I was looking at replacing the decking on a porch. The house is about 100 years old. When I went under the porch three of the joist were fuzzy like hair. What is this called? Is it a fungus? Should I remove all of the affected wood or can I sister a joist next to the fuzzy ones?
Thanks.
Marion
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Was it a very fine yellowish "fuzzy"?
Poke the joist with a probe...is it soft/punky?
Is there lots of moisture under the porch?
If the wood is still good.....chlorox will knock down the growth. Eliminating the moisture will keep it away.
Why do they need "sistering"?
................Iron Helix
Yes to yellow fine fuzzy. The wood is soft about 1/2 inch into wood. The porch is damp under it. What is this yellow fuzzy called?
Yellow fuzzy stuff...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
A photograph would help a lot here.
"Fuzzy" like uncombed hair (high & low grain) or like a crew cut (broken grain fibres) or like blonde hair hanging off?
And welcome to BT. (Don't mind imerc, he's got cabin fever from all the snow up on his mountaintop.)Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)
Without more specific information, my guess would be that the under porch environment supports the growth of fungus on the wood structures.
These sound like the fungi that you might find when you disturb a fallen log in the woods and can see a similar fungal growth between the bark and the wood. These fungi are the begining of the decomposition of dead wood into forest floor compost. Add to it wood boring insects, termites, woodpeckers and etc. it doesn't take long for the tree to disappear.
Although your joist are probably full width rough sawmill members, loosing 1/2" of sound lumber off of each exposed side may leave you with a weakened floor.
Secondly, what your proble doesn't show is how deep the mycelium (fungi roots) have penetrated into the joist.
The first order of business is to address the moisture problem. Fungi do not survive without water/moist environment.
Check gutter and downspouts to make sure all the rainwater moves away from the structure.
Check the lay of the land...it should allow for drainage away from the house at a minimum slope of 6" in the first 10 feet. Eliminate any "ponding" of water.
In the crawlspace provide an exit/drain for any standing water. Patch any foundation/wall cracks/pentrations. Add ventilation.
Treat the existing timbers with a fungicide. Any sistered joist should be treated lumber....be sure to use the proper corrosion resistent fasteners.....preferably stainless steel.
Monitor the are.....regularly until you are confident that the problem has been abated.
Fungi can grow rapidly....ever hunt morels in the spring? None along the path today.....tommorrow after a rain....hundreds appear. The propagate by spores and by aggregation via mycelium.
............Iron Helix
Thanks for all of the information. I will take pictures when I get back and talk to HO. The stairs to the porch have rotted though and are the first to fix. Replacing the porch flooring is a bigger job and will require a bit of selling. Sadly both the stairs and 10 feet of the 20 foot porch were butchered by the person who "fixed" them. The other systems--gutters and drainage need work before the porch is right and that is part of the whole picture.
Thanks guys.
We have an old house as well, and we see the fuzz in framing members also. My guess is that you are seeing surface decomposition of the wood. The xylem elements and fibers are resistant to decomposition, the soft parenchyma cells between them aren't, so you see the elements and fibers as fuzz. (That's a homeowner, botanist and amateur carpenter speaking.) With regard to strength -- my guess is that since the decomposition is superficial, very little of the cross sectional area of the member is affected, and consequently, very little of its strength is compromised. Also -- your framing members are probably way thicker and wider than today's 2X4's, etc., so you have stength to spare.