Recent content by minerscottage

My original plan was to birdmouth the existing rafters (small and large) onto the new ridge beam, but the size difference between the "large" and "small" rafter, and the size of the timber beam means one-or-the-other wouldn't be able to touch the other. If I fix a collar to each, I can position...

I've got a gabled roof made up of two chunky pairs of rafters, and two dozen much lighter rafters that sit on purlins resting on the larger rafter (and the stone gable-ends of the property). It looks a bit like the diagram below: 1) Green 'lightweight' rafters 2) Purple 'heavy' rafter (which...

I've got a gabled roof made up of two chunky pairs of rafters, and two dozen much lighter rafters that sit on purlins resting on the larger rafter (and the stone gable-ends of the property). It looks a bit like the diagram below: 1) Green 'lightweight' rafters 2) Purple 'heavy' rafter (which...

Doing the repointing first does make sense. I had considered putting it off until after the lintel swap because I suspected the disturbance would cause the pointing to fail in places and require a second run. The existing mortar is, to my eyes anyway, a weak earth-based mix which I can't...

Yeah I'm going to lift a 2x4 plank under the joists perpendicular and hold up with two Acrows support them.

I need to replace a pair of lintels holding up an old stone/rubble wall above a doorway in a ~1890 (?) house. The lintels are timber and have spent many years encased in cement tanking (inside and out) and have become very damp. You can visibly see signs of wet rot; the timber you can touch is...