Hi everyone - this is my first post...I'm looking for some advice.
My husband and I are getting new carpet, and decided to replace the gross pressboard subfloor in in our 1975 home with plywood. In the process, we found a few small spots of a mold like substance on the sheetrock behind the baseboard. When cutting open the sheetrock next to our brick fireplace, we found a substantial amount of rot in the three visible 2x4s, the wall sheathing on the exterior part of the wall, and the sole plate. Picture is attached. We went to the basement, the sill looks to be ok.
There is some white residue, and poking around just now...I found what was like a soft web full of sawdust with a few insect parts. I have a chicken and the egg conundrum. Was the wood wet, and attracted insects...or are the insects what caused the problem to begin with? Either way, it doesn't look to be an active infestation. Also looks like maybe we had powder post at some point?
My best guess is that we had rain runoff from the exterior chimney enter the house somehow. Is this something we can just cut out the rotted/dead wood and replace?
My husband and I are getting new carpet, and decided to replace the gross pressboard subfloor in in our 1975 home with plywood. In the process, we found a few small spots of a mold like substance on the sheetrock behind the baseboard. When cutting open the sheetrock next to our brick fireplace, we found a substantial amount of rot in the three visible 2x4s, the wall sheathing on the exterior part of the wall, and the sole plate. Picture is attached. We went to the basement, the sill looks to be ok.
There is some white residue, and poking around just now...I found what was like a soft web full of sawdust with a few insect parts. I have a chicken and the egg conundrum. Was the wood wet, and attracted insects...or are the insects what caused the problem to begin with? Either way, it doesn't look to be an active infestation. Also looks like maybe we had powder post at some point?
My best guess is that we had rain runoff from the exterior chimney enter the house somehow. Is this something we can just cut out the rotted/dead wood and replace?