# Forum Home Renovation General Odds & Sods  Dry rot treatment

## phild01

I found some dry rot plywood in my van and I will replace as much as doable, but looking for treatment of areas difficult to reach. I suspect Tanalised Ecoseal (the green spray for treated timber cuts) would be suitable. Are there better options or am I fine with this.

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## droog

Earls wood hardener ? https://www.timbermate.com.au/our-pr...wood-hardener/

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## phild01

Yes considered that but this is plywood and it is really flimsy and spongy with no integrity. I aim to remove what I can get access to but want to halt the growth to what is left.

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## phild01

> Earls wood hardener ? https://www.timbermate.com.au/our-pr...wood-hardener/

  droog, just reconsidering, with what I have, do you think the earls wood hardener would work on the very thin soft ply I am dealing with. I have only ever replaced rotted wood rather than repair but if the earls works it would save much work. I can only approach the task from the face side, the other side is styrofoam.

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## joynz

I’ve used Earls wood hardener a lot on rotted windows - followed by filling with with an Earls filler. It’s always needed several hardener applications to reach full hardness. 
I suggest buying one of the small spray bottles (approx $25) and trying it out.  It will work best if there is no finish on the wood. 
However, the hardener doesn’t claim to prevent rot.  To stop rot spreading to other areas, I read somewhere that you need a fungicide (Boric Acid?).

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## phild01

> However, the hardener doesn’t claim to prevent rot. To stop rot spreading to other areas, I read somewhere that you need a fungicide (Boric Acid?).

  Yes I had read up on Borax and  Boron but hoped the green Ecoseal would be similar as it is meant to stop rot. Easier too. 
I would expect the mould spores to be neutralised by the wood hardener but found nothing to confirm.

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## droog

The wood hardener helps to stiffen what is left of the soft wood fibres minimising the amount of material you need to replace, it wont stop rot and if the damage is bad enough then replacement is the only option.
Another option is epoxy resin but the wood hardener is easier to use, spray bottle and multiple applications as suggested. 
The Tanalised Ecoseal will help prevent the rot but do nothing to help the existing rot. 
One product does not replace or negate the need for the other.

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## phild01

I follow what you say droog, having never used the wood hardener I wondered if the spores would be locked by it and be dormant. Today I found an old puncture hole in the roof directly above the rot so denying it moisture will mean the spread will become dormant. I poured the ecoseal into the hole liberally and will further treat from inside when I am satisfied there is no entrapped moisture.

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## joynz

Ecoseal is aimed at supplementing already-treated timber rather than being a stand-alone treatment - according to their product info.

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## phild01

Yes it supplements treated timber in terms of the raw untreated parts of timber cuts. But the way I see it I would expect that the spores would not survive this stuff on contact and any other suitable product would also be limited by how well it can penetrate.

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