Remove Fungus from Main Beam of House And Insulate Duct

spillinatech · 02-27-2007, 09:49 AM

I recently purchased a house, and have been doing repairs. I got under the house in the crawl space with my home inspector and fungus was located between some of the floor joists and the main duct work. The house is an older home. The damage does not appear to be extensive. It only looks like there is a small amount of surface rot. I would like to do as much of the repair myself if possible. I need help with a couple of things. How can I remove the fungus from the joists and duct insulation? How can I repair any damage if there is any to the joists? How and with what should I insulate the ducts in the crawlspace? Thank you in advance for your help.

glennjanie · 02-27-2007, 11:17 AM

Welcome to the Fourm, SpillinaTech:
I would remove the duct insulation completely, spray the joists with a 25% bleach 75% water solution, scrape the heavy or difficult places and ventilate, ventilate, ventilate.
If the joists are damaged, they can be sistered with new ones; use screws rather than nails to install the new ones, to keep from disturbing the integrity of the present construction (causing squeaky floors).
Duct insulation comes in 4' wide 50' long rolls, is made of fiberglass with a foil backing that is reinforced. Cut pieces that will go around the duct and overlap 2". There is a special stapler that can be used to secure the insulation as you stretch it around the ducts.
I wish you the best as you take on this project.
Glenn

spillinatech · 02-27-2007, 11:35 AM

Thanks for your help. I will let you know how things go, and possibly send in some pictures dependant upon how good it looks