Doors and Windows - dry rot, wet rot, what rot

Last night my bike pedal scuffed a door frame, and the wood fell away. I was able to pull the paint away easily and there was about an 8 inch strip that was 'slightly damp' to the touch.

At the bottom of the frame (underneath the paint) there was actually a small hole where the wood had disapeared.

None of the surrounding wall or plaster seems affected or damp in anyway. so my most pressing question is that given that it is an interior wall, what is it? and what causes it?

Its doesn't appear to be the structural part of the frame so can I pull scrape out the bad wood and fill it? or should there be some sort of treatment.

My first post here, I hope you can help.

Welcome to the forums!

A door jamb or casing shouldn't be load bearing - you should be able to remove it, all or in part with no problems.

Is this an exterior door? close to any plumbing? any evidence of insects?

Its an interior door. It nearish (half a foot, the other side of the door) to a radiator. The house did have some damp before we bought it but its all been treated so I'm hopeful thats the cause. The plaster to the side of the door is slightly bubbled as though it did have damp but seems really sound and solid to tapping.

I guess what you're saying to me though is 'something' must have caused it right?

I'm thinking I should get the carpets up and root around.

But as long as I'm happy its not load bearing, if I get rid of the bad wood and fill it with with something I may be alright?

It's always nice to know the cause in case you need to take action to prevent a reoccurance ;) other than that, you should be good to go.

well I guess thats the problem, because I'm really not sure what the cause is.

If the wood is slightly damp to the touch, how long ago would you expect the water to have got there. I've lived in the house for ten months and have noticed no damp, could the rot have occured from the previous damp and been retained behind the paint for that long, or should I look towards a more recent cause?

As I say interior wall, dry plaster all around, no obvious nearby plumbing, all a bit odd.

Without being able to pin point the source of the moisture, I'd remove all the rotten/wet wood and leave it open for awhile - if it stays dry, you shouldn't have anything to worry about :cool:

Without being able to pin point the source of the moisture, I'd remove all the rotten/wet wood and leave it open for awhile - if it stays dry, you shouldn't have anything to worry about :cool:

good advice thats what I'll do!