The wood beams and joists in your crawlspace are the foundation upon which your house is built on. For obvious reasons, it is important to keep them in good shape to preserve the structural integrity of the house. Wood decay will occur when the wood gets wet or has absorbed a high amount of moisture. Moist wood is also a primary food source for termites; something you definitely do not want to attract toward your home.
Wood rot can be prevented as long as the wood has the ability to dry out. This will happen naturally in colder temperatures and lower humidity levels. In peak summer months, the wood will often not have a chance to dry out with the high temperature and humidity levels.
Generally, wood will be susceptible to decay when wood moisture levels are in the 20% or greater range for an extended period of time.
What to do if you have wood rot?
- Hire a professional to remove and replace any rotten wood.
- Once wood begins to decay, the rotten wood can act like a sponge and decay can progress quickly
- Take action to avoid the same problem from happening again
- Keep in mind that if you replace rotten wood, you are taking out the "effect" but haven't solved the "cause" of the problem
- If your wood rot was caused by water intrusion, you need to determine how to keep the water out of the crawlspace.
- Make sure you have a vapor barrier in place to reduce moisture in your crawlspace. If you already have one, make sure it doesn't need to be fixed or added to. Over time, they can get shoved around. A vapor barrier is important and will help with ground moisture but it alone will not solve a moisture problem.
- Install the ATMOX system
- ATMOX will work to decrease the moisture levels in your crawlspace preventing future wood decay.
- Contact ATMOX at 704-248-2858 or at info@atmox.com for more information