Damaged wood in interior wall

5 years ago

I'm replacing an interior door and just replaced the jamb. In the wall next to where I'm working I found that there is some wood that is damaged. I can't tell if it's water or pest damage, it looks pretty old but I can't tell. Nothing is wet in there now .
The wood has almost separated into layers and is very soft. This is behind a finished wall in my kitchen, on the other side of the wall is a closet. Do I need to do anything about this or can I call it old non structural damage? I'd hate to have to tear open my kitchen walls.

Featured Answer

kudzu9

5 years ago

If it was from carpenter ants, it could be old damage. Carpenter ants typically live outside, like in an old stump, and come into your house every day along the same path looking to use your framing for a salad bar. So it would be unlikely you have a nest in your house, or that they are very active right now if it is very cold where you live. They also leave telltale piles of sawdust. Perhaps a former owner recognized the problem and had it dealt with by an exterminator, and all you are seeing is damage from that time. I have had to deal with them in my house two times. I knew I had some kind of problem because I heard rustling noises in the wall and saw sawdust remnants around where there shouldn't be any. If you determine that you have an active problem, they can typically be dealt with by spraying a specific pesticide all around the base of the house and making sure no shrubbery is touching the house and providing a 2-way path back and forth.

If I were you, I would repair the damage, inspect around (and listen) for any other signs, but possibly hold off on calling the pesticide guy right now. Sometimes they want to spray inside, and I consider that a health risk for my family, so it's only a last resort.

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Comments (10)

Mike A
Original Author
5 years ago
Mike A
Original Author
5 years ago
Just realized it's on the other side of the door frame too, also in the wood that is on the concrete. Should this all be replaced? Seems like a huge deal and very expensive...
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Mike A
Original Author
5 years ago
Thanks. This is an interior wall, no exterior wall immediately nearby. That thing on the left is my baseboard heater, forced hot water. I don't see any leaks from the hot water pipes, and the other side of the door has similar damage with no baseboard near it. One side of the wall is my kitchen and the other is a finished garage.

This wall is not load bearing, so sometime soon I'll tear out the bottom of my walls and replace this. I guess I need to check my other walls as well, not sure if it's just this wall bordering the finished garage, or every wall in the house. I hoping it'd just this
cat_ky
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
Are you sure this is not a load bearing wall? You are saying a finished garage is on the other side of that wall, so that should be a load bearing wall. I would tear everything off both sides, so you can get a good look at it. Does the roof line change any where the garage connects to the house? If so, you might check to see if there is a leak between the structures, from the roof, and even if it isnt, it is still structural, when the 2x4 that support the wall, is that badly damaged.
Mike A
Original Author
5 years ago
Its a single level home so I went into the attic to see the direction of the joists and this wall runs parallel to the joists, which I think would make this a non load bearing wall? There is no change in the roof, but yeah I'm going to unfortunately have to rip those walls open
kudzu9
5 years ago
Where the screwdriver is pointing in the photos looks very much like carpenter ant damage. They tend to eat the soft portions of the wood and leave those bands of harder wood behind.
Mike A thanked kudzu9
Mike A
Original Author
5 years ago
That's what I thought at first but I'm not sure how to tell for sure if it's water damage or pest damage. If I suspect it's from something like carpenter ants I guess I should have an exterminator come out and confirm and treat?