Subject: Dry Rot (house)
Date: Sat, 13 Jun 1998

Dear Dr. Rot;
Several wooden floor slats in our bedroom have been attacked by dry rot. Will it be necessary for us to change all the flooring, or can we just change the affected ones? This is also true of our window jambs and closets. Dry rot is attacking our home. HELP!!!
Many thanks. Angelique

Angelique:

Hmmm.... Well, we have products that will restore the wood, floors, windows and closets. What approach you take will depend on how extensive the rot is. Anything that will be painted can be restored no matter how bad the rot is. For floors, which are often clear-finished, the restored wood may not match in color and pattern the rest of the planks. It all depends.... Maybe you can get back to me with some indication of how bad the rot is. Send pictures if you want.

More importantly, though, you need to discover why all this rot is occuring. In a dry, reasonably ventilated environment, the rot should not be appearing. It sounds to me as if you have a moisture/ventilation problem under the floor. I would bet that you have a crawl-space that is getting moisture in somehow, and/or not being ventilated properly.

Get back to me with particulars and I will help guide you along from there.

Doc