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[AMA] I am a professional construction carpenter. Feel free to ask me anything. (lemmy.blahaj.zone)

submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 11 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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I've been working in construction for the past 11 years at this point with a few years before that in a part time role. I'm more than happy to lend whatever knowledge or insights I may have about work, life, or whatever.

I will be checking in sporadically to see if there are questions.

EDITED WELL AFTER QUESTIONS STOPPED: I'm still active-ish on Lemmy, so if you happen to find this and have a question, I will likely still get back to you.

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

I have an old covered pergola that has roof leaks and subsequent rotted rafters.

My plan is to replace the roof to prevent further water intrusion, and as a part of that, remediate the rafters that are rotted.

As far as I can tell, remediation has 2 forms:

Chip out rotted parts, use Bondo to replace
Cut out the rotted section entirely, and put in a new section of wood, and... Affix the old parts to the new parts with....screws and a metal plate? Or maybe another piece of wood? Googling says this is called sistering, but I don't know my way around carpentry.

I'm really iffy on the second one. One of the rafters has visible rotting and swelling about halfway through, so I don't think Bondo will do the trick there and I'm at a bit of a loss as to what to do.

Any insight or advice would be appreciated!

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

depending on weather, bondo isn't suggested for much more than surface issues because it doesn't shrink/expand at the same rate as wood, so if you have cold winters and hot summers it's a very temporary fix. Wood filler would be better.
If the damage has extended more than halfway through the material, it should be replaced. Sistering is an option, but honestly for something visible (as opposed to floor joists underneath the floor), that doesn't end up looking very good. It may be possible to replace the entire length of lumber so that it just looks a bit newer than the others. It really depends on what you want and how much work you're willing to have done. Most pergolas I've seen would be able to have a few sections removed without becoming structurally unsound.

As with all things I've said in here, I am not to be taken as the 'final word' on anything you're experiencing, as there are always situations and particulars that I'm not familiar with and someone who can be there in person would be much more able to tell you your options.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

100% understand the disclaimer, you don't even have a picture to go off of.

Replacing the rafter is def the right thing to do, I'll see how feasible that is once we take the roof off.

Thank you for your time and insight!