What is dry rot and how do you avoid it in your home?

More than 20 billion feet of timber is destroyed by wood rot every year in the United States. That’s more timber damage than what’s caused by fires. Nearly 10 percent of all wood production is dedicated to replacing rotted wood.

Rotting wood is a significant problem for homeowners. For homeowners in the Pacific Northwest, dry rot is a particular type of wood rot that’s popular in our climate.

What is dry rot?

Dry rot is when wood in a home starts to crack or rot because certain species of fungi deteriorate large parts of the wood. Contrary to its name, dry rot doesn’t occur when wood is completely dry. All fungi that decay and damage wood need some sort of moisture in order to begin and grow. If you haven’t heard of dry rot before, then you’ve probably heard of it by its other name, brown rot.

Dry rot only needs about 28%-30% wood moisture content to grow.  You don’t typically need to worry about dry rot growing in the upper levels of your home, but in lower levels where humidity and moisture levels are significantly higher for homes in Oregon and Washington, it’s important to find out if the wooden joists supporting your home’s floors in your crawl space are vulnerable to damaging rot.

How to avoid dry rot

Fortunately, it’s easy to prevent dry rot from occurring in your crawl space by working with TerraFirma. With an encapsulated crawl space, any vents and door covers are sealed, and our VaporLoc Elite barrier and dehumidifier ensure that your home is free of significant and harmful moisture and humidity.

The first step to gaining peace of mind over your home’s crawl space is to schedule a free inspection of your home with a System Design Specialist. Call us today to schedule your appointment!