I've noticed that the ceiling in one of my bedrooms is becoming darkened in colour, so I ventured into the loft, only to find that there is a leak from the roof, possibly the flashing, as it's next to the chimney.

Under the leak though, is what looks like fine white mold, a bit like cotton wool, on the walls and on some of the beams up there. Am I right in thinking it's dry rot?

If so, has anyone else suffered this on their property, and most importantly, does anyone have any idea of how much this is going to cost to remedy?

The area affected is about 1 sq metre, I reckon.

Have you added more insulation to your loft?

Could be that the roofspace isn't ventilated enough, the insulation may be covering your eaves vents.

I haven't added any. Only lived there for 18 months. Worrying thing was that there seemed to be a "bodged" fix in place, though that could be the flashing... and there were newspapers up there, presumably to soak up any water. They were dated 1974!

I will check the ventilation though - there was a slight draft up there, so maybe it's okay.

Going to take some pics of the mold later. Saves anyone else having to struggle up there to see the situation.

Here we go... looks like this :(

http://www.theduckpond.co.uk/mold.jpg

Got someone out tomorrow to look at the flashing. After this evening's mooch in the loft, it needs replacing both front and back. I wonder if it has anything to do with the gits that did the new roof next door. Seems to have gone pearshaped since then...