Bacteria tend to prefer the wood more damp than do fungi, but there is a humidity range where both can live. Many bacteria can survive drifting through the air until they contact a wet surface. Some bacteria live completely immersed in water.
Most bacteria can move about. Some wiggle, others have many small legs they use to crawl about with, or to swim through the water in search of food or company. Wood is said to breathe because the natural humidity of wood, perhaps five to fifteen percent once it has sat around in your garage for six months can go up and down a bit as the humidity of air varies. The air humidity ranges from maybe ten percent in a dry summer to perhaps ninety-five percent in a humid summer.
Humidity of air means how much water vapour is dissolved in the air. Ten percent humidity means the air is holding ten percent of its maximum capacity. Ninety percent atmospheric humidity means that the air has, dissolved in it, ninety percent of its capacity.
At one hundred percent humidity it is raining. The humidity of wood is usually expressed as a percent for example, ten percent. This means the percentage by weight of the wood that is water. In the case of air the humidity is not the percentage by weight of air that is water, but rather the percent of capacity. The capacity of air is about one percent water by weight, and it varies a lot with air temperature. Wood holds a little water very strongly and more water with less strength and even more water rather casually.
When there is less humidity in the air, wood loses some of its water to the air by evaporation. When atmospheric humidity is high, damp wood may lose some of its water but really dry wood will actually capture some water from the air. The small branches of plants are very flexible because the wood is full of water. As wood dries out it becomes stiffer. Old wood found in the desert or a dead branch of wood may be quite brittle. Held in that shape as it cools and dries back to its natural humidity at room temperature, it holds the new shape.
If you put a piece of wood in water, it floats about half-above the water and half-below. This shows that wood is less dense than water.
Wood is about fifty percent empty space inside, but that is before wood rot starts. In this condition water has gotten into most of the empty space inside the wood, and it floats with less of its volume above the water, or may even sink when there is not enough air space left inside the wood. There are two widely recognized types of wood rot, dry rot and wet rot.
Wet rot is an all-encompassing term for a variety of different types of fungi that flourish in high-moisture environments. Commonly affected areas and underlying causes include damaged gutters, poorly fitted roof tiles, and leaky pipes. Dry rot wood also known as brown rot is a single type of fungus.
This dry rot fungus is Serpula Lacrymans, which can gradually settle into woodwork and timber. From there, Serpula Lacrymans can continue its spread without needing nearly as much moisture as its wet rot counterpart, making it quite hard to contain. So, how do you stop wood rot? Well, you can always remove wood from the equation, but for most of us, that would mean remove our entire house. On a side note, the lack of oxygen is why wood that is submerged underwater for decades or centuries can remain in completely pristine condition.
The organisms that cause rot need oxygen to survive and the underwater environment is decidedly oxygen free. Back to how to stop rot. It is going to rain or snow and the wetting of your house is not a cause for concern.
There are a few things you can do to help the wood on your house dry out. Keep it Painted — Keeping your house painted is the easiest way to keep the water out. Paint is a great layer of protection to help the surfaces of your house shed water and dirt. Though it may get wet, the paint keeps the water and fungus from attacking the underlying wood.
No Standing Water — If any part of your house gets standing water after a rain storm, then that area is much more likely to rot. Standing water will find its way into joints and cracks in the paint and seep into the wood giving rise to perfect conditions for rot. Redesign these elements to allow water to shed off of them. Allow For Air — Good airflow helps everything dry out faster, and the faster things dry, the less chance of rot.
Trim back shrubs and trees from your house so that there is a enough room for some airflow between the two. Wet shrubs directly against siding are a major cause of rot on many houses.
And preventing rot is a lot easier than stopping it once it really gets rolling. The main product that I use to treat rotten wood is also the same product that works great for preventing termites and other insects that destroy wood. Show Menu. Wood decay, also known as wood rot, is the decomposition of wood as the result of actions by certain species of fungi.
Facts about wood decay and decay fungi:. More inspection articles like this. Terms of Use. Close Menu. Access nearly all our benefits with All-Access Membership and work towards certification at your own pace at no additional cost.
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