Client: Community & Religious Facility
Our client, a church community in Dursley, contracted Timberwise to conduct woodworm treatment to a church roof during large-scale renovations. This property was a community building constructed from solid stone, and was both unoccupied and unfurnished at the time of our inspection. The weather conditions were overcast but dry.
Challenges
As this inspection was carried out during active renovations on the building, great care was necessary to ensure health and safety risks were reduced during our visit. Our team collaborated closely with other tradesmen on site both during our survey and our later remedial work to ensure that essential works were conducted safely.
As the building was mid-renovation, an external inspection of the building could not proceed. This can be difficult when diagnosing woodworm, as leaving a pocket of infested timber could allow for recurrence in future. Thankfully, this is a challenge our surveyors often face, and would factor these wishes into their treatment plan to ensure as ideal a solution as possible for our client.
Observations
Due to the renovations, our surveyor was able to access the roof from close range, rather than from ground level. This makes surveying a larger property much simpler, as it’s then easier to identify smaller concerns that might not be caught from ground level.
Having conducted a brief internal inspection of the roof, our surveyor identified an active woodworm infestation within the main roof void. The infestation was present on both exposed and accessible roof timbers.
Woodworm is a collective term for a series of wood-boring beetles and weevils. Though they often differ in look and life cycle, they share one characteristic: Living their lives deep-seated in timbers and feeding on the timber from the inside. The larvae will feed on wood, then emerge as fully formed beetles, ready to mate and continue the cycle.
Woodworm infestations are often characterised by two symptoms: flight holes where the beetles emerge from, and frass, beetle waste that’s powdery or sawdust-like in texture. Both symptoms can indicate where a woodworm species has invaded the wood and begun feasting on it. Serious woodworm infestations can weaken the structural integrity of wood quite quickly, leading to weakening or even the collapse of structural timbers in both roofs and walls.
Our client had also asked Timberwise to survey the roof for fungal decay. However, at the time of our inspection, our surveyor found no evidence of either Dry Rot or Wet Rot within the roof.
Solutions
After consultations with our client, our surveyor designed a treatment plan that not only cured the woodworm infestation but would also conserve as much of the original roof material as possible.
Our team of technicians began by cleaning and preparing each of the roof timbers prior to treatment. They then applied a combination of insecticidal and fungicidal spray treatment to all exposed accessible timbers within the main roof void. This would not only treat the incumbent woodworm, but would also provide a protective layer for fungal decay, a concern our client had prior to our investigation.
However, during a closer inspection, our technicians noticed that several of the roof trusses had sustained severe damage, and would require further treatment. Rather than replace the trusses entirely, our surveyor and technicians adopted a treatment using epoxy. This material can be applied to damaged timbers to strengthen them, prolonging their service life. In properties such as this where conservation is a valid concern, epoxy offers a way to retain as much of the roof’s original material as possible.
After concluding the woodworm and epoxy treatments, our technicians applied a coat of preservation primer and resin to wall areas where the rafters were installed. Like the epoxy method, this would provide additional strength to the wall, ensuring it could continue to carry the weight of the roof once the renovations had been completed.
Results
Our client was delighted with Timberwise’s work to help repair the woodworm damage to their roof while conserving all the original timber fixtures. They were extremely satisfied with our surveyors and technicians, praising their treatment approach that not only eradicated the current woodworm problems they were experiencing, but also provided peace of mind and a guarantee against future woodworm or fungal decay concerns. They also praised our team’s willingness to work with other renovation teams, ensuring that the work was completed safely as well as to a high standard.
Do You Want Help with a Dry Rot Solution?
Our dedicated and experienced team in Bristol are ready to talk to you about your options for property preservation. Don’t hesitate to call us on 0117 322 6512, or you can request a survey online.
