Hi, I am new here, so I want to apologize if I mess something up. I have the following problem…

I am restoring a division in my house. It’s a high ceilling area, with wooden beams supporting a hardwood floor that divides the space into a dining room (lower) and an office (upper).

My father thought the wood was in good shape, so he replaced the hardwood floor above the beams. Afterward, his plan was to apply protection to prevent woodworms and then oil for the finishing touch. But, upon closer inspection, I noticed all the wooden beams have these small holes (which I suppose are woodworms already).

Also, I knocked on the wood, and it seems hollow.

Should I replace all the wooden beams and then reapply the hardwood floor? Is there any way to recover these beams?

Thanks in advance.

  • SpaceBar
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    21 year ago

    Woodworking attacks the outside layer of wood. They dont really eat deep into the piece.

    If you don’t see any of the worm frass anywhere then that looks to be old worm damage.

    Wrap a length of beam in brown paper and wait a few weeks. If there is no worm dust (frass) then I would leave it be.

    (The frass is the powdery dust)

    If you are still super worried, you could always replace one beam and cut it up to see the inside.

    • umuluOP
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      11 year ago

      That seems like great advice. But since we have already deviced to replace everything, I will just cut the wood and inspect the inside. Maybe I will post an update afterwards. Thank you