DRY ROT
Millions of red spores emitted by the the fruiting body of the fungus. The spores travel through the air and land on damp wood.	Once settled the spores develop thin tubes called Hyphae.	Hyphae feed on moisture spreading over the surface of the timber.
Wood begins to dry out and cuboidal cracks appear and the spores form into a Mycelium - a web-like sheet.	The flat, pancake-shaped body grows on the surface of the Mycelium.	Full blown dry rot.
Dry rot is caused by a fungus – usually Serpula Lacrymans, a member of the mushroom family.  The fungus sends out threads which seek out timber, penetrating mortar and passing over and around pipes and masonry. The fungus lives on the moisture found in timber and thus makes the timber brittle, dry and structurally useless.  Ideal growing conditions for dry rot include badly ventilated and warm, damp areas – cellars, basements, under stairs and behind skirting boards are prime locations for the start of this infection.  It is an extremely infectious form of rot and is difficult to isolate.  The mature fungus - which has a flat pancake shaped form – emits millions of tiny red spores which are carried through the air, spreading further decay wherever they land.  Once the infection becomes advanced there is a distinct mushroom-like smell emitted and the timber surface will become covered in matted fungal strands, forming a thin web-like sheet which look likes cotton wool and changes from greyish lilac to yellow on contact with dry air or exposure to light. Dry rot carries its own moisture and can grow through the middle of timbers causing it to break up into cuboidal shards of wood.