Thread: Cause of hollowed out beam?

Ran across this account of a "rotted" beam as a result of a Google search:



- what could so perfectly hollow out a beam like that without braking through to the surface? Termites?

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Could be termites, carpenter ants, dry rot, definitely appears to be fire charring on the end.

where is all the 'meat' from inside that joist. Must be a pile of dust somewhere? or do they eat the stuff. Litter buggers

Originally Posted by Raymond Wand

Could be termites, carpenter ants, dry rot, definitely appears to be fire charring on the end.

Originally Posted by Stephen G

where is all the 'meat' from inside that joist. Must be a pile of dust somewhere? or do they eat the stuff. Litter buggers

Ants leave sawdust piles. Termites eat the wood and leave little turd pellets. They can detect somehow (light?) when they get close to the surface, and stop before breaking thru. Termites hate bright light.

... and if the wood is in a dark basement/crawlspace?

I have seen red oak bugs in my wood pile, and they hopefully live in there not in my pine built home. How far north do they go...

Originally Posted by Raymond Wand

... and if the wood is in a dark basement/crawlspace?