to simply remove the client’s possessions from their home to grant complete access. While this would give our technician’s complete access to the property, it would also disrupt our clients’ life considerably, forcing them to find not only alternative accommodation, but also transport and store most of their belongings during the duration of the project.
Our surveyor took our client’s situation into account, and devised a staged replacement and treatment plan, treating each infested area in turn until the property was completely restored. This plan would begin initially with phase 1 in the dining room, phase 2 in the bedroom and ensuite, phase 3 in the lounge, and complete with phase 4 in the bathroom, hall, and understairs cupboard.
Thankfully, the client’s kitchen had a solid floor and was not at risk of woodworm infestation. Kitchens can often be the most difficult rooms to repair woodworm damage in. This is often because fitted units and appliances can impede access to all areas requiring treatment and can sometimes mean removing the kitchen fittings entirely to ensure for complete treatment. Identifying this early ensured that our technicians did not have to perform unnecessary remediations, and our client could still use their home with as little disruption as possible to their regular activities.
Once the plan was outlined, our technicians set to work in restoring the property. In each room, the old floorboards and joists were removed, along with any damaged materials within the floor void. This removed any remnants of infested material and reduce the likelihood of reinfestation down the line.
Next, our technicians installed new air bricks, both replacing the existing bricks and introducing new ones at regular intervals. This would improve air flow to the sub-floor, ensuring that the risk of rot developing was also reduced.
After the new air bricks were installed, our technicians installed new tanalised timber joists, with ends capped with a damp proof membrane. These joists are treated with a chemical preservative under high pressure, which makes them more durable and resistant to rot, fungi, and insects. These materials would therefore be ideal for use in our client’s home to prevent the risk of reinfestation down the line.
As an additional barrier of protection, our technicians also treated the area with LignaTek woodworm treatment spray. This would not only provide a barrier of protection from rot and fungi for the new joists but would also ensure the eradication of any remaining woodworm when they emerged from any remaining timbers. Some deep-seated larvae may initially escape the immediate treatment but would die upon emerging even after several years. This treatment would also prevent development of any remaining eggs, ensuring the infestation would eventually die out. Our How to Get Rid of Woodworm page has further information on how to treat a woodworm infestation.
Results
Our client was incredibly impressed with the services our surveyor and technicians provided in restoring their property. They were particularly pleased with the phased plan proposed by our surveyor, ensuring that they did not have to seek alternative accommodation while the work progressed.
They were also pleased that they were able to focus on one room at a time, ensuring they could reintroduce their furniture and decorations to each room as our technicians finished working on them consecutively. This caused considerably less disruption with our client than remedying the entire property in one large job, which would have required the client to remove all their belongings prior to beginning work, as well as rendering the property uninhabitable for the duration of the project.
Our client was delighted with the result and now lives with peace of mind that their new floors are guaranteed to prevent any reoccurrence of either woodworm infestations or rot for years to come.
Do You Want Help with a Woodworm Solution?
Our dedicated and experienced team in Leicester are ready to talk to you about your options for property preservation. Don’t hesitate to call us on 0116 201 8017, or you can request a survey online.
