When purchasing a property, it is essential for you to ask a Chartered Surveyor to check for different types rot.
Wet and dry rot are two types of fungal decay that affect timber in buildings.
Although they can both cause significant damage to the structural integrity of a building, they have different characteristics and various ways of spreading.
Wet Rot
Wet rot is caused by the growth of a fungus that requires high levels of moisture to survive.
This type of rot usually occurs in sections of softwood timbers that are in contact with damp masonry or soil that can supply moisture to the wood. Typical areas that can be affected are timbers embedded into the enclosing walls, floor timbers or timbers located within areas of an active leak.
The fungus feeds on the cellulose and lignin in the wood, causing it to become soft and spongy.
Wet rot typically appears as a soft, damp, and stringy decay, with the affected timber showing discoloured patches, cracking, and deformation. Wet rot can spread quickly if the source of moisture is not addressed.
In essence, the source of moisture is essential in remediating this type of decay.
On the other hand, dry rot is caused by a specific type of fungus called Serpula lacrymans, which requires much lower levels of moisture to be present but higher humidity in order to grow.
What is Dry Rot?
It can affect both softwood and hardwood timbers and can spread rapidly through masonry and other building materials that are not able to retain moisture.
Dry rot usually presents itself as a brown, dry, flat, and deeply cracked decay, with the affected timber showing significant shrinkage and cracking. Dry rot can spread extremely quickly and cause serious structural damage.
Differences Between Wet & Dry Rot
One of the primary differences between wet and dry rot is that dry rot can survive and spread through areas of the building that are relatively dry, as it is able to extract moisture from the surrounding air, whereas wet rot requires the presence of an active source of moisture in order to survive.
Another key difference is that while wet rot is often easier to contain and eradicate by removing the source of moisture, dry rot can grow through brickwork and other building materials, making it much more challenging to treat.
In summary, both wet and dry rot are not ideal in a property though dry rot is much harder and more costly to eradicate.
Our Chartered Surveyors check all accessible areas for evidence of rot during a Building Survey.
Get in touch to see how we can assist.
