Our client, a homeowner in Kidlington, tasked Timberwise with conducting woodworm treatment on their property after recent sandblasting work. This property was a mid-terraced house of solid stone construction, and was both unoccupied and unfurnished at the time of our inspection. The weather conditions were overcast with light rain.
Challenges
As much of the damage was present within the roof void, most of the inspection was conducted there. However, our surveyor was restricted in this space due to the presence of loft insulation. When surveying for woodworm, it is integral to identify any pockets of an infestation to provide thorough treatment to the area. This is a regular challenge our surveyors face, and they acted with the backing of over 55 years of Timberwise’s industry experience to provide a thorough diagnosis for our client.
Further, our surveyor’s inspection of the first and ground floor structural timbers was complicated by ongoing sandblasting works. While this can help during the treatment stage, it can hinder the ability to diagnose the full extent of a woodworm infestation, as missing even a small active infestation could allow for the colony to reinfest the treated areas.
Observations
Our surveyor began by investigating the roof void, where they found several moderate to severe infestations of Common Furniture Beetle (Anobium punctatum) within the roof timbers. The Common Furniture Beetle is the most common woodworm species in UK homes, accounting for around 75% of cases ranging from mild to severe damage.
Typically, most woodworm species live deep-seated in timber for 3-5 years, emerging to mate and continue infesting the same timber. Woodworm species can inhabit a piece of timber for decades, gradually weakening it to the point of failure. In structural timbers, such as in our client’s roof, this could cause the entire roof to collapse.
The woodworm infestation was unfortunately not isolated to the roof void. On the first floor, both active and historic infestations were found in several ceiling rafters and purlin timbers around the loft hatch, indicating that they had likely spread. Our surveyor found during a closer inspection that the holes were full of frass (bore dust), indicating that the beetles were dormant during the customer’s previous survey which had been conducted during winter.
Moving downstairs, our surveyor identified further moderate infestations in all exposed structural timbers inspected on the ground floor. Due to the client’s ongoing sandblasting work, our surveyor was able to identify several additional areas of woodworm damage which had been hidden behind paint during the client’s previous survey.
Solutions
Being one of the most severe cases of historic and active woodworm damage they had seen in some time, our surveyor believed that a full property approach was the only method of completely eradicating all woodworm within the property.
To achieve this, our surveyor recommended that all stored items were removed from the property, as well as the loft insulation, to provide full access to each of the timbers for treatment. Our surveyor also recommended the continuation of the ongoing sandblasting work to clear each of the timbers ready for treatment and ensure its success.
Once the sandblasting work had concluded, our team of technicians arrived at the property to begin treatment. First, they assessed each of the affected timbers, performing extra cleaning where required to ensure each timber was prepared for treatment.
Next, our technicians applied a spray treatment of LignaTek Insecticidal Fluid to all accessible timbers within the roof void, as well as the exposed timbers in all living areas throughout the property. This fluid renders any existing eggs inert, while killing any remaining beetles on the surface of the wood. For any deep-seated larvae, these will die upon emerging from the timber over the next several years.
Once treatment was complete, our technicians returned the following day to re-lay the loft insulation, ensuring the spray was dry and would not damage the insulation once re-laid. During a final inspection, none of the timber structures in the property were found to be severely damaged, and so could remain in place without any need for greater timber repairs.
Results
Our client was delighted at the result from our work. They were satisfied that their structural timbers were safe from further damage, and would not require additional repairs to ensure they were structurally sound. They were also provided peace of mind that woodworm would no longer be an issue, with a 20-year guarantee for their specialized timber treatments.
Do You Want Help with a Woodworm Solution?
Our dedicated and experienced team in Oxford are ready to talk to you about your options for property preservation. Don’t hesitate to call us on 01865 479 648, or you can request a survey online.
