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Bellingham WA Home Inspection (King of the House): Wood to Earth and Rot

By
Home Inspector with King of the House Home Inspection, Inc. Home Inspector Lic #207

This photo is a classic example of what happens when soil is piled against wood. Wood to soil contact, or water running over wood, often lead to rot or wood decay fungi. This is the side of a garage. The garage, especially an unattached garage, is a common place to find this problem as the structure is often ignored compared to the house. There was a concrete foundation here, be it a shallow one, but soil had been piled against it, over it and up onto the siding. As a result of that, the wood has rotted. If the conducive condition of wood to earth contact had been caught soon enough, before the rot, simply grading the soil back away from the building should have eliminated this kind of damage. As it is now, the siding will have to be replaced and some structural wood, inside the garage, is likely to be a victim as well. Wood subjected to a moisture content of 20% or greater is susceptible to wood decay fungi.

 

Thanks for stopping by,

Steven L. Smith

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Steven L. Smith

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