Beams... remove soft wooden bits?

[skier-hughes]

Or not?

On removing my gypsom plaster I have unearthed a fair amount of timber framing that couldn't be seen before.
Some of this is a bit soft.
Should I remove this soft wood?
Should I leave it in situ?
How do I remove it, gently with a scraper or screwdriver, some just brushes off with a firm finger drag, but to do this all over would result in hardly any skin left!!

There isn't masses of soft wood, thankfully, but we will be removing all the black paint from the beams etc so don't know whether it is best to remove or leave.

Graham

 

[Gervase]

I'm afraid I'm a bit cavalier with timber - if a screwdriver won't go more than halfway in, then I leave it. You might want to consolidate it if it's very powdery, using a resin or shellac.

 

[skier-hughes]

It's not that bad, there are just a few small places where it is soft, screwdriver may go in about half an inch if that.

Maybe I'll see what happens when I apply the klingstrip.

Graham

 

[Moo]

It all depends on the effect you want, Graham.

About ten years ago, in the garden of our last house, I found some bits of an old cart - huge wheel rims, some chain, and the remains of one of the shafts. In a period of creative idleness I scraped away every bit of the soft (decayed) wood on the shaft, and was left with something so sculptural that I mounted it on a metal stand and stuck it in the garden, with the idea that the weather would change it in interesting ways. However, after a decade it's still there and hasn't changed a bit.

On the other hand, if I'd wanted to preserve the shaft I suppose I could used one of those wood preserver systems.[/list]

 

[Penners]

Graham - to a considerable extent the answer depends on just how soft the soft bits are - and whether they're soft because of damp.

If they're damp, then drying them out will often harden them up a fair bit. You can then slosh some wood hardener on, and you'll probably end up with something pretty sound.

But if this is just rotten crumbling timber, personally I would take it off. The best tool for this is usually a draw-knife (it doesn't have to be this sophisticated - you can make your own quite easily).

If taking off the soft stuff seriously weakens the beam, you may have to consider setting a new piece in.

 

[skier-hughes]

None of it is damp now. It is all very dry, but crumbly is a good descrition.

I'll upload a piccie of a small amount I did to see what it was like.

That tool looks far to big for the amounts I have to do, a small screwdriver is what I used on the piece I did.

I don't think anywhere will need any wood hardener, unless my prodding has missed something, as although there is a fair amount around the room, no single piece is very large in size, or deep.

Graham

 

[skier-hughes]

Picture Here

At the bottom of the kitchen ones is the link to the wood one.

 

[middi]

Loking at your picture Graham it may be better ro repaint the lot black again and don't bother with defrassing the wood. If you don't like black, a few coats of limewash.

The chances are that a percentage of the timber sapwood has been attacked by beetle in its earlier life and the black stuff painted over the top has partly penetrated the small woodworm and other cavities.

It will be a massive task to remove all that paint with strippers, toothpickers etc...

If you remove the soft wood along the beams , you may end up with uneven patches on the beams which tend to look as if someone has used pieces of driftwood to build the place.

You are faced with a very common problem encountered where beam restoration has been overpainted.

The decision in many cases rests with the individual, bearing in mind that the emphasis should be to retain as much as possible of the strcture.

Softwood or rotted wood only get to be removed when structural repairs are necessary to safeguard the building against collapse, in your case if it falls off by its own accord, just hoover it up as and when.

Just learn to live with it as it changes in it's " natural" appearance, this is when another coat of limewash qickly fixes the problem.

 

[Penners]

Having seen the picture, I agree with Middi.