Hi All,
Our electrician who is putting in a load of new wiring informs us that we have woodworm :(
No idea how long its been there as we only recently bought the house. Obviously the surveyor missed that one!
So anyone know of a good way to deal with it, or a good company in the Cambridge area who do this kind of thing?
Thanks in advance.
Colin.
I wouldn't worry about it. Woodworm don't like dry centrally heated houses and the holes are probably a good few years old
Any older house which didn't have central heating will have had woodworm. They'll generally avoid timber which is dried out by central heating, which tends to make the only areas which are still vulnerable those exterior to the heated areas, or anywhere that's damp. New boreholes shed dust when the timber is knocked, whereas old boreholes tend to have shed their dust years ago. Any sign of new wood dust?
Thats possible (hope so). Although it starts the in the beams in the roof of the garage (not heated) which go through into the roof above the kitchen. Also if you bang the beams in the garage dust particles do seem to come out of the offending beams.
Colin.
Tell tale is a powdery substance coming out of the holes. If it is just a smallish area liberally coat it with Cuprinol 5 star - if more extensive it's probably best to get a firm in.
AWEM (who's just arranging a Rentokil survey on an Oast conversion that he's trying to buy!)
Have or had? If have, how does the spark know? Grubs on his drill when making holes in joists? Grubs appearing in the holes?
Flight holes mean you have had woodworm, what you need to do is find out if it is still active. How old is the house? Is it centrally heated?
What sort of survey did you have done? Most surveys do not involve lifting or moving anything, even doing more than poking a head through a loft trap is pushing it.
Hi All,
Yes there does seem to be some dust comming out of the beams in the garage. Cant tell in the kitchen as it would mean taking down the celling to do so. So there is a chance that the kitchen may no be affected due to the central heating? or does woodworm spread quite easily from the orginal area?
Colin.
PS: So are Rentokil the people to talk to ??
how easy is it to get access to the beams in the kitchen? When I had woodworm in a house (also started in the garage where they seemed to have used softer wood) I found it was quite cheap to have it treated by the pros but what cost the money was ripping off ceilings etc. to gain access to the beams, and to repair afterwards.
Robert
NT
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heated
Rentokil are possibly the most expensive on the market, but have the advantage that they will probably be still arround in years to come if you have to sell or claim.
I sold my first house to a young couple who discovered dry rot in the ground floor despite our costly survey / treatment / guarantee from another firm. When they came to claim the firm had folded.
My current house was treated by them 22 years ago so still has 3 yrs of the guarantee left, and as we took out their insurance they are surveying the new place 'for free' (ie out of what I've already paid. Most other firms will give you a 'free survey' but build the price into the work.
My Rentokil quote was stupidly expensive all those years ago, and I told the surveyor he had no chance of the business and hence his comission. He said for me to do all the prep work (lifting boards etc) myself, and reduced the quote vastly accordingly. I then paid him to do the prep work as an evening job
AWEM
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