I'll start this post with the caveat that I know nothing about wood, beams, period properties or any such associated pieces.
I have purchased a Grade II* listed church and I'm currently going through a planning appeal so we can convert this to our home. Part of the grounds include a store room that was probably part of the original stable block when the site was a farm in the 1600s. This room has been the shed for many decades it seems with a myriad of tiles, stone, brick, slate and general rubbish. We've cleared a lot of this out, throwing out the bricks and rotten doors etc, but we came across a large (approx. 6 foot long and 1 foot round) beam. This was clearly once a supporting beam for some part of the site, possibly the stable, but is now just a beam that has been removed. Parts of it around the edges are clearly rotten but I can lift it without it breaking apart so I'm assuming it's not completely rotten. I've seen these in fancy light shops with bulbs wrapped and hanging around them, so I'm wondering if some of you can tell me how I would go about checking that it's usable, and if it is, how I would treat it to stop the rot. I have no idea where or how I'm going to use it just yet, but want to understand if I have something that even can use and if so what I'd need to do to ensure it remains that way.
I have purchased a Grade II* listed church and I'm currently going through a planning appeal so we can convert this to our home. Part of the grounds include a store room that was probably part of the original stable block when the site was a farm in the 1600s. This room has been the shed for many decades it seems with a myriad of tiles, stone, brick, slate and general rubbish. We've cleared a lot of this out, throwing out the bricks and rotten doors etc, but we came across a large (approx. 6 foot long and 1 foot round) beam. This was clearly once a supporting beam for some part of the site, possibly the stable, but is now just a beam that has been removed. Parts of it around the edges are clearly rotten but I can lift it without it breaking apart so I'm assuming it's not completely rotten. I've seen these in fancy light shops with bulbs wrapped and hanging around them, so I'm wondering if some of you can tell me how I would go about checking that it's usable, and if it is, how I would treat it to stop the rot. I have no idea where or how I'm going to use it just yet, but want to understand if I have something that even can use and if so what I'd need to do to ensure it remains that way.