Rotten timber in the roof

[Valderrama]

Hi all.

We have an issue in our roof - 1890s terraced house - where damp has caused a problem with a timber support beam where it enters the wall.

We've had someone come out to look at it today and I just want to make sure we're not getting conned!

He has said that the timber is rotten where it enters the wall (aye), that it doesn't appear to be providing any support anymore, that the roof appears to have dropped slightly already, and that the beam has bent/warped.

He's advising that he'll need a new timber that they'll attach to the old one and support using a new hole in the wall. He says that they'll also need to transfer the other timber to the new beam.

Does that all sound sensible? I thought that maybe all they'd need to do is replace the end of the timber rather than fashion a new beam.

Thanks for looking!

 

[catlad]

Its one option. Why has the timber rotted so badly is that an external wall.

 

[Valderrama]

Not entirely sure. I think it was a historic issue with the roof but am going to have a roofer check out the roof to see if there are any missing tiles. Can't think what else would have caused it?

The wall is the wall between our house and next door.

 

[^woody^]

You could put a new small piece of timber either side of the purlin bolted through, and then fix a vertical timber post beneath them which is bolted to the wall - this will replace the need for chopping into the wall

That purlin looks to have been rotted by damp penetration from the roof, so sort that out first

 

[Valderrama]

How urgent is the repair, ie do we have time to look into whether there is still an issue with the roof? The other purlin ends are fine.

 

[big-all]

my thought are attack it with a screwdriver in hand with a fair bit off weight
you wont weaken the timber at all but will show any decay it may be worse or better than it appears
attack it and post pictures of the results

 

[^woody^]

The sooner the better. It will only get worse, and if it drops more then its harder to realign the rafters

 

[datarebal]

it's a pefectly resonable solution, or you could have a steel shoe made up, it obviously isnt the original roof covering and the rafters look a little skinny (may just be the picture) so i would guess it's a slate roof or was.. some of the rafters look like they may be suffering the efects of condensation due to the bitumen based 1f felt. maybe get a liitle more air flow in there too..

 

[joe-90]

If that extra bit of timber is a strut of some kind it's putting the weight of your roof onto the bedroom ceiling. Looks like a bodge to me.

 

[Valderrama]

The guy that came to look at it said it didn't look like a great job had been made of the roof. He said the timbers were smaller than he'd expect and that the struts weren't ideal.

Asked about bolting through the purlin and he said that that would have been an option but the bend and warping in the timber makes that as expensive as what he suggested due to the length needed.

The quote came through today £714 all in the fix it all up and reconnect the rafters.

Does that seem fair?

Re: the airflow - how can we improve that? At present, we have two vents in the roof - front and back. Would it help to declutter the roof space?

Finally, when they do this work, will it become obvious if the damp problem is historic? If not, what are possibe causes - a loose slate? nextdoor's chimney? Will there be a flashing up there that might have failed?

 

[Valderrama]

Anyone have any idea if this is a good price? Any advice gratefully received! Thanks!

 

[joe-90]

Sounds a bit pricey to me. Woody gave you the best tip. Short day plus materials - £150 ish.

 

[Valderrama]

Sounds a bit pricey to me. Woody gave you the best tip. Short day plus materials - £150 ish.

The guy says that as the purlin has warped/bent from the support, it's not really viable/cheaper to bolt it as suggested. He said a major issue is getting timber that size into the roof.

 

[Valderrama]

Gonna do the sensible thing and get a second quote. It's too much money to risk.

In the meantime do I need to worry about the roof collapsing?

 

[joe-90]

Woody is a qualified surveyor.