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Re: Repairing dry rot in rafter tails

From: info@builderswebsource.com
Category: Carpentry and Framing
Remote Name: 63.198.181.43
Date: 14 Apr 2001
Time: 09:40 AM

Comments

Depending on the extent of the damage to the rafter tails, you may have no choice but to replace portions of the badly damaged ones. You may also have termite damage that has hollowed out the wood. This repair can be done by cutting the old tails off flush with the wall and "overlap splicing" a new rafter in place.

However, this often means offsetting the new rafter by the width of the existing rafter. Carry the splice back up the roof slope and join it to existing structurally sound rafters, overlapping by 2-3 feet typically for structural integrity. Use plenty of nails or bolts to anchor the new rafter to the old one.

Alternatively, if the dry rot is limited to a few sections and the basic structural integrity of the rafter is still intact, you can use a structural epoxy, such as ConservEpoxy 600, available at:

http://www.conservepoxy.com/p600.htm

This takes several days to cure, but structural epoxy is used frequently on historic restoration jobs where preservation of existing architectural elements is important. Carve out all the soft or damaged areas, fill with epoxy, and properly sand, prime and paint all exposed areas.

Either way, repairing rafter tails can be tedious work. But you don't want to let your home deteriorate without fixing problems at the source.

Good luck on this project.

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