Wood rot in a crawl space is a result of moisture and humidity problems. The wood gets infected with fungi that eats away at it and weakens the structure to the point that it can no longer support the floorboards. When the floor joists in your crawl space are rotting, there is a brief window in which you can save the wood and conserve it instead of getting brand new floorboards, but you have to act fast. Before the wood rot advances too much, you need to do something about it. Diagnosis always precedes treatment, so learning the signs will allow you to protect your floor joists and spend less money on repairs. The best way to spot early problem signs is to head down into your crawl space and look for visual cues. Take a look at the floor joist and see if you can spot any discoloration on the wood. White, green, black, and gray stains are all common signs of fungal infection. Some forms of wood rot, like dry rot, will leave a layer of spores along the surface, so any red or green dust particles you see could just be spores. Other forms of wood rot don’t discolor the wood at all and instead create a pattern along the wood that resembles termite damage. With a pencil, stab a piece of the wood, and if it’s soft, it is infected with wood rot. Other forms of wood rot might not make the joist soft and will instead deteriorate to the point where it is extremely brittle. Outside of the crawl space, you can tell when something is wrong with your floor joists if your floor is bouncy or uneven. This does indicate that the wood rot has advanced significantly, but the wood can still be saved up to this point. Even the joist does not need to be replaced, it can always be assisted by IntelliJack, a crawl space support jack.