These suspended balcony wood beams had years of neglected maintenance to where the end grains were checking and opening wide. The wood bay windows were de-laminating and the glass glazing putty was all but gone. Exposed wood, that was originally kiln dried to a 15-18% moisture content, will always lose it’s inert state if not properly maintained with an air tight seal. The exposed bare wood will literally become a sponge, absorbing the evening humidity. When it warms again at dawn, the moisture is evaporated back into the atmosphere along with the water soluble wood resins and tannin acids, the life blood of the wood. In time, fungus will grow and the termites will not be able to resist.