I have a piece of 2x6 about eight feet long.
This beam was badly damaged during a roof leak and possibly termites as well, was previously repaired by the former owner, by putting short pieces of 2x6s on both sides of it and nailed the three pieces together.
I was trying to repair some other framing in that area in the attic and attempted to reinforce the repair by driving more nails in, only to find out that the nail would just go right past the middle piece (the damaged piece) with no resistance whatsoever. Curiosity got the best of me and I decided to pry off the sister piece to inspect the damage. It was difficult to remove the sister beam because nails from above the roof deck were driven through it and I had to cut these nails off flush.
After removing it, and three other pieces of bracing connected to it, I was able to see the middle piece. I was SHOCKED at how badly it is rotted. This was previously fixed by someone when the roof was open because roofing nails were driven down and attached to all three pieces. Why they didn't take the time to fix it right when they had full access is totally beyond me. But now I am faced with this problem.
This is how it looks from below. The beam marked 1 and 3 are the short sister beams and the middle piece marked 2 is the damaged beam.
Now I have removed beam marked 3 and this is how badly rotted it is from the side view.
It is actually worse then it looks, because after I cleaned out the loose fibers with a wire brush, the rotted sections extends into the wood by another 4 to 6 inches.
This is BAD!!!
What is worse is I cannot replace this member. It sits below the roof deck and rests on top of the concrete team beam, and extends another 4 feet as part of the roof overhang structure. Also there are hurricane straps bolted this member down to the concrete tie beam, it is not going to come out in one piece.
Even if I can chop it off and remove piece by piece of this member, there is no way a new piece of this length can be maneuvered in place at this tight space in the attic without opening the roof deck up.
I am basically stuck with trying to repair this.
The good news is, the back side sister 2x6 is still there. I may be able to fill in the cavity with some structural epoxy? Not sure. Any recommendation there? and once I fix this middle piece, then a new piece but longer, that goes from the concrete tie beam to the other end will be added back, and all three pieces tie together with 1/2" bolts and Simpson hangers.
Any recommendation on how to repair this large rotted out cavity? I have heard of the Abatron system or the WoodWizard system that claim to restore structural strength. Any thoughts or ideas to replace this wood beam in place and restore structural strength would be greatly appreciated.
This beam was badly damaged during a roof leak and possibly termites as well, was previously repaired by the former owner, by putting short pieces of 2x6s on both sides of it and nailed the three pieces together.
I was trying to repair some other framing in that area in the attic and attempted to reinforce the repair by driving more nails in, only to find out that the nail would just go right past the middle piece (the damaged piece) with no resistance whatsoever. Curiosity got the best of me and I decided to pry off the sister piece to inspect the damage. It was difficult to remove the sister beam because nails from above the roof deck were driven through it and I had to cut these nails off flush.
After removing it, and three other pieces of bracing connected to it, I was able to see the middle piece. I was SHOCKED at how badly it is rotted. This was previously fixed by someone when the roof was open because roofing nails were driven down and attached to all three pieces. Why they didn't take the time to fix it right when they had full access is totally beyond me. But now I am faced with this problem.
This is how it looks from below. The beam marked 1 and 3 are the short sister beams and the middle piece marked 2 is the damaged beam.
Now I have removed beam marked 3 and this is how badly rotted it is from the side view.
It is actually worse then it looks, because after I cleaned out the loose fibers with a wire brush, the rotted sections extends into the wood by another 4 to 6 inches.
This is BAD!!!
What is worse is I cannot replace this member. It sits below the roof deck and rests on top of the concrete team beam, and extends another 4 feet as part of the roof overhang structure. Also there are hurricane straps bolted this member down to the concrete tie beam, it is not going to come out in one piece.
Even if I can chop it off and remove piece by piece of this member, there is no way a new piece of this length can be maneuvered in place at this tight space in the attic without opening the roof deck up.
I am basically stuck with trying to repair this.
The good news is, the back side sister 2x6 is still there. I may be able to fill in the cavity with some structural epoxy? Not sure. Any recommendation there? and once I fix this middle piece, then a new piece but longer, that goes from the concrete tie beam to the other end will be added back, and all three pieces tie together with 1/2" bolts and Simpson hangers.
Any recommendation on how to repair this large rotted out cavity? I have heard of the Abatron system or the WoodWizard system that claim to restore structural strength. Any thoughts or ideas to replace this wood beam in place and restore structural strength would be greatly appreciated.