Why doesn't the wood a house is made of rot?

Wood Rot Wood rot is a type of fungal decay in timber, the decay comes in two catagories, white rot and brown rot. Decay usually starts when spores from the rot come into contact with damp timber. The damp timber (more than 20%w/w) allows the spores to establish themselves and grow using the wood as a food source. Symptoms of an attack of wood rot range from cross cuboidal cracking to mycelium on the surface of the wood and these symptoms vary depending on the type of rot, the type of wood and the conditions that the wood is subjected to.

Wood rot usually reduces the strength of timber and is often accompanied by a fungal growth called a sporaphore or fruiting body which is the heart of the attack and produces more spores which continue the life cycle of the fungus.

The most feared fungi is true dry rot (serpula lacrymans) which tends to cause more widespread damage than wet rot fungi