PC-Wood Guardian

Apply PC-Wood Guardian™ prior to sealing new wood or maintaining old wood with a water proofer, stain or paint. Protect and preserve your decking and post, fencing, play equipment, sill plates, wood siding, facia, soffiting. Also protect and preserve your log home, window sills and sashes, decorative molding and new construction.
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The microscopic organisms that discolor and decay wood belong to a group of primitive plants known as fungi. Unable to produce their own food, fungi feed instead on natural substances (symbiosis) that make up organic materials like leather, cloth, paper, and of course wood.

These organisms release millions of dust-size spores that are distributed by air movement. These spores germinate, producing thread-like filaments called hyphae. The enzymes secreted by hyphae break down organic matter so fungi can feed on it.

Before this fungi can attack wood, certain requirements must be met: oxygen must be present, temperatures must be in the 40 to 100 degree Fahrenheit range, there must be a supply of sufficient moisture, and there has to be a food source . Infection can be prevented by eliminating any one of these requirements.

The most effective "method" of preventing fungal deterioration of wood is to keep it dry. The decay of the wood is caused by the chemicals dissolving nutrients in the wood, the nutrients are then absorbed by the fungal hyphae, enabling the growth to take place. If the moisture content is high enough the growth extends through the wood via a network of fine threads called mycelium. As with any fungus, the spores are ever present in the dormant stage, awaiting proper conditions to grow. At this time, some of the filaments penetrate below the surface, first softening and then destroying the wood.

Decay fungi fall into three major groups: brown rots, white rots, and soft rots.

Brown rots are so-named because infected wood turns dark brown. When dried, wood previously infested will turn to powder when crushed. Many times, old infestations of brown rot which have dried out are labeled as "dry rot." This is really a deceiving term since wood will not decay when dry.

White rots show a white, gray-white, yellow-white, or bleached appearance to wood. Most often infecting hardwoods. In advanced stages of decay, white-rotted wood is spongy, has a stringy texture, and lacks the checking of brown-rotted wood. A thin black line often marks the advancing edge of white rot in hardwoods.

Soft Rots: Most decay fungi are unable to conduct water very far and can only attack moist wood. However, Poria incrassata, called dry rot or the water-conducting fungus, will decay wood which would not be attacked by typical decay fungi. Poria infested wood is often mistakenly identified as subterranean termite damage. This type of fungus can transport water for several feet through large root-like structures called rhizomorphs. Once established, it can quickly spread through a building and destroy large areas of flooring and walls in as little as a year or two.

Subterranean termites are the most destructive insect pests of wood in the United States. They cause more than $2 billion in damage each year: more property damage than is caused by fire and windstorm combined. Several species of subterranean termites are found in the United States; they live in every state except Alaska.

Carpenter ants damaged wood by hollowing it out for nesting. Their excavated galleries in the wood have a smooth, sandpapered appearance. Wood which has been damaged by carpenter ants contains no mud-like material, as is the case with termites. Shredded fragments of wood, similar in appearance to coarse sawdust, are ejected from the galleries through preexisting cracks or slits made by the ants.

Powderpost beetles are so called because in high numbers they are able to turn the inside of a piece of wood into nothing more than a mass of fine powder. These wood destroying beetles can do significant damage to log homes, furniture, wood floors and structural timbers in your home. Powderpost beetles are small (1/8 inches) and the adult beetles are seldom seen. Most of the life cycle is spent in the grub or larvae stage eating wood. Damage is done by the larvae as they create narrow, meandering tunnels in wood as they feed.