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repairing old wooden roof
I have a 200 year old outbuilding - stone and mud walls - wooden roof.
The beam at the base of the roof's "A" has rotted and the weight of the roof is now pushing out the walls. To replace this beam can I simply bolt a new beam to the bases of the down beams of the "A"? Or do I need to attach the beam in a special way? I am sorry to be so untechnical but all this is very new to me. The matter is urgent because the pushed out wall is now unprotected from rain and has partially collapsed into the roadway!
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repairing old wooden roof
Melmoth,
It's difficult to visualize the exact beam you're talking about by your description. Maybe you could take a few pix and post them? Other than that I would decide whether you could replace the rotted beam with the same orientation and attachment it had originally. It lasted 200 years so it obviously stood up to all the forces that it was subject to. It was weakened by rot so the main problem was most likely water.
Also, if the walls have pushed out, then the roof will have settled from it's original position. You'll most likely have to lift the ridge beam or possibly push up the peak of the A before installing the new beam. If you decide to do this yourself, it is possible to do. Just take your time and think out each step. There are large static forces at work in all structures and an unstable building like yours can be quite dangerous if it's of any size.
Dave
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repairing old wooden roof
Dave,
many thanks - I'll get some pictures and post them - I think you're right - I need to have a good think before I do anything - trouble is I live in rural France and it's well nigh impossible to get workmen so I guess it'll be up to me!
Incidentally can you tell me how I can attach a digital photo to a message?
Brendan
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repairing old wooden roof
Brendan,
If you click on "myProfile" at the top of the page you'll see a section on adding a picture. Follow the instructions for adding a jpeg image. I think it has to be smaller than 30Kb. There are instructions for that too. I've found it easiest to reduce the resolution of the camera as much as possible to start. It will still have to be reduced.
Dave
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repairing old wooden roof
I'm assuming you have a beam construction like a typical old American barn. 250mm to 300mm (10"-12" square wood beams with tongue and groove joints pinned with 25mm to 40 mm (1"-1 1/2" diameter wooden dowels.
As Shortmagnum has stated this structure may not be stable anymore and could fall.
To get stability while moving the structure back into position, you may need several screw jacks(commonly used to support floor joists in a basement) to raise the horizontal beam to the proper height. You need to place these at weight bearing points. The roof and its framework is much heavier than you think.
To bring the walls back together you need several cables or chains that bring them in with a turnbuckle or come-along ( wire cable on a spool with ratchet and hooks on each end). You need to re-inforce the frame work of the good walls so they don't move when you pull it together.
Make your movements slowly and stop after each slight adjustment and look at all parts of the framework to make sure it isn't moving in the wrong places.
If you can, anchor the corners of the good walls with braces (wooden beams at a diagonal) on the inside and possibly cables on the outside.
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