Is this dry rot on back of skirting board?

[JP_]

 

[Doggit]

I'd reckon so. How far's it gone; check for spores and threads. You should hack the plaster off for a meter beyond any rot, but you need at least to treat the wall and any wood in the surrounding area.

 

[Gerrydelasel]

No that's just a bit of mould. No fluff, no fruit, no cuboidal cracks.

 

[JP_]

thanks. There's no sign of problems elsewhere, and this was the worse part on the skirting board - it was at the end where the joists below had rotten. All out. Have some wood preseverative, so will spray the area with that to be sure, and then get some fresh stuff up. Might have to do something creative with insulation boards and skirting boards though.

I've cut the ends of some floorboards to create a bigger gap between wood and wall. Will be covered with insulation board and new skirting.

 

[Doggit]

I could well be wrong, and I'll happily hold my hands up if I am. How brittle is the back of the skirting board; can you put a screwdriver in it easily.

 

[RigidRaider]

Instead of using timber for the skirting, consider PVCu. You may sneer but I did our downstairs bog with thin strips from a local plastics supplier and was really impressed; it glued on easily and conformed with the wall, it hides the bottom edge of the plaster, it's easy to mitre for the corner, it's self-coloured and doesn't need knotting, priming and painting and it doesn't mind getting wet when we wash the floor.