Exposed beams in bathroom?

[DaveW]

OK - I'm a newbie here, so please be gentle.

My wife and I recently purchased an approx 400-450 year old house, with exposed beams and some incredible character features in the house. We're updating the bathroom (probably last done in the 80's) and we're exposing the beam that's part of one of the walls. After scraping away the white and cream gloss and eventually the avocado paint (!), I noticed that the wood is a little brittle and soft in patches.

Now - 2 questions:
1 is it a good idea to have exposed beams in a bathroom? (Too much moisture? am I just inviting rot into it?)
2 What's the best way to protect the beam itself (can I just use a wood hardener? or some other sealant?)

Just a further note: the beam is structural and runs through what used to be an external wall (a bedroom is now on the other side of it.)

Thanks
Dave

 

[AMc]

If the beam has been enclosed in gloss paint and in a bathroom then the chances are it has soaked up moisture at the edges and cracks in the finish and been unable to get rid of it again because of the plastic paint seal over the majority of the surface.

Wood hardener won't make it strong enough to cope with any structural load- it just makes soft wood stable enough for filler or paint IMHO. I wouldn't rush to wood hardener until it's had some time to dry out and you can assess its condition properly - if it's structural and seriously rotten you may need to replace some or all of it.

Once you've got the beam dry then I wouldn't "seal" the beam - any coating you choose to apply to protect it should be microporous or breathable to allow moisture in the wood to [edit] escape [/edit - not sure where that word got to 1st time around?]

Have a search on vapour permeability and breathability to see what I'm talking about.

I can't see any inherent problem with a wooden beam in a bathroom but make sure you vent warm moist air generated by showers and baths to prevent excessive condensation - opening a window is one way, many people myself included prefer a timer or humidistat triggered extractor fan.

 

[Flyfisher]

Welcome to the forum.

What sort of wood is the beam made from? Assuming it is oak then I would expect it to fair rather better by being stripped bare for the reasons AMc has already mentioned.

Large parts of our timber-framed house are exposed to the elements and the oak, though knarled, is as hard as nails, so I don't think the moisture from a bathroom is necessarily a bad thing BUT good ventilation is essential to ensure it can properly dry out.

 

[DaveW]

Thanks for the info Flyfisher and AMc.

The beam is oak, and seems mostly solid (famous last words?), so I'm not concerned about the structural side of things.. we are planning on adding a shower in that room so ventilation is something I'm concerned about, especially as it doesn't have the biggest windows in the world. I'll add extractor fan to the shopping list

re the beam - I'll leave it au natural and see how we get on.

Thanks again
Dave

 

[skier-hughes]

We have some oak beams in our bathroom and they are fine, though some do appear to have disappeared!

 

[Penners]

Welcome, Dave

Taking the general principle first, there's normally no problem with having exposed oak beams in a bathroom. I've had several bathrooms like that in the past and never experienced damp concerns. The important things to remember are that (a) it's best to leave the beams unsealed, unpainted, uncoated with anything (any moisture that penetrates a mm or two while you're showering can easily evaporate off afterwards), and (b) make sure the room is ventilated with a run-on extractor fan - even if it has a window (this may well remain closed in winter).

As regards the brittleness and softness of the beam(s), the seriousness of this depends on what wood the beam is and how much of it is affected. If you have fairly massive oak beams, with a modest depth of rot/infestation, then you don't really have too much to worry about. But if the beams are light in section and deeply affected, then you'll need to take rather more radical action.

Any chance of your posting a photo or two? If you can give us an impression of the size of the beam and the extent of the rot, we can give you some clearer opinions.

 

[Penners]

We have some oak beams .... some do appear to have disappeared!

Strange! Were they there when you looked this morning? Have you got a bad woodworm problem?

:wink:

 

[skier-hughes]

I know, I went to a meeting and caboom....... all gone

 

[worms]

You can probably buy them back on Ebay

 

[Penners]

:lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[robgil]

i had some damp oak here , very soft to the touch. After a few months of drying it was hard as rocks.

 

[Penners]

That's because all the woodworm linked arms before they went into rigor mortis.

 

[Keithj]

Our bathroom timber was painted by some clever builder about 15 years ago. It's as hard as rock, so I've not bothered trying to get the paint off. There is a "run-on" extractor fan, which I would say is essential.

Most of the oak in the house was painted by said builder, apart from the bits he covered in concrete. All concrete is now off - we had to replace about 40% of that wood. Wherever possible, we've left the wood au naturel. Some of the Tudor oak outside, now exposed again, looks gorgeous.