At the end of my porch (nearly 40 year old log cabin) the outside horizontal beams are 6×6 PT. There are vertical beams that go to the ground below this and then to footers, and on top of these horizontal beams are the vertical logs that support the outermost edge of the porch roof. I have a horizontal 6×6 that has a 1/2″ wide crack running about 6 feet in length. It is not deep at all, maybe 1/4″ no more than 1/2″ max. Pulling this beam out isn’t an option, it’s not damaged anywhere else and is otherwise a strong beam. However, upon further examination, I found a spike that had been driven into the beam at some point. It has no purpose other than it’s been there a while. Possibly one of the grandkids, but the crack begins where this is. Aside from trying to remove it, are there any professional grade fillers or something like that I can use to strengthen this and make sure it doesn’t get any worse?
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Curious what others will chime in with, but I've had fantastic results repairing wood rot on my 100 year old house with Abatrons WoodEpox and LiquidWood https://www.abatron.com/product/wood-restoration-kit/
I have some rotted wood window sills and sashes that I used this stuff on many years ago and it's held up fantastic. Zero Shrinking and holds paint very well.
Nice thing about this stuff is there's almost no off gassing or bad smell... Easy to work with. The LiquidWood is a hardener thats used first...and the WoodEpox is a 2 part putty that you can fill and shape. Sands and cuts well depending on what your need is.
If you're just filling a hole/crack and the wood base is good then no need for the LiquidWood.
Cheers, Joe
there's always the old standby Durham's Water Putty
http://waterputty.com
I've used both Abatron and Durhams on very old wood. If there is any rot I'd only trust Abatron. If it's just cosmetic Durhams does a good job. I'm assuming the PT has lost it's oily surface after 40 years, because neither of these products would stick well otherwise.
I don't think there's any decay, I can't see any, but I suppose there could be at the far inside part of the crack that would be hard to get to. I'm ok using something like git-rot to be on the safe side. But this beam is going to be the top "riser" of a set of stairs so I'd like it to be as sound as possible, as well as cosmetic.
Large beams always have splits. It's perfectly normal and is calculated into the grade. If you are thinking you can glue a split together to make it stronger you're chasing a dream. If you want to fill it for cosmetic reasons then something as simple as Bondo will work fine.
I'm a big proponent of West system two part epoxy. It's a marine epoxy glue. mix the two components then brush them into the crack. Before it sets up add some of the colloidal filler to make a thicker paste. Colloidal filler is a gap filling adhesive.
If you might stain it later, there are some that can be blended with your wood. GOod luck