[pdreams]

Hello, All:

I recently noticed that the wood above my garage is starting to ware towards the right side of the header. The rest of the wood seems fine and I assume I’ll have to replace the entire thing, but any help would be appreciated.I put some plastic bags in there for now to stop the birds from getting in there but i’m not familiar with this type of work but If you all could help with suggestions on what is the best way to fix this that would be great.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Nealtw]

The structure inside there can be any number of possibilities.

If you have access to the attic can you get a picture of the inside of the wall above.

If it is a factory built truss there will be little weight to worry about.

Depending on what and how the top of the the door framing is built, it may not be a disaster but it will have to be opened up for a look.

 

[Calson]

Remove all the wood in front of and below the damage and then see what you have behind. Damaged wood needs to be removed and replaced and how this is done depends on the extent of the damage. Quite probable that water is leaking behind the siding and creating an attractive environment for wood spores and insects to this should be corrected as well with flashing and or caulking.

 

[Old Thomas]

I have seen rotten headers in garages as young as 5 years from construction due to faulty or missing flashing over the header. If it is in a gable end and it has a standard truss over it or if it is rafters, there is little weight on it. If it is an end truss it is load bearing. Whatever, you need to do exploratory surgery and maybe a total replacement. It is easy to remove some siding to get in there. It looks like a j-channel with no flashing, a recipe for water damage and carpenter ants.