A few months ago I started tearing down a portion of the roof that covers our terrace. The wood used in its construction was untreated and this meant that all manner of creatures had started making it their home.
The main beam holding up half of the roof had started sagging to the point that the houses previous owner propped it up with another wooden pole, which was jammed between the beam and a stair. This made me feel incredibly uneasy.
A rotting mess
As the wood was untreated the beam near the end, which got wet any time it rained, was completely rotten. It was right near the road and I was very worried that the tiles on it would fall off and into the road, leading to an accident.
This too had a pole propping it up. Here you can see the sad state it was in.
This was how far I got for a while, with the tiles off, the immediate danger was out of the way. Much of the weight had been removed from the main beam so I had bought some time, as you may know I focussed on redoing the kitchen and bathroom downstairs to prepare it for when my mother-in-law moved in.
Some progress, rotten to the core
Fast forward two months and I started taking some of the wooden beams down, not an easy task when you are so high and working on top of a ladder on the terrace.
I took the above photo to show my wife just exactly how rotten and weakened the main beam was. I got quite a surprise when looking at it from this angle.
I had managed to take the end bean off and it practically crumbled in my hands as I took it down. If not for the pole holding it up it would have fallen down a long time ago.
I managed to get two beams down in a day, but working so near the edge of the terrace meant my nerves were shot. I was very glad to be down from the ladder for a while.
A little while later ( a few days) I put a different light up outside so that I could disconnect the ones fixed to the beams. With the tiles off I did not want water to go into them and cause a short. Better safe than sorry.
As life has it I got not one but two freelance deals so I had to take a break from the DIY stuff for a while and sort out the two clients.
Posted from my blog with SteemPress : https://scrips.io/blog/shaunmza/taking-down-our-terrace-roof-part-ii/
@shaunmza so normally wood is treated, so that it is inhospitable for insect and mold ? And do you have re-apply the treatment every now and then ?
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Yes, how long it lasts depends on how it was treated.
I assume the wood I have taken down was treated by painting it on. The other method is to pressure treat wood.
With pressure treated wood the wood is put into a chamber, which is flooded with the treatment solution. Then the pressure in the chamber is increased quite high, this forces the air out of the wood and the treatment goes much much deeper.
Pressure treated wood lasts many many years outside and is not affected as much by water. It's much more expensive, but for roofing I think it is worth it.
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oh I see now, thanks for explaining
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