White Pock Rot

As you stored your holiday decorations in the attic you may have seen damage to the rafters similar to that in the picture. The wood looks as though it has acne or has been worked over with a meat tenderizer, which was the case for a customer who lives in Mason Creek Park subdivision. He thought he was seeing damage from carpenter ants or termites. Fortunately, it was benign Pock Rot attributable to bacteria that infects live pine trees.

After the wood is cut and seasoned or kilned the bacteria, mycelia, which produces the white color in the pockets die, halting further damage. Not an actual “rot,” this condition is prevalent in the studs used in construction of older homes in Katy suburbs. It would be unacceptable by the current standards set by the Residential Construction Code. It definitely causes the wood to be brittle. This infected lumber has been in houses for some time and no catastrophic event caused by the condition has been reported. Few inspectors performing Wood Destroying Insect Reports identify Pock Rot as a problem, since the damage is done and there is no corrective action. There is no advantage to filling in the pockets with wood putty.

With wood destroying beetles, ants, bees, or termites there will be some wood filings collecting below the infested wood. If this is seen call us for an inspection.