fugenex - Dry Rot Sensors

19 November 2008
06:11:40 GMT

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Dry Rot Sensors - Case Study

Background
Dry Rot, the decay of timber by the fungus Serpula lacrymans, is the most serious timber decay problem in buildings in the UK and other temperate regions. When environmental conditions permit, the fungus decays timber components and without remedial action considerable structural damage can ensue. Damage may be considerable and extend far beyond structural elements to valuable artefacts such as ornamental plasterwork and timber panelling. The unique ability of the dry rot fungus to penetrate the non-timber elements of buildings, such as masonry and plaster, in the form of mycelial strands, and to transport water through those strands, allows the fungus to spread considerable distances from its point of origin.

The conditions for growth and development of the fungus are usually present in locations within the building that are not immediately accessible. The detection of rot is therefore difficult and assessment of the extent to which it has developed usually involves disruptive investigation. Such disruptive investigation can involve damage to valuable features.

The current procedures in common use for the detection of timber rot in buildings involve visual inspection and probing, sometimes supplemented by moisture measurement usually using an electronic meter. Further investigation might involve the uplifting of floors removal of plasterwork panelling or other building components in an attempt to see how far the condition has spread. Such investigation is in itself damaging to the building.

Case Study
Hagnaby House
Cherry Burton
East Yorkshire
Date May 2005

Client: Mrs T West
Builder: Ben Clark
Surveyor: Ian Adams MRICS

Derelict farmhouse to be refurbished to include some rebuild.

Problem: Client wished to retain as much of original internal timberwork as possible despite extensive rot.

Solution: Carry out selective monitoring using (Fugenex) Dry Rot Sensors following repairs.

Monitors fitted to areas of risk and where previous outbreaks of rot prevalent.


Vulnerable area, damp timber, mycelial strands.	Suspect timberwork drying out.

Comments
Client: “The sensors have allowed me to retain at risk areas and given me peace of mind over future potential problems”

Builder: “Effective monitoring has saved the client substantial building works and given us the opportunity to carry out more sympathetic repairs, this is what the industry has been waiting for!”

Surveyor: “The installation was easy and I feel as a profession we are now giving best advice”

Other examples
1 A surveyor carrying out a routine inspection notices a damp stained area that he thinks might give rise to dry rot. He tells his client he wants to check it out and does so by fitting sensors. He gets either a yes there is dry rot or no there is not.

2 A surveyor finds dry rot in a roof void but can’t see how far it has spread into the room below. He can fit sensors and will get a yes there is dry rot until the point where the dry rot stops.

3 An area previously treated for dry rot becomes wet as a result of a flood from a pipe or similar. As the area dries out the sensors can be checked to ensure that there is no dry rot re-development . Once dry there is no longer a risk, the sensors can be removed.

4 An outbreak of dry rot has spread behind some ornamental panelling in a historic building. To treat the outbreak by conventional methods would involve damage to the panelling. Sensors can be fitted within and around the affected area and the activity of the fungus monitored. Environmental control principles can then be applied and the sensors used to monitor the dying back of the fungus as the control takes effect. The sensors may then be used as a regular or even permanent way of monitoring the area, all without damage to the historical artefacts.