Ku

Kenneth

14/11/2004 7:31 AM

A rotten question...


Howdy,

Suppose a board is in a moist environment, and starts to
rot.

The board is then moved to a different location that is
sufficiently dry that the board would not have started to
rot in the first place.

Would the rot continue (eventually consuming the board)?

Or would the situation stabilize leaving the rest of the
board sound...?

Sincere thanks,

--
Kenneth

If you email... Please remove the "SPAMLESS."


This topic has 15 replies

mn

"mark"

in reply to Kenneth on 14/11/2004 7:31 AM

14/11/2004 6:18 PM


"Leon" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> "mark" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> >
>>> It will likely continue. The moist environment is not what is rotting
>>> the wood. It is what breeds in the moist environment that eats the
>>> wood. Remove the moisture and the rot may slow down but likely it will
>>> continue unless you kill the organisms that are eating away at the wood.
>
>> Lack of moisture should kill them, no?
>
> Wood has moisture in it. Typically wood you work with has about 6%-8%
> moisture content.

Yeah, but wood with a normal moisture content doesn't rot, so it stands to
reason that whatever critters cause the wood to fall apart need more
moisture than that.

JB

Jim Behning

in reply to Kenneth on 14/11/2004 7:31 AM

14/11/2004 1:20 PM

I don't know because when I removed the rotten board it ended up in
the dumpster. They do make git rot kits where you inject something in
to the wood to kill the rot making stuff. You then can cover it in
epoxy to repair.

Kenneth <[email protected]> wrote:

>
>Howdy,
>
>Suppose a board is in a moist environment, and starts to
>rot.
>
>The board is then moved to a different location that is
>sufficiently dry that the board would not have started to
>rot in the first place.
>
>Would the rot continue (eventually consuming the board)?
>
>Or would the situation stabilize leaving the rest of the
>board sound...?
>
>Sincere thanks,
>

Gg

"George"

in reply to Kenneth on 14/11/2004 7:31 AM

14/11/2004 1:25 PM

http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/techline/ii-4.pdf

Basically, once it's below 20% MC, growth stops. The spores are everywhere,
the mycelium dormant.

"mark" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> > Responding to an earlier post, just drying won't necessarily kill fungi.
> > They're tenacious beasts. When conditions deteriorate (for them), they
> > just spore up and wait it out.
> >
> So, if the conditions are permanently deteriorated -- i.e., you finish
the
> wood, they're indefinitely suspended?
>
>

mn

"mark"

in reply to Kenneth on 14/11/2004 7:31 AM

14/11/2004 6:19 PM

> Responding to an earlier post, just drying won't necessarily kill fungi.
> They're tenacious beasts. When conditions deteriorate (for them), they
> just spore up and wait it out.
>
So, if the conditions are permanently deteriorated -- i.e., you finish the
wood, they're indefinitely suspended?

Ku

Kenneth

in reply to Kenneth on 14/11/2004 7:31 AM

14/11/2004 8:29 AM

On Sun, 14 Nov 2004 13:22:57 GMT, KS <[email protected]>
wrote:

>In article <[email protected]>,
>[email protected] says...
>>
>> Howdy,
>>
>> Suppose a board is in a moist environment, and starts to
>> rot.
>>
>> The board is then moved to a different location that is
>> sufficiently dry that the board would not have started to
>> rot in the first place.
>>
>> Would the rot continue (eventually consuming the board)?
>>
>> Or would the situation stabilize leaving the rest of the
>> board sound...?
>>
>>
>>
>YES, it would.

Hi Jim,

Perhaps you were trying to be funny, but if not...

Are you saying it would continue to rot, or would stabilize3
leaving the rest of the board sound?

Thanks,

--
Kenneth

If you email... Please remove the "SPAMLESS."

Kk

KS

in reply to Kenneth on 14/11/2004 7:31 AM

14/11/2004 1:22 PM

In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] says...
>
> Howdy,
>
> Suppose a board is in a moist environment, and starts to
> rot.
>
> The board is then moved to a different location that is
> sufficiently dry that the board would not have started to
> rot in the first place.
>
> Would the rot continue (eventually consuming the board)?
>
> Or would the situation stabilize leaving the rest of the
> board sound...?
>
>
>
YES, it would.

Lr

"Leon"

in reply to Kenneth on 14/11/2004 7:31 AM

14/11/2004 7:22 PM


"mark" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:%[email protected]...
>
> Yeah, but wood with a normal moisture content doesn't rot, so it stands to
> reason that whatever critters cause the wood to fall apart need more
> moisture than that.


Actually it will if the rot process has begun. Normal moisture content
normally will not start the rot process but will sustain it once it has
begun.

Sk

"Swingman"

in reply to Kenneth on 14/11/2004 7:31 AM

14/11/2004 12:27 PM

"mark" wrote in message

> Yeah, but wood with a normal moisture content doesn't rot, so it stands to
> reason that whatever critters cause the wood to fall apart need more
> moisture than that.

20% MC is considered the point which rot fungi need to flourish in certain
types of untreated wood. Go here for more:

http://alsnetbiz.com/homeimprovement/woodrot.html

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 11/06/04

md

mac davis

in reply to Kenneth on 14/11/2004 7:31 AM

14/11/2004 3:24 PM

On Sun, 14 Nov 2004 07:31:17 -0500, Kenneth
<[email protected]> wrote:

>
>Howdy,
>
>Suppose a board is in a moist environment, and starts to
>rot.
>
>The board is then moved to a different location that is
>sufficiently dry that the board would not have started to
>rot in the first place.
>
>Would the rot continue (eventually consuming the board)?
>
>Or would the situation stabilize leaving the rest of the
>board sound...?
>
>Sincere thanks,
>
My guess would be that it would continue to rot...

Back when I was selling homes, if the pest control inspector found
wood damaged by water, they would stop the source of the water (leaky
eaves, plumbing leak, etc.), and then treat whatever wood that they
didn't remove with something called "copper green"..

I don't know if that was a brand name or what...

Lr

"Leon"

in reply to Kenneth on 14/11/2004 7:31 AM

14/11/2004 3:53 PM


"mark" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> >
>> It will likely continue. The moist environment is not what is rotting
>> the wood. It is what breeds in the moist environment that eats the wood.
>> Remove the moisture and the rot may slow down but likely it will continue
>> unless you kill the organisms that are eating away at the wood.

> Lack of moisture should kill them, no?

Wood has moisture in it. Typically wood you work with has about 6%-8%
moisture content.



As

Australopithecus scobis

in reply to Kenneth on 14/11/2004 7:31 AM

14/11/2004 9:47 AM

On Sun, 14 Nov 2004 15:24:50 +0000, mac davis wrote:

> didn't remove with something called "copper green"..
>
> I don't know if that was a brand name or what...

Copper sulfate: Old, reasonably effective anti-fungal treatment. Works on
live plants, too.

Responding to an earlier post, just drying won't necessarily kill fungi.
They're tenacious beasts. When conditions deteriorate (for them), they
just spore up and wait it out.

Just to make things grimmer, they're eukaryotes; almost anything that'll
kill them will be toxic to you, too. (Yeah, Micatin, but you don't want
systemic exposure to it, either, sez my pharmacist.)


--
"Keep your ass behind you"

Ku

Kenneth

in reply to Kenneth on 14/11/2004 7:31 AM

14/11/2004 8:30 AM

On Sun, 14 Nov 2004 08:29:52 -0500, Kenneth
<[email protected]> wrote:

>On Sun, 14 Nov 2004 13:22:57 GMT, KS <[email protected]>
>wrote:
>
>>In article <[email protected]>,
>>[email protected] says...
>>>
>>> Howdy,
>>>
>>> Suppose a board is in a moist environment, and starts to
>>> rot.
>>>
>>> The board is then moved to a different location that is
>>> sufficiently dry that the board would not have started to
>>> rot in the first place.
>>>
>>> Would the rot continue (eventually consuming the board)?
>>>
>>> Or would the situation stabilize leaving the rest of the
>>> board sound...?
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>YES, it would.
>
>Hi Jim,
>
>Perhaps you were trying to be funny, but if not...
>
>Are you saying it would continue to rot, or would stabilize3
>leaving the rest of the board sound?
>
>Thanks,

Ooops, that should have been "Hi KS"...

--
Kenneth

If you email... Please remove the "SPAMLESS."

AD

Andy Dingley

in reply to Kenneth on 14/11/2004 7:31 AM

14/11/2004 2:05 PM

On Sun, 14 Nov 2004 07:31:17 -0500, Kenneth
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Would the rot continue (eventually consuming the board)?

There's a margin where rot might not begin, but it will continue. If
you're talking about housebuilding carpentry attached to a damp
masonry wall, then this could be a problem for you. It also depends
on the type of rot you have, and a little on the timber species.

If you're talking about storage damage on timber, then just saw it off
and don't worry. You shouldn't be storing timber at anything like the
humidity needed for rot to be an issue.

Largely though, any timber, including treated, will rot if the
moisture conditions are right. You _must_ remove the moisture to stop
this. Chemical rot treatment achieves little on rotten wood, it's
mainly a way of putting a guard zone around on the good stuff. Fungal
rots will propagate far better on the surface of masonry than on
timber, even though these "threads" might not themselves be damaging.

--
Smert' spamionam

mn

"mark"

in reply to Kenneth on 14/11/2004 7:31 AM

14/11/2004 3:30 PM

>
> It will likely continue. The moist environment is not what is rotting the
> wood. It is what breeds in the moist environment that eats the wood.
> Remove the moisture and the rot may slow down but likely it will continue
> unless you kill the organisms that are eating away at the wood.
Lack of moisture should kill them, no? I've cut the spalted section off a
maple or birch log and used the rest without problems. You just need to make
sure you got it far enough in, otherwise the stuff you can't see will have
weakened the grain lines. I remember turning a leg out of birch that was a
bit stained by the beginnings of rot. After I was done, I twisted it, and it
came apart along the grain.

Lr

"Leon"

in reply to Kenneth on 14/11/2004 7:31 AM

14/11/2004 3:12 PM


"Kenneth" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> Howdy,
>
> Suppose a board is in a moist environment, and starts to
> rot.
>
> The board is then moved to a different location that is
> sufficiently dry that the board would not have started to
> rot in the first place.
>
> Would the rot continue (eventually consuming the board)?
>
> Or would the situation stabilize leaving the rest of the
> board sound...?
>
> Sincere thanks,

It will likely continue. The moist environment is not what is rotting the
wood. It is what breeds in the moist environment that eats the wood.
Remove the moisture and the rot may slow down but likely it will continue
unless you kill the organisms that are eating away at the wood.


You’ve reached the end of replies