Jan 14, 2011 - Different Kinds of Wood Fungi
QUESTION:
IS WHITE POCKET ROT A FUNGUS?
ANSWER:
White Pocket Rot is indeed caused by a fungus, but it is not a "decay" fungus, from what I learned at seminars years ago, taught by a wood products expert from the University of California. This expert told us that "Pocket Rot", which is seen as a great many evenly spaced but very small pockets or holes in wood, each hole lined with white, is a fungus that grows only while the tree is still standing. It does not continue to grow in milled lumber and is not a decay. However, sometimes there can be a really extensive amount of this pocketing inside the wood, and obviously this could cause a lessening of the strength and integrity of that wood. If it is used in a place where structural strength is a concern, wood that is heavily laced with these little white pockets would be weaker than wood without it.
There also is a decay fungus called "White Rot", different from Pocket Rot. White rot, again according to this wood expert, is only in hardwoods, not softwoods such as fir or pine. White rot grows relatively slowly, unlike the Brown Rot of softwoods that can grow extremely fast if conditions are perfect for it - wood, warmth, and water. At a seminar this expert was once put on the spot, and asked how fast wood decay could develop. In other words, how quickly could sound wood with no problems progress to decayed wood that has lost its structural usefulness. His answer was pretty interesting. He said that if the proper conditions were suddenly to occur, it could take as little as 4 months for substantial loss of integrity in that wood to occur. So, if a toilet were suddenly to develop a leak and create constant moisture on the wood below, it could be only 4 months for that wood to need replacing.
Another kind of fungus that we commonly see on structural wood is generally referred to as "blue stain", and again this is NOT a decay fungus. But, the growth of this bluish staining fungus does indicate that moisture is present on that wood, and therefore the conditions are appropriate for other more serious fungi to grow as well.
View past Ask Mr. Pest Control questions.
IS WHITE POCKET ROT A FUNGUS?
ANSWER:
White Pocket Rot is indeed caused by a fungus, but it is not a "decay" fungus, from what I learned at seminars years ago, taught by a wood products expert from the University of California. This expert told us that "Pocket Rot", which is seen as a great many evenly spaced but very small pockets or holes in wood, each hole lined with white, is a fungus that grows only while the tree is still standing. It does not continue to grow in milled lumber and is not a decay. However, sometimes there can be a really extensive amount of this pocketing inside the wood, and obviously this could cause a lessening of the strength and integrity of that wood. If it is used in a place where structural strength is a concern, wood that is heavily laced with these little white pockets would be weaker than wood without it.
There also is a decay fungus called "White Rot", different from Pocket Rot. White rot, again according to this wood expert, is only in hardwoods, not softwoods such as fir or pine. White rot grows relatively slowly, unlike the Brown Rot of softwoods that can grow extremely fast if conditions are perfect for it - wood, warmth, and water. At a seminar this expert was once put on the spot, and asked how fast wood decay could develop. In other words, how quickly could sound wood with no problems progress to decayed wood that has lost its structural usefulness. His answer was pretty interesting. He said that if the proper conditions were suddenly to occur, it could take as little as 4 months for substantial loss of integrity in that wood to occur. So, if a toilet were suddenly to develop a leak and create constant moisture on the wood below, it could be only 4 months for that wood to need replacing.
Another kind of fungus that we commonly see on structural wood is generally referred to as "blue stain", and again this is NOT a decay fungus. But, the growth of this bluish staining fungus does indicate that moisture is present on that wood, and therefore the conditions are appropriate for other more serious fungi to grow as well.
View past Ask Mr. Pest Control questions.
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