What is "wood fungus"?

Question

Rookie here. A deal I was looking at was scooped by someone else. The deal fell through. The listing agent told me it was because they found some termites and "wood fungus".

I've never heard of this wood fungus before and neither has a friend of mine who's an insurance adjuster and had his own properties. A google search wasn't overly fruitful - maybe it's known by another name?

Anybody know what this "wood fungus" is? Would the same group that handles the termite care also deal with the wood fungus?

Bruce Woodruff · Answer

No big deal...a larger piece of wood can be cut out and replaced, smaller areas we would scrape out and fill with bondo....prime and paint.

I found that the termite companies will charge a lot of $$ to do this, it's usually cheaper to get a good carpenter to help you out...

Kyle Shepherd · Answer

Do you have any suggestions on how to go about assessing the length of damage and getting costs to fix it? (After the water issue is fixed.)

Patricia Steiner · Answer

Here's the real issue:  "Wood rot from fungi is dangerous because of how quickly it can consume the bones of a building once it has come into contact with them, destroying the strength of lumber and in turn causing cracks, leaks, and overall structural damage."  (End).  I see it a lot and depending on how far it has spread, it can be costly to replace the siding/wood and seal it.  It literally consumes the wood.  What caused it in the first place needs to be resolved and that is moisture.  And, often times, that's the bigger problem to resolve before curing the wood fungi problem.

Termites and wood fungi - there's a moisture problem.  I'm relieved that your deal didn't go through...you don't need to start off with these.  Fingers crossed your next deal is the real one.

Kyle Shepherd · Answer

Thanks guys, that's super helpful.

Matt Devincenzo · Answer

It's just your typical rotten wood damage...commonly referred to as dry rot. It's not uncommon, and like termites just needs to be treated and repaired. It's really a matter of how much there is, and how costly it would be to fix. If it's small areas on eaves then it may only be a few hundred dollars to fix vs. being on the structural joists could be much more.

What is "wood fungus"?

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