Agh! Woodworm!!

[SquidgyMaltLoaf]

Builder who is doing our extension has just called to say he thinks we have woodworm in the upstairs floorboards. This after we discovered that the entire heating system had to be replaced due to dodgy pipes, electrics were dangerous, and various other little delights. We did have a survey which clearly wasn't worth the paper it was written on

Any woodworm-related advice? I don't even know where to start with this one :-(

Pretty easy to treat and cut out and replace any unsavable timber, as far as I know.

floorboards are easy to replace (don't use chipboard)

If the joists are weakened it could be more serious troublesome.

When searching for damage, poke the wood hard with a screwdriver (not a nail as the round hole looks like worm damage). Look for fresh frass and clean holes, which indicate current or recent damage.

Worm likes warmth and humidity, so it is most common near a leak, in a bathroom or airing cupboard. Modern CH houses rarely get ordinary worm because they are too dry for it. If you are lucky it will be an old, extinct infestation. You or the builder should hoover up all dust and fragments an put scrap wood in plastic bags before carrying through the house in case not. Old and new timber around the infestation should be treated with Cuprinol or similar. It smells a bit.

Thanks PigletJohn - we're obviously hoping that it's old! Builder doesn't think it's gone into the joists but he's not an expert so we have a surveyor coming next week to check. It's in what was the toilet (now just landing) so I'm hoping that it's old and the wood is damp from a leak! (Which would no longer be an issue as the toilet isn't there anyway)

It's turning into a bit of a house of horrors..!

Thanks PigletJohn - we're obviously hoping that it's old! Builder doesn't think it's gone into the joists but he's not an expert so we have a surveyor coming next week to check. It's in what was the toilet (now just landing) so I'm hoping that it's old and the wood is damp from a leak! (Which would no longer be an issue as the toilet isn't there anyway)

It's turning into a bit of a house of horrors..!