A leading property care specialist has offered his advice to people who want to protect their home – if a neighbouring probably has dry rot.
The issue is thought to affect millions of homes in the UK and results in householders forking out hundreds of millions of pounds every year trying to fix the issue.
And property care specialist George Edwards, managing director of Timberwise, said it can be a real worry, as you might think that it will spread across into your own home.
Mr Edwards said: “The first question I’m asked about dry rot is: can it spread to my home? The answer is yes, absolutely it can.
“It may be more of an issue for you if your properties are connected but dry rot is a fungus, a living organism, which spreads by releasing spores into the air.
“When the spores come into contact with timber, it takes hold very quickly and the spores mean that it can spread from one timber beam to another even if they are not connected.
“If your property’s timber also meets the conditions for dry rot spores to germinate and grow, it won’t be long until your home shares the same dry rot issue.”
George says there are two key questions to consider when dealing with this issue:
- What if My Neighbour’s Property is Responsible for my Dry Rot?
You are going to struggle to prove this unless the adjoining property is clearly run down and has visible issues, such as rotting window sills and clear signs of degradation.
You may have to hire a qualified surveyor who can identify a clear path the dry rot took from the neighbouring property to your own.
Because dry rot spreads by releasing its spores into the air, this means that they could have come from literally anywhere, not just next door.
To be certain, the surveyor will need to be granted access to the neighbour’s property, so you will not have any firm evidence unless there is a proper investigation by a professional.
A qualified surveyor endorsed by the Property Care Association is the best person to advise if you can pursue legal action to recover the costs of remedial works.
- How Can I Get Rid of Dry Rot If It Came from a Neighbouring Property?
The main thing to know about dry rot is that, despite the name, the spores can only grow on timber that has a moisture content of 20% or more.
It will be worth investigating why your timber is damp in the first instance, as eliminating the source of the moisture is not only a good way to put a halt to the spread of dry rot, but it will act as a natural defence as well, as the spores will be unable to grow on your timber at all after landing on it.
Then you will have to deal with any dry rot that has already grown within your property, and make sure that the affected timber is either repaired properly, or replaced with timber that can perform the same function as the original.
