Is Timber Treatment necessary in the Forest of Dean?
Woodworm- active or dormant?
Quite often homeowners will notice some woodworm in floorboards when
they are having some other work done in the house e.g. when plumbers or
electricians have to lift up flooring to fit pipes or wiring. If the
woodworm is active it may require treatment with a preservative but if
there is no current sign of activity then there is often no need to
carry out any preservative treatment although any decayed timbers may
have to be replaced. At Forest Dampbusters we offer free advice and
surveys whereby we will inspect any suspected outbreak of woodworm and
advise whether any treatments are required. If any treatments are
require we will give you a written quotation and any woodworm treatments
are covered by a 20 year insured guarantee. If there is no sign of any
active woodworm but you still require precautionary treatment against
possible woodworm infestation then we can out timber treatments with
organic environmentally preservatives which will safeguard your house
against the woodworm , wet rot and dry rot. All work will be backed by a
20 year insured guarantee.
Woodworm picked up on survey? Don’t worry
If you are in the process of buying a house or re-mortgaging/equity
release then your Building Society surveyor will often flag up woodworm
as a possible defect. Usually this is nothing to worry about as
surveyors often err on the side of caution in order to avoid any
possible professional negligence claims and by mentioning the possible
presence of woodworm they have covered themselves.
More often than not any woodworm picked up on a survey is dormant and as
long as timbers are dry there is very little risk of further woodworm
infestation and there is no justification for any timber treatment .We
can carry out a timber survey to satisfy your lender and usually find
that no timber treatments are required. We charge for these surveys but
usually save our clients ten times as much as our fee by avoiding
unnecessary treatments. Fees for these surveys vary on the size of the
house but vary between £50.00 and £150.00. For more information the
please call 01594 937300 or 07736 631527.
Dry rot/wet rot
We often get calls from house-owners worried about wet or dry rot as
they have often been told by other damp-proofing contractors that there
house has to be ripped apart to eradicate the fungus otherwise the house
will fall to the ground, destroyed by dry rot. However this is not
usually required as essentially dry rot is a plant and requires moisture
to flourish and once the source of moisture is cut off the fungus will
gradually die and the rot will stop. Basically this means keeping the
house free from any damp by preventing moisture ingress through leaking
gutters etc, rising damp or penetrating damp from raised ground levels
or defective brickwork. Most contractors won’t tell you this but this is
the truth and Forest Dampbusters can often save their clients hundreds
if not thousands of pounds by avoiding the unnecessary removal of
otherwise sound plaster and timber when the rot can be stopped by
preventing timbers from getting wet and cutting out rotten timbers.
We also find that a lot of our calls regarding dry rot are in kitchens
or bathrooms and have been caused by plumbing leaks as even the smallest
of leaks will cause timbers to be become wet enough for decay to occur,
and as most timbers are concealed under floors or in cupboards then the
rot can flourish for quite a while before it becomes apparent and this
will often be too late to prevent a lot of damage to floors and walls.
So if you are having any plumbing work done you should ask your plumber
to check over pipe fittings for leaks. It might cost a little bit extra
but a ‘stitch in time’ etc comes to mind. We don’t directly employ any
plumbers but if needed we can put you in touch with Corgi/Gas Safe
Registered plumbers in the Forest of Dean and Wye Valley.
Environmentally friendly timber treatment in The Forest Of Dean
If any remedial treatments are required for woodworm, wet or dry rot
then we only use organic preservatives with the lowest environmental
impact. When we first started timber treatments in the Forest of Dean
over 25 years ago the active ingredient in woodworm fluid was dieldrin
which was soon banned to be replaced by Lindane which has also been
banned. The preservative now most widely used by damp-proofing and
timber treatment forms is Permethrin which is claimed to be the safest
preservative available and non-carcinogenic but care must be taken when
used as excessive exposure can cause nausea, headaches and other
ailments and it is also toxic to cats (some cats have died as a result
of anti-flea treatments which are permethrin based and only intended for
use on dogs.)
All guarantees are insured with Construction Guarantee Services
FOR STRAIGHTFORWARD, HONEST ADVICE ABOUT THE TREATMENT OF WOODWORM, WET
ROT OR DRY ROT IN THE FOREST OF DEAN & WYE VALLEY YOU SHOULD CALL
FOREST-DAMPBUSTERS ON 01594 837300 OR EMAIL US AT
enquiries@forest-dampbusters.co.uk