Thousands wasted on chemical remedial treatments.

Construction professionals must wake-up to the fact that they are wasting hundreds of thousands of pounds every year on unnecessary chemical remedial treatments for dry-rot, wet-rot and woodworm in redevelopment/refurbishment projects throughout the UK.

The warning comes from Nick Clifford, director of Checkwood Environmental Solutions, the Surrey-based specialist timber surveyor and damp consultant, who believes that there are far cheaper, more environmentally-friendly methods of permanently eradicating timber decay and controlling dampness.

He adds that architects, engineers and developers are very often sold chemical treatments, such as chemical fungicide sprays, pellets or pastes for timber decay problems in buildings that are, at best, expensive and could easily be avoided in most cases.

Clifford told CJ: “Construction professionals see chemical remedial treatments as the only approach to eradicating or preventing timber decay or dampness problems in buildings, but on a scientific basis, chemical remedial treatments have very little justification.

“Modern understanding of the organisms responsible has shown that timber decay can easily be permanently avoided without any chemical remedial treatments whatsoever.”

Clifford, who provides independent advice on timber in buildings throughout the UK and France, believes there are two reasons why chemical remedial treatments are used - the skilled salesmen employed by the treatment firms and the fact that construction professionals have a reputation for sticking to what they know.

A classic example of this is the treatment of dry-rot. “Those who profit from chemical remedial treatments (and some who don’t) would suggest that chemical treatments for all surrounding timber, and infected masonry are necessary to eradicate dry-rot and prevent future out-breaks,” said Clifford.

“This is not the case at all. It has long been shown that it is relatively simple to permanently build-out the conditions needed for dry-rot to occur in buildings, and at a fraction of the cost of chemical treatments.

“Isolation and ventilation details can also be used to ensure that any on-going timber decay is eradicated, and future decay avoided,” he said.

Clifford added that where repairs are needed replacement timbers should be pre-treated pressure impregnated wood, although he argued that even these treatments are unnecessary in many cases.

“Chemical treatments only address the symptoms of a problem,” he said. “At Checkwood we believe it is better to address the causes of a problem, and to ensure that the environmental conditions required for timber decay will not occur.”

* Contact info@checkwood.co.uk for further advice.