Thread: Verandah Dry root advise.

I'd be replacing. Yes is supporting, but not a lot of weight as far as buildings go. Shouldn't be hard for a DIY. could probably support during replacement with a car jack and piece of wood (tie the wood to a post to stop it going sideways).

Replace both beams and post by A LICENCED TRADESMAN if you value your insurance coverage

That looks like the same consrtuction method as my verandah, c.1880.

Verandah Construction.jpg

The post is halved to carry the verandah beam.
The rafters are sloping with notched ends to fit snuggly against the beam.
Omitted for simplicity:

• roof battens that lay on top of the rafters and carry corregated iron, and
• fascia board that caps ends of rafters and part of beam, and also carries gutter.

The verandah beam is thus load bearing in so far as it supports the rafters and corregated iron, but this is not a heavy load.
If the beam is replaced, then any joint should be halved and located above a post.

If I was doing this repair, then I would check every components for rot and wear, especially the bottoms of all posts. You will probably need to hire some agroprops to support the verandah while it is being worked on.

I'd be replacing the beams and the fascia board above them - and possibly the post too after a closer inspection. It is not a difficult job - I had to do similar to our house a while back. I used a couple of heavy plant jacks from the workshop on the minesite I was working on at the time, a couple of acrow-props to support the verandah roof and a kanga jack to lift the verandah "post" out and replace with a new one. I have recently discovered another 2 "posts" that are rotten at the bottom. Will do similar with these - a couple of acrow-props, one either side of the post to support the roof, and then the kanga jack to lift out the old post and lift the new one into position.

A builder (if you can get one to do the work) will charge an arm and a leg to do this work, whereas it is not at all difficult to do yourself if you are reasonably fit, have some basic woodworking skills, and have a friend / relative who can give you a bit of help with the heavy lifting etc. I'm certainly not that fit any more and my woodworking skills are limited and only recently gained (my working life was as a metallurgist working in mineral processing) and I have no hesitation in taking on jobs like this.

Originally Posted by BMKal

... I have recently discovered another 2 "posts" that are rotten at the bottom. Will do similar with these -...

I just cut off the bottom of the rotted posts, bolted a galvanised stirrup to the bottom of the post and cemented it in place. The bottom of the post is now 50 mm above th verandah floor - above the rot zone.

IMG_1634.JPG Needs painting!

Another way to fix it is to double post your corners. This eliminates the need to remove the entire beam. A post set back along each beam approx 300mm from the corner to clear the rotted section. Now you have the choice of fitting a new short corner section of fascia and beam to replace the rotted section or dig out the rot and fill it with bog and repaint (nasty but quick.)

Hi PCP. The beams are most likely Oregon (won't be Cedar) and there will be a bit of weight on tbat post. A hip rafter should be sitting directly on top which will be carrying half the load of the creepers (the other half of the load is carried by the beams, which are now compromised). So no patching - have to replace. Hardwood of same dimension as original (if it is indeed Oregon) will span fine. Any competent carpenter can fix it

I think Mountain Ash is right - it does look like douglas fir. If that is the case be prepared to find more rotted timber when you commence repairs and remove whatever cladding/lining there is. Edit - OOOPS - disregard, I just noticed there isn't any sheet lining under the verandah roof.

Regards
Twosheds

Where are you. If you're near the sunshine coast I can pop by and talk to you about options. Reality is the wood needs to be replaced as dry rot never stops. That's not the issue in fact... It's more about supporting the building while you do the work.

And I'll say bollocks to those that say a tradie will charge an arm and a leg. Some do, most don't. Hence why you get QUOTES!! When you understand all the insurances and tools, vehicle, we need to carry then... Na, you don't give a sh%t... So, let's just say, don't talk sh%t

🤣😂🤣 In my own experience - I've found that most "builders" are not even interested in small jobs like this. If they do manage to come round to inspect the job, you'll be very lucky to hear back from them with a quote, and if you do, the price will be ridiculous. Some recent examples -

1. A builder came round to quote on replacing / repairing two walls in one of our bathrooms, Both walls had serious cracks and very poorly installed cladding / misaligned frames etc. Never heard back from that builder and have since successfully done the job myself.

2. A different builder quoted on a complete renovation of our other bathroom, including expanding the bathroom to include what was previously a small "hallway" that was no longer required. This job was to basically to build a completely new bathroom, replacing everything in it including all wall cladding / shower / bath / vanity / toilet with new, and complete floor and wall tiling (original had no tiles at all). We did get a quote this time which was ridiculously high (I had already priced most of the new equipment to go in there and could see that his "mark-up" on these items was nothing less than a blatant rip-off). Most of this job I considered to be well above my skill level - so we ended up engaging a well known and highly regarded "handyman" (he's actually a train driver who had taken a break from driving trains at the time), with me working as his T/A and doing as he directed. The price came in at well under half what the "builder" quoted - in fact there was so much left in the budget that the new "bath" became a spa with pump mounted outside on the back verandah in a wooden enclosure. The workmanship in this bathroom was excellent and everyone who has seen it has assumed that it was done by a "professional" builder.

3. A few weeks ago, we had a builder come round to inspect and quote on re-cladding part of the roof where original cladding was badly rusted, replace two panels (gyprock) in the kitchen ceiling (immediately below faulty roof section) which are severely water damaged, remove a section of the (timber) floor in the kitchen and replace a section of support beam which pesticide contractor has reported to us as broken, then replace timber flooring. The "builder" promised to get back with pricing etc within a couple of days. That was more than 4 weeks ago and we have heard nothing from him since. As a result, have now started on doing the job myself, with a little help from one of our neighbours as needed.

I have a lot of time and respect for the old school traditional "builders. Regrettably standards and ethics in the game have, in my experience, completely dropped. That's not to say that there are not still some good "builders" out there - but these are getting harder to find and are generally in very high demand - so engaging one to do small jobs like this is becoming increasingly difficult.

With a job like the OP is asking about - I would have no hesitation at all in taking on this myself - have done numerous similar jobs on my house and others over the years. There is no way that I would even bother wasting my time trying to get a "builder" to do this job - and I have better uses for the money that a builder would no doubt be asking for this.

Originally Posted by BMKal

🤣😂🤣 In my own experience - I've found that most "builders" are not even interested in small jobs like this. If they do manage to come round to inspect the job, you'll be very lucky to hear back from them with a quote, and if you do, the price will be ridiculous. ...

Builders around her are still trying to catch up with the covid delays - slow planning approvals, shortage of materials, shortage of tradies - cashed up clients. Predicting gloom and doom, but it has not happened yet.

There is also that tradition of the industry for when they have too much work - quote very high so that you do not get the job, but it might help a friend with his quote.

Originally Posted by GraemeCook

Builders around her are still trying to catch up with the covid delays - slow planning approvals, shortage of materials, shortage of tradies - cashed up clients. Predicting gloom and doom, but it has not happened yet.

There is also that tradition of the industry for when they have too much work - quote very high so that you do not get the job, but it might help a friend with his quote.

Yes - I have a house out at South Arm - my mum is living in it. We recently had to have the front decking replaced (used "eco-deck" this time) and it proved quite difficult to find a builder to even quote on the work. Fortunately, the son of one of the neighbours works in the building trade - he and his father did the job for us at a very reasonable price. The smaller back verandah will also need doing soon, but I'm hoping to get back across there later this year and do it myself. Our biggest issue there soon will be the replacement of the last of the three metal water tanks. The other two were done a few years back (should have done all three then as it turns out). Getting the old one out is easy enough - cut it up with an angle grinder and remove manually in sections. Getting a new one in will probably require a decent size crane to lift it in over the top of the house. The two newer tanks already installed are plastic, and were lifted / carried by a few workers through a neighbour's yard and across the side fence. Next one will also be plastic, but the neighbour has since extended his house and access over the fence via his yard is no longer possible. I'll leave it to the people from the tank shop out at Sorell - they supplied and arranged installation for the last two tanks plus advised me on how to build a simple "grey water" system and supplied all the gear including pump - have always been very helpful.

Fortunately that house is much newer than this place in Kalgoorlie (built in 1910 - jarrah frame and various types of cladding used over the years as the house has been expanded to more than three times its original size, often by "dodgy" methods). I have done a fair bit of work on this place, but there's still a bit more to go before I'd consider it in "saleable" condition. Eventual plan is to sell up here and move across to Tassie.

Originally Posted by BMKal

Yes - I have a house out at South Arm - my mum is living in it. We recently had to have the front decking replaced (used "eco-deck" this time) and it proved quite difficult to find a builder to even quote on the work. ...

Yep. Also South Arm is a particularly difficult site as it is on the end of a dead end road. Builders cannot do a quote on their way somewhere else.

But a lovely place. Spectacular views, fresh crayfish and frost free.

Keep it friendly folks.

DJ

ADMIN