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