Garage Beam erm... Snapped? - Lincolnshire

[First-time-buyer]

Purchasing a house, offer accepted etc.

Pop round tonight, the house is empty and not been viewed in the rain. The garage was open, door wide open so I had a peek inside.

I found that the roof was leaking, and the roof beam appears to have split or something..

Can this easily be replaced?
Does the whole roof need to come off?
Can the nails be removed and new beam put in place?

How much should/would I best be deduct...

The garage is 7mtrs long x 3mtrs wide

I highly suspect that the gap between the roof has appeared because the beam has dropped, and the electrical conduit is supporting the beam. The nails are where it was etc. Not very safe, and certainly not spotted before hand.

Additionally, the roof join above this beam is all silicone up, so I suspect its something which is long term..thats the only leaking area.

 

[shef61]

Doesnt look too bad a fix, just needs a beam and then whatever leak that rotted it fixing, but is it going to be safe taking down and asbestos roof to put a new beam in?

 

[First-time-buyer]

Dont know it's asbestos until its tested however I would assume worst case.

The trouble now is getting someone to come quote as its not exactly an area ib the yellow paged for this work.

Its £1200 for new boards, but this does not include removal or a new beam and making good the brickwork.

 

[garyo]

It looks like the beam goes right through the wall, so can't you leave the roof in place (prop it with a couple of acros and scaffold boards) then remove the nails from the existing beam, pull it out, slide the new beam through the hole to give you clearance to slot it in to the other side?

 

[First-time-buyer]

The roof is also leaking in that position, probably caused by the sagging beam which has happened sometime.

I have no doubt that once winter sets, and the snow/ice forms this thing wont last long.

I like the theory of removing the nails, then the beam but i guess access and swapping the beam is a bit more than a DIY level.

I guess the panels could be removed, then replaced with new panels to aid access, but again all a factor of the cost.

The question now is... who can do this, and at what trade?

Handyman?
Builder?
Roofer?
Specialist?

I know the panels can be removed by myself, with the correct PPE and disposed in the local tip.

 

[Andyc84]

It looks like the wooden beam end protrudes out the face of the brick work. this means the end grain is exposed and has drawn moisture in from outside. This has weakened the beam through damp which is why the beam has broken.

If you are doing a like for like replacement, you may want to look at putting in a fascia board or similar to protect the end of the beams, try and have a look from outside to see if any others are affected.

If you are unsure of asbestos you can test for relatively little cost 9look up online), but if you are taking to a tip they are likely to say it is anyway and ask you to bag and seal it before disposing in their secure bin.

You might as well save yourself the effort and do it safely but tip it as asbestos.

 

[AronSearle]

Looking at the pic, it looks possible that the nail penetrations themselves could be a source of water ingress.

 

[First-time-buyer]

Brilliant guys, exactly things that i am not thinking of.

I simply had a beam swap in my mind, however your all perfectly right on this. The garage has not been maintained, and its probably easier to obtain quotes on to remove, repair woodwork and replace the roof with a new substance.

However, i doubt the seller will be interested in this. The cost maybe £2k or so, as the garage is 7m x 3m and has 5 or 6 of these beams, which may or maynot be in a similar condition.

The garage was built in 1979 ~ from the planning permission so maybe the original roof..