Flaky Paint & Treating Woodworm - ASB #14

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Greg has a strange patch on his wall and wonders what is causing this on an outside wall that's not long been replastered and painted.
James Swinyard is renovating a house and has stripped it out completely to rewire it and upgrade the heating and plumbing systems and has found traces of woodworm. Most seem okay but in the bathroom particularly the floorboards seem very brittle.
Jim Lea has french doors on a South-facing wall and wonders what paint system we'd recommend as he currently uses Dulux Weathershield exterior paint but it only lasts about a year and he's getting fed up of painting them when it says on the tin its 10 years!
Peter Need is renovating his bathroom and has taken out the bath, basin, toilet and wants to replace these. The dilemma is he needs a hot and cold supply to everything. Should he take out all that piping and start again?
Gary Atkinson now has the confidence to refit his own ensuite bathroom and wants to top out the stud wall surrounding the frame for the toilet with a removable shelf, but cannot find it.
Don't worry Gary, the Abacus Simple Shelf is here:
www.abacus-bathrooms.co.uk/#!...
#AskSkillBuilder #Woodworm #DIY
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[@jamesswinyard530]

Thanks for taking the time to reply to me in advance of the video going up, Roger. The floor is stripped and the joists on the dwarf walls replaced. The downpipe that was going into a blocked soakaway has been diverted but still getting damp coming in when it rains. The plot thickens! Thanks again and also great to meet you and Robin down at the Nye’s open day!

[@markyds6069]

The biggest problem with the paint on that door from the look of it is the prep, no point doing a top coat without the prep work need primer sand back with a fine sponge pad clean off then under coat, sponge pad and clean again then 2 coats of sadolin superdec that way it will be good for years. Also seal between windows and timber so water does not creep in behind onto untreated timber causing it to lift

[@dougsaunders8109]

MDS NATIONAL superdec is great stuff

[@FranLuckyflute]

We have prepare the wood with the right paints first etc., and top coat two layers, we are now 6 years south facing sun wind rain rural and its still as good as first painted. The preparation is imperative.

[@justaguydoingdiy7975]

Look forward to Ask Skill Builder, Always informative 👍

[@nickstraw1952]

Tikkurila paint system, really good. Used on an old, listed gothic style building that hadn't been repainted since 1947. Had to do the job before the scaffolding was removed. Easy to use system, the ex gave me a hand - use a kitchen knife to stir some top coat. Once dry, couldn't get the paint off the knife. Still clinging on the wood even with the minimal prep it got after 15+ years.

[@S_M.SolutionsLtd]

We always use Accoya timber windows or doors because apparently they come with 50 year warranty if maintained correctly. We have fitted them everywhere in the last 5 years and i have not heard anything yet from my clients, nor have we had any trouble at my own house where we have fitted windows and doors of Accoya . Cheaper than hardwood but better in every way. Thumbs up from us .

[@MaxCherry4170]

Johnstone's Stormshield. Bloody good. I don't like solvent based but outside in the sun you need something which can flex, water based won't do that. If you want to go water just go for sadolin superdec and coat it multiple times. It's wears off rather than flakes. If it's coming off leaving your wood that bare, might be worth looking at what primer you're using.

[@gilesfone]

Love your videos Rog, so much to learn. But what’s going on with your barnet?! Needs a tidy 😀

[@stakkerhmnd]

This is a brilliant video!

[@user-gg4ky7rw6q]

Great videos as always. A little off topic. Could you do mabey a review on mitre saws . Keep up the great work

[@gezparks9630]

Chemical timber preservative spray treatment is best avoided for treatment of woodworm. Woodworm generally likes moist wood. Look to cure the cause of dampness instead which is normally due to a lack of adequate ventilation in roofs and under floors.

[@gbwildlifeuk8269]

Also claimed by Peter Ward, but he couldnt answer why I had woodworm in bone dry, exposed to air, roof rafters in my garage!

[@purnp5897]

I have wood worm in my pergola, what would you recommend I use?

[@gezparks9630]

@@purnp5897 oil based exterior paint should provide the best protection against moisture ingress and woodworm.

[@marcuschambers62]

Tikkurila paint systems are excellent but Sadolin Superdec is pretty reliable too.

[@sideshowbob5237]

Reference peeling paint. Undoubtedly porous wood - as you say. But you can use the porosity to help you. Take the old paint off with a heat gun in the morning. Make sure the bare wood gets full sun for as long as the sun shines on it. The air in the wood is now as expanded as it ever will be. Prime as soon as sun is off the wood and the temperature is falling. The contracting air inside the wood will pull the primer in. Warm the primer in a paint kettle to get the viscosity down. Rub down and repeat the next day. Then undercoat and topcoat - always in the early evening and always white. The best primer I've found is Dulux aluminium wood primer. (Only another 18 months that we can get and use solvent based paints I think.) Also, you can see from the images that the breakdown starts at the corners. It's very difficult to get any thickness on sharp corners without getting drips - so it ends up thin. Radius the corners of the bare wood with a sanding block.

[@gazgandalf4854]

In regard to the French Doors, I worked as a 'brush-hand' for a painter and decorator and he wouldn't touch water based paints with a barge pole, they don't have longevity and they mark easily. On wood, it's a case of sanding as much gunk off as possible, oil-based 1: Primer, then 2: Undercoat and then 3: Top Coat. I used to paint two undercoat, two top coat on all my paintwork and everyone commented on the finish - but I'm a bit OCD. After that, every 5 years or so, quick sand and then top coat again.

[@Pete.Ty1]

Hi Roger. You mentioned using a 22mm pipe for a bath supply. I was wondering if the main water supply to the property is only 15mm would the flow to the bath benefit from a 22mm pipe? Best wishes Pete.

[@pppp67567]

Great video

[@98dizzard]

Not a pro, but sikkens cetol filter 7+ did our mahogany frames well for over 10 years till it peeled. The newer ‘red wood’ frames however didn’t do as well, the sap was leaking out of them constantly, Even ten years after being installed the frames were bleeding sap through fresh paint.

[@ratchriat1716]

found this video very informative and useful

[@daffyd5489]

Thanks for the awesome informative video. You said that ww don't like chipboard, but in my experience recently they love MDF. Would love to hear any comments on what's best to stop the predators (I have them in my loft...) , I've become paranoid about applying "Warfarin based preservatives" and varnishes to anything I put together wood-wise.

[@DPJOINERY]

A video on the ventilation system you were talking about would be a good one i think Roger. Also Roger if your reading this i just would like to say THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH!!!! Big kisses XXXXX I'll drop you an email too, so pleased 😀😀😀👍👍

[@d34dly0101]

Can you tell us how to paint old white cabinet kitchen doors please .

[@ilijadjujic5911]

A good friend of mine who's a painter swears by superdec by sadolin, I used it on a garage door frame which is South facing which still looks fine, mind you it's only been a couple of years so I'm not sure how much longer it would last

[@simontucker8364]

Hi Roger, can you tell me which pheromone pots you used and where to buy them, I can only find ones for moth, or would these do the trick Thanks Si

[@waynematthews2362]

In reply to Jim with the paint issue. Sand right back, prime and paint with Jotun marine paint, primer is very important to dry wood. It will last for years and years and is very hard wearing.

[@sugarpuff2978]

I'm trying to find some woodworm traps but can't find them anywhere. Any ideas where I can get them in the UK? We've got quite a woodworm problem and want to start off with the traps whilst we prepare to get spraying.

[@twig3288]

How would you detect plastic pipe in a wall in case you need to drill?

[@pordie1883]

More ASB please 👍

[@fxbootstraps]

Pheremone traps for woodworm require stegobinone. This is not commercially available. Roger are you speaking from experience of using these traps and if so how?

[@zorroonmilkavitch1840]

I've always solve this problem by using number one oil based primer and in addition I would add a product called penetrol to this product and thin it way down so the first coat soaks way in and then I would add one more top coat of oil primer with also Penetrol and then make that one a little thicker and then I would go two top coats of my latex. Sounds a little excessive but what do they say about tough problems require tough Solutions I don't know I forgot

[@Turbofab]

That damp on the wall seems to me like dot and dab blob is in line with a possible cement covered wall tie

[@JohnR84]

PS. Good to see you have a Bill Bryson book on your bookshelf. Hope you get time to read them all. Hilarious reading!

[@SkillBuilder]

I have read all Bryson's books and I think the best one is At Home. It is not funny but it is one of the most interesting books I have ever read. I might read it again on holiday.

[@DylanGarton]

A Walk in the Woods is good, One Summer : America 1927 is my favourite (narrated by Bill himself on Audible is a good listen)

[@samuelchamberlain2584]

Re paint failure : external timber must me detailed to shed water, drained ventilated glazing rebates for double glazing etc... I once fitted a cheap 2 X G door , laminated timber with veneer , glazing and all joints badly sealed. Yuck never again. Good timber windows and doors are expensive .

[@masherco]

I’ve always been under the impression that timber windows should be beaded externally so moisture does not get trapped in the rebate and start to rot the frames

[@pgspropertymaintenance8930]

Greg try to do inspection with Thremal imaging camera and you will see is there a problem with water.

[@vistron888]

Forget woodworm, got an issue with these small moths for over a year now around the house. Anyone else? Vaccuming like crazy, used moth sprays regularly. Still can't find out where they are coming from. Did see some eaten up carpet and treated that well but after a day of nothing they all came back again.!

[@alesiaholdcroft1445]

I want to know why you cant get “locust wood” in the u.k. too

[@tiagomalhao]

can you give us a name of a pheromone trap product?

[@BettySwollocks13]

Why are the frames only flaking on the horizontals and not the verticals, are they holding water or is it just poor prep?

[@SkillBuilder]

Back in the day that would have been a putty line.

[@Wolfman-me5kd]

I agree about quick grown timber but water based paints are not as good as oil based paint

[@losttheplot26]

Sand, prime first and undercoat. Exterior flexible oil based sandtex or water based you want superdec. Osmo is nice for wood. A wax oil not a paint. Apply thin. Professional use only

[@القناةالمخترقة]

Hi Roger, I've put this question on your website too. Therefore sorry for the repetition. It's about a fixture I want to fix on my exterior pebbledash wall. So I went ahead with my drill and made a hole in that wall, thinking I'd hit the brick wall after a few mm. But to my surprise I only made a hole into a void or empty space. It's a cavity of circa 8 cm. And so I stopped not knowing how to proceed. Should I hack into this facade removing it to reveal the bricks, fit my fixture and then repair the broken area with cement and waterproof insulation? Can you advise for a plan of attack? Thanks.

[@SkillBuilder]

I think you may have concrete panels as an outer cladding on a timber or block built house. What do you want to fix there? Don't drill any further.

[@القناةالمخترقة]

Hi Roger, thanks for the reply. It's a heavy duty anchor for a metal chain to secure some garden furniture etc. as an anti-theft measure. Also a garden hose reel that needs to be secured to a real wall, and outdoor lights. Eventually a tv antenna or a satellite dish. But definitely a surveillance camera at some point. I don't know about the concrete panel if it were this house constructed with, but the chimney stack doesn't give it away if that's one telltale or sign of the building material. This chimney is made of dark red brick. One more thing noticeable, is the steel structure of the house seen in the attic and in the 1st floor, as apposed to timber. Does that give you an indication of the whole build? In fact -talking about the attic- I just remembered seeing that exposed wall in the attic is made of brick. About that pebbledashed wall I have; I also noticed a white metal rail or tray or bead that runs underneath the thing at ground level above the damp proof, and another one at 1st floor level. And if you knock on the pebbledash wall you can hear that it's hollow, like a drum. Regards.

[@lazylad9064]

The patio doors need sanding down and painting indoors or in a garage. Let the paint harden for a day or two. Try using a good quality gloss paint, dulux or Johnsons. The ten year rubbish is just that to get you to buy it. Hope that helps.👍

[@SkillBuilder]

I think the problem is also due to them not being putty glazing. Having horizontal softwood is not great.

[@timdixon7515]

@@SkillBuilder with the correct prep you could also look at using linseed paint

[@riggaz8499]

Alkaline resistant primer on the dam areas

[@alanharris5730]

Teknos futura aqua paint is by far the best.

[@alanthealien6859]

Sand, prime, undercoat, sand, undercoat and paint.

[@JohnR84]

Automotive paints or automotive paint additives? If it lasts on cars, it ought to last on exterior wood trim. Has anyone seen tests?

[@gbwildlifeuk8269]

John S Richards automotive paints, (for metal bodies) are two pack isocyanates which require baking at high temperatures. The alternative is cellulose which would act like a paint stripper on the surface below, due to the thinners, plus you would work hard trying to brush it on due to the speed it would dry. The paint used on plastic vehicle trim also requires oven baking to set it hard. So I doubt any would be useful on wooden trim. The other thing to remember is wood is expanding and contracting all the time and a lot more than metal does and paint has to stay adhered during these surface shifts, which is really asking a lot of it.

[@glennmcleod5800]

Hey Roger, What swedish paint system are you using on your frames?

[@SkillBuilder]

I couldn't remember the name of it but it is in fact Finnish Teknos.

[@glennmcleod5800]

@@SkillBuilder Excellent. Our carpenter and joiner both recommended Teknos. So we now have 9 litres to paint all our very weathered window frames and the new hardwood frames that have replaced the completely rotten frames, were sprayed by the joiner with teknos paint. Really odd looking paint (like jelly) but goes on so well.

[@gdou95181]

I’ve gota replace my facia board on my bungalow it is fixed into brick but now is pulling away slightly which is because the top brick is loose we’re the fixing are my plan is to take the gutter off and board Rebed the bricks fit new redwood timer prime paint but I’m worried that fitting into the top brick will cause me problems with the bricks coming loose when drilling with a hammer drill

[@SkillBuilder]

Yes a hammer drill can knock it off. You could just place treated timber noggings between the rafters or fix directly into the rafter ends which is the usual way.

[@gdou95181]

Unfortunately the way the roof is the rafters are not accessible hard to explain basically the brick is the only thing to fix too

[@Mrcatcherye]

Mr Need - solder your bloody fittings. Done!

[@scottnever8732]

bring back city and guilds qualification that takes 3years. NVQ in bricklaying can now be done in 6 weeks

[@gbwildlifeuk8269]

If an NVQ can be done in 6 weeks its a fiddle! Government funding for NVQ is payment for the GLH. (Guided learning hours, the amount of hours the learner should receive.) The GLH for an NVQ from any awarding body, (including City & Guild) is 360 hours. (For a level 2). If a learner attends for 30 hours a week, then the earliest he can achieve is 10 weeks. To achieve in 6 weeks he would need to attend for 60 hours a week, which would not be legal for the fact alone, an under-aged learner cannot work overtime and no one under 18 works 60 hours a week! Seems to me these "bricklayers" are being signed off early and the dates fiddled! A level 2 IS NOT a final qualification and anyone with one IS NOT fully qualified. City & Guild are an awarding body who themselves provide NVQ for vocational qualification. Bricklaying is vocational and in regard C&G would be no different to any other awarding body, ELA, VQ-Set, ECITB, etc. A level 3 NVQ, ( the highest and final vocational qualifucation) when done correctly SHOULD take 3 years! "Bring back city and guilds qualification", as a C&G assessor and IV, I can tell you they've never gone away.

[@twmd]

'Rising damp' causing an isolated patch of salt efflorescene up the wall. Find the source of the problem first before recommending DryRod- a failed DPC is rare as hens teeth, but a bridged DPC from e.g high ground level is very common . Recommend competent damp person not a PCA damp man where all the answers involves drilling holes and injecting expensive silicones.

[@SkillBuilder]

twmd I think it was slightly more nuanced than you give me credit for. I said it was difficult. I agree with your comment about failed dpc but if someone used sand and cement on that wall with waterproofer you do see that kind of salt bleed. The thing is that we don't know if it is a cavity wall or what the outside it like. I just try and broaden the subject in a way that might help others with similar problems.

[@twmd]

@@SkillBuilder thanks for the considered response. My comment comes from a good place - many home owner have been scammed by the 'chemical damp proof industry' and so I cringe every time a damp issue is greeted with a chemical solution. Indeed though...there could be a leaky downpipe right outside a solid wall for all we know.

[@SkillBuilder]

@@twmd I agree with you and thanks for the comment. Funnily enough I did a piece for BBC's Watchdog programme years ago about that very problem. Salesmen calling themselves surveryors and pumping in fluid to solve a problem that wasn't there. The great thing is that anyone can now do it with a drill and some rods so if it doesn't work you haven't wasted a huge amount. Those old fluid injection jobs relied more on the waterproof render than the injection and, funnily enough, those patches of salts coming through from the sand were very common.

[@stevenmurray6359]

@@SkillBuilder it goes a lot further than that. I work in conservation of old houses. You can not get a mortgage on houses from a lot of lenders if rics have advised a property care association surveyor. A lot of mortgage companies need to see a pca guarantee this means putting cement gypsum and chemical injection in to a building that can not take such hard materials. The issue of damp in this country is getting completely out of hand. There's so many chemical companies telling people how to reverse damp issues. They have no clue how old buildings work. Spraying old timber with a liquid based chemical is never the answer. Just good air flow. That's it.

[@alesiaholdcroft1445]

I find it upsetting to use sequoia, and thought they were protected! Classed as endangered??

[@riggaz8499]

Aluminium primer on them timbers

[@leeholke9851]

And arp for salts or zinser

[@leeholke9851]

After u have sorted damp

[@incognitotorpedo42]

Flaking paint? Try stripping off that garbage paint, sanding it, and priming it with a good oil primer. Top with a quality exterior latex. If the wood is not solid, I would use an injectable solvent-borne epoxy.

[@stevendouglas3860]

Try Zinsser BIN

[@marcuschambers62]

Zinsser B.I.N is really only recommended for internal use or spot priming externally so I would not use it extensively outside. It is a great paint otherwise.

[@stevendouglas3860]

@@marcuschambers62 sorry .

[@brawnr]

Works well on sealing the wall on the inside though, for the person with the damp issue.

[@SkillBuilder]

@@marcuschambers62 I use Bulls Eye 123 followed by the All Surface Zinsser. Time will tell whether it does the trick.

[@marcuschambers62]

@@SkillBuilder I presume you mean Zinsser Allcoat as your top coat? It is a system I have used a number of times and been pretty hard wearing. To be fair all Zinsser paints are very reliable.

[@leeholke9851]

Wood primer..... then paint

[@leeholke9851]

Been decorater for 15 year

[@LukeStratton94]

Roger, take a look at Peter Ward’s damp videos on KZbin. kzbin.info He seems to have a pretty strong and convincing case against ‘so called damp proofing’. It would be useful if you could comment on this, particularly in that rising damp is somewhat of a myth.

[@okafka5446]

I get the feeling that Roger and Peter don't see eye to eye on issues like damp and woodworm and paint.