Hi, after finally deciding that the small black stain slowly growing in the wooden floor near our shower tray needed further investigation, I've discovered what I think is dry rot. Of course it may be wet rot! Anyway, it's rotten. Treatment looks likely to be a major pain in the arse, entailing presumably ripping out the whole shower tray and surrounding studwork, before we even get to pulling up of floorboards and joists. Anyway, it's beyond my expertise, ability or patience, so I need to get someone in. The problem, of course, is that I've developed a healthy mistrust of people trying to flog treatment for damp/rot. Can anyone recommend (or just suggest) someone in London who could do this sort of work reliably? I'm happy to go down the route of getting a surveyor in to start with, but I don't know any of them either.
just ask your mates/family/down the pub, for a recommendation for a builder/tiler/bathroom bloke - you;ve got a leaky n mouldy shower that needs redoing- no extra drama required
Unless the ceiling below looks like a biological research lab, it is merely surface ingress.
Replace shower tray, redo the plumbing, 25-32mm flex conduit the cable if not already conduit'd to the underfloor area, use a waterproof shower board (aquapanel or marmox or knauf cement board etc), use a waterproof tile cement & grout, redo the drain plumbing, replace the floorboards as required, check the joists to see if anything substantial (you can remove a piece of plaster below and let it dry that way). Everbuild timber protector will do dry/wet/woodworm (not paintable, Online =A315), as will Cuprinol 5-star wood treatment (paintable, Screwfix =A330/5L).
It may be quite extensive under the shower area, but may not have penetrated into the joists.
If you have somewhere else to wash you could do all the demolition yourself, slowly, bit by bit, until you've removed all the rotted wood and dried out the rest and got a plan of how much needs doing.
If you're within reasonable distance of the Watfrod corner of London, I can find out the name of the company that did my last girlfriend's house (in
2000, so I can't remember which it was). No bullshit, no attempt to scare us into extra expense and, a bit later, the only company that was 'clean' on one of those TV proggies.
Dear Martin First, let me declare an interest. I have been MD of such a company for over 30 years and am in London. Secondly, I let me declare that I am not after your business as we now operate as consultants.
There are about 2000 odd such firms in business in the UK and I suspect about 50 odd are in London of which perhaps 30 are members of the PCA (which took over from the BWPDA).
I have a healthy dislike and lack of respect for free surveys and have always charged for mine and was the first company so to do. Nothing in life is free.
If you care to send me a photograph of the wood of the support of the shower I can on our pro bono terms (no charge but you indemnify us) let you know what I think it is
Black does not indicate dry rot.
As stated by the others the key to control is a) lift out the shower tray and get the air to the structure b) stop water getting in c) assess
you will find some sparce and rather old information on our rather dated website
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some progress is being made on a replacement at cms.atics.co.uk
As a matter of commercial interest I researched this link.
This firm are, I think, either the main franchisor or an old franchisee well known to the wood preserving world for all the years I have been in this business.
There is nothing improper about the statement on their website
HEALTH AND SAFETY All chemicals used by us are cleared by the Health and Safety Executive under the Control of Pesticides Regulations 1986. ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY We always consider the safest products to be used in the remedial treatment of all properties.
but it is a bit irritating to me that this requirement under the COSHH regs (since 1989) is dressed up in this way. We ALL have to do this!
I suppose one can call this good marketing!
There was some talk of no scare mongering by whatever firm it was. Perusal of this particular website (IF it was them) shows a picture of dry rot sporophores on a WC and the following statement part of which is not supported by the scientific evidence published (which is generally of the view that dry rot mycelium on average grows about a metre or so a year).
"True Dry Rot fungus is a most rapidly spreading and serious form of attack on timber. [whatever is meant by "most" in this context] It requires a moisture content in wood of 20-25% and, in conditions of poor ventilation, [all true]
can spread its fine greyish threads many feet in just a few months. "[this is not supported by the published research]
The fact of the matter is that if you want to use a dry rot firm in London, or anywhere for that matter, you need to use your common sense and like most other things go back to basic research and make yourself knowledgeable about what you are dealing with as almost all of the firms out there are in the business of selling treatment for their firm and most do not have a sound scientific basis for their work but rely instead on traditional treatment processes that have been passed on historically.
As a result over treatment is rife and particularly with old dry rot that has been dead for decades. Over half the dry rot attacks we are called to are dead and require no chemical treatment.
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