Termites or Wood rot?

[tlangas]

Hi, 

Moved into a new place and the wood in certain parts of our fence looks like the attached pictures. Located in coastal NSW. 

I haven't seen any termites around, but the area around where I live has been known to have termites. 

But wondering if any experts can tell just by the look of the wood? 

Thanks

 

 

  

[EricL]

Hello @tlangas 

Termites will often leave signs that they are inhabiting a piece of wood. Partial earth tunnels built on the surface of the wood. Small access tunnels neatly dug out into the surface of the wood. If the infestation is deep, you'll even see them travelling along the surface of the wood. Wood rot however just shows you the general degradation of the timber structure. It's dark full of mould and is usually worn away on the surface. To test its rigidity simply compress a part of the wood between your fingers, if it crumbles then the rot has travelled very far into the structure of the wood. If parts of it are still firm and solid, then those parts have not yet rotted.   

In either situation it's best to remove and replace the damaged section of your fence if it is still viable. But once it become impractical to repair severely damaged sections, it might be time to consider replacing the entire fence. 

If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.

Eric