The Causes of Wood Damage in Your Home and How to Prevent It

My mother used to have a dream that she would live out her retirement in a log cabin somewhere. Yeah, look how that turned out. Most people would rather live in a traditional house made out of wood than they would a brick or steel house. However, there a great many things that can go wrong with living in wooden houses because wood is organic. Organic things have a tendency to die, decay, or get eaten. They burn too. In this article, I am going to tell you of some different things that can harm your wooden home and how you can fight and prevent them. We will cover everything from bugs to flame.

First off, bugs. Specifically, termites and carpenter ants. Termites make their nest in wood. They eat away at it. Carpenter ants do the same thing, except at a much faster pace. Both can cause irreparable damage to your home. They may even cause it to fall through. To prevent insect damage, I recommend that you hire a professional exterminator and then coat your wood with chemicals for prevention.

Now we have mold. Mold is found in all houses, but it grows especially well in wooden homes. This is because it grows well when it has something organic to feed on. Mold does not pose much of a threat to the wood itself (unless it's a fast growing mold that eats wood) but the spores can be dangerous to the inhabitants. Professional cleaning is required to get rid of all the mold.

Water is always a big problem for wooden homes. If your wooden house is exposed to a lot of rainfall or flooding, then you may have a serious problem on your hands. When the wood gets damp, bacteria causes it to rot and decompose. Dampness can also cause mold to grow more easily on the wood. I recommend sealing your wood up so water can't get through. It might also help if you get insurance against water damage.

Fire is the most immediate threat against wooden homes. Obviously, wood burns really well with fire. It can come from anywhere. An electrical fire caused by a malfunction in a spark plug outlet or a candle that was allowed to burn too long. The only preventative measure against fire is caution. Use your head. Make sure you don't keep drapes close to spark plug outlets and things like that. And, again, I recommend getting some good insurance.

Faced with all of these challenges, I don't understand why anyone would want to live a wooden home anyway. I am perfectly happy and comfortable in my safe brick home (of course, brick doesn't burn in a fire, it explodes). If you cannot resist the call however, use your head and take up these preventative measures.

No sources other than prior knowledge were used in this article.