Sanding floorboards and have found woodworm holes

[oydidibegin]

House is 1880s and woodworm holes in various areas have been uncovered now dirt is being sanded off the floorboards. A 'bodge job' repair, whch looks quite old, has been made just inside the understairs cupboard.

What is the best option?

The guy doing the sanding says he can paint a treatment onto the floor and then fill affected areas before finishing. or .......... I can get the whole lot treated, underneath as well as the top, by a different company.

Or I suppose I could do nothing and not invest in the floorboards and just put carpet down until the floor boards cave in!!

Seriously though, how do you tell if the beetles are still around? The house is no longer damp and I can't see any sawdust around the holes.

The bottom line is what are the odds for presuming this is evidence of old inhabitants who are long gone?

Sorry if I am being a bit of a girlie about this, but I suppose I am just that.

 

[Symptoms]

The existence of flight holes doesn't necessarily mean that you have an active problem. Signs to look out for are small deposits of clean (fresh) dust below the flight holes, even then it's not an exact science. You could call in a specialist firm, but remember they are in the business of generating income, so their advice needs to be tempered with that in mind. My experience is any structural timbers (joists) need to be cut back to healthy timber & new treated stuff bolted on as replacements. Unsightly boards can be replaced; one trick here is to take-up some boards, say from a bedroom, and use these as replacements where they are likely to match and new timber boards can go in the bedroom. Unless the floor is in a really shocking state I think you can do a self-repair, as above, and not worry. It's usually the Building Societies that insist on spraying, new wood, and guarantees only to 'protect' their interests. We encountered loads of floors in Victorian houses over the last 25 years and very, very few of them had a current 'active' problem.

 

[anobium]

generating income, so their advice needs to be tempered with that in mind. My experience is any structural timbers (joists) need to be cut back to healthy timber & new treated stuff bolted on as replacements

Only one thing to add to Symptoms comments, re,any structural timbers (joists), should read , any structurally usound timbers, (joists)

 

[Symptoms]

oops, well-spotted anobium

 

[oydidibegin]

Thanks guys, I feel reassured by your posts. Mr 'sander' had a look under the floor and said he couldn't see any evidence of holes in the joists.

I'll go for the 'paint some treatment on the floor, fill the small eroded areas and put the finish on' then. The bodged repair by understairs cupboard will be fixed by replacing the affected boards which go across the hall.

I'll see if I can persuade him to replace the worst board in the dining room with one from upstairs as all floors are bare at the moment and the bedrooms will be carpeted later.

Cheers again