Client: Commercial
Our client, a commercial property owner in St Albans, tasked Timberwise with conducting wet rot treatment in several buildings on their property. This property was a garden centre of solid brick construction, and was occupied and furnished during our inspection. The weather conditions were overcast but dry.
Challenges
As a commercial property, property maintenance issues carry a significant amount of risk. Regardless of the symptoms, leaving property maintenance issues to worsen can result in health and safety impacts for any staff or visitors to the site. As a result, it is integral to provide a thorough and complete survey to ensure any issues are remediated to prevent the risk of injury or illness.
Observations
Our surveyor investigated three buildings on site. In two of these buildings, our surveyor identified several damp patches distorted plywood ceiling boards in the roof void. This indicates several areas of penetrating damp, where moisture had continued to ingress through a defect in the exterior structure. Our surveyor concluded that there was likely a fault within the roof or roof lining above the ceiling.
In addition, in several areas around timber windows, pockets of wet rot fungal decay were identified. Wet rot fungus germinates when moisture content in timber reaches a level of 20%, and where a lack of ventilation allows moist, stale air to become trapped in the roof void. It is more directly associated with penetrating damp, as wet rot remains isolated to a water source, often the result of an external defect or a plumbing leak. Provided the water source continues feeding the rot, it will continue to grow and spread along the timber fixtures.
Though the wet rot in the timber windows was slight, several ceiling joists were in a state of disrepair, and our surveyor recommended that they be replaced due to the damage sustained over a long period of time.
Our surveyor concluded their investigation with an intimate inspection of the timber frames. Alongside the wet rot, small infestations of woodworm were identified. These were believed to be colonies of Deathwatch Beetle (Xestobium rufovillosum), a species that will feast off oak, as well as softwoods if they are well rotted.
The term ‘woodworm’ applies to a collection of wood boring beetles and weevils. Specifically, it is the larvae that live within the timber, feeding on the wood within as they tunnel through the timber. These larvae can live within timber for anywhere up to five years, emerging as fully-grown beetles to mate and continue the cycle. If left untreated, woodworm species can irreparably damage a property’s timber, structurally weakening any timber they encounter.
Solutions
To treat the wet rot outbreak, our surveyor created a treatment plan that would prevent future recurrence.
To begin, our technicians brushed down the rot-affected surfaces with a wire brush. This would break up any large areas of fungal residue and create a clean surface to treat the timbers.
Once cleared, our technicians applied a dual purpose fungicidal-insecticidal solution. This would not only treat the incumbent fungal decay, but would also treat the woodworm infestations identified in the roof void. As woodworm can live deep-seated in wood for several years, this solution would eradicate any woodworm on the surface, as well as any beetles that emerged over the next few years.
However, several of the timber roof supports were too heavily damaged to repair. In this case, our technicians replaced the roof beams with brand new treated timbers to ensure they were also protected from future rot or woodworm infestations.
Though this brought an end to Timberwise’s work on the property, our surveyor also highlighted that our guarantees would only remain in place if the building were maintained in a watertight condition. Our client subsequently repaired the roofing defects identified by our surveyor, and had the roof void insulated and drylined to protect the timbers against future woodworm and fungal decay.
Results
Following our treatment and timber replacement works, the affected roof void and window timbers were fully restored and protected against further fungal decay and woodworm activity. By removing the damaged structural elements and applying a dual-purpose preservative treatment, our team ensured the remaining timbers were safeguarded for the long term.
Once the roofing defects were repaired by the client, the buildings were returned to a safe, dry and serviceable condition, allowing the garden centre to continue operating as normal.
Our client was pleased with the clarity of the survey and the efficient delivery of the remedial works, giving them confidence that the issue had been fully resolved.
Do You Want Help with a Wet Rot Solution?
Our dedicated and experienced team in North London are ready to talk to you about your options for property preservation. Don’t hesitate to call us on 020 8226 6486, or you can request a survey online.
