Wet rot treatment on attic beam

dingbat

Hi.

Had a bit of an issue with wind-driven rain getting into the attic space. Got a good roofer in and all is now good on that front. Now just sorting out the bit of damp damage that was caused.

Have attached photo. Bit of white fuzzy stuff on the beam caused by a persistent drip that used to run down one of the joists. Roofer took one look at it and said it was good, old wood that would last longer than me (and already has a few times over!). Told me to treat it myself and not to worry.

So, I've bought some Ronseal Wet Rot Wood Hardener and some Cuprinol.

My plan is to scrape that fuzz off the top and treat it with the above.

Any other advice people with experience of this could offer?

Thanks,
dingbat

Calahonda52

Happy with Cuprinol but don't know about the hardener as it may trap moisture in the timber.
If you have an awl or a thin screwdriver, probe the timber for soft areas: visual usually not enough unless its very far advanced

Is that cracking localised or is it elsewhere in the timber?

dingbat

Calahonda52 wrote: »

Happy with Cuprinol but don't know about the hardener as it may trap moisture in the timber.
If you have an awl or a thin screwdriver, probe the timber for soft areas: visual usually not enough unless its very far advanced

Is that cracking localised or is it elsewhere in the timber?

Thanks. Given my understanding of the hardener that makes sense.

I'll give it a probe with screwdriver - have done so with my nail and there's only a couple of bits that one would describe as properly soft.

The cracking is localised to that piece only.

dingbat

Hi. So it's not wet rot. To my inexpert eye it's dry.

Scraped off the white growth with a knife and then scraped away the brittle bits underneath. Have attached three photos of the result (fourth photo is the reverse side of the beam).

Then gave the whole area of the beam that seemed to be impacted by the rot a good soaking with Cuprinol using a paintbrush.

As you'll see from the photos, when I scraped away the brittle stuff it left some gaps. Question: should I fill in those gaps, or after another coat of Cuprinol should I now leave that old beam well enough alone?

rustynutz

One way to test for dry rot, put some of the fungus in a clear plastic bag and seal, leave somewhere warm for a few days, if there is a lot of condensation in the bag after this period then its dry rot