Replies

1. 
   Guest_ | Apr 29, 2000 04:41pm | #1

   *
   can you cut off the rotted portion of the existing joists

   jim

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   Guest_ | Apr 29, 2000 04:57pm | #2

   *Rich,You should have cleared this method with the money man first, but that's neither here nor there at this point. We've done the same thing in the past and bolted the sistered joist to the existing joist. If you are able to get back far enough on the existing joist to find clean firm wood that you can bolt to, it should hold fine. If you're bolting or nailing to rotten wood, then the money man has a point.Ed. Williams

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   Guest_ | Apr 29, 2000 05:46pm | #3

   *My plan is to cut off the rotted portion on the existing joists which is about 8-10 in. off of the 5 ft. joist. My only fear is how far I'll have to go to find firm wood. I wrote specifically in my contract that I was going to attach new floor joists next to existing floor joists. Thanks for the responses Jim and Ed.

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   Guest_ | Apr 30, 2000 05:04am | #4

   *Your contract sounds like it makes for an open-and-shut case, good job CYA. You said what you were going to do and then did it. Maybe the customer is worried the "disease" will spread from old to new? I've heard it just doesn't work that way ... though I'd worry about moisture collecting between the joists.

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   Guest_ | Apr 30, 2000 12:05pm | #5

   *Like andrew d said, the rot won't spread from the old to the new. Rot needs water. Take away the moisture and any existing rot stops.I _think_ there's a problem with your overall approach, though. Assuming that by "exposed deck" you mean an outdoor structure with spaced deck boards, so that rain can easily reach the joists, I think you've set up a situation which will deteriorate quickly. My experience and everything I've read tells me that you want to minimize wood to wood (especially surface to surface) contact outdoors. Water will get trapped between wood members in contact, and high moisture is what causes rot.Were the original joists treated lumber? The sistered joists?Bob

2. 
   Guest_ | May 28, 2000 02:18am | #6

   *If you don't remove all the dry rot, it can and will transfer to the new wood. After cutting away want you think is rotten, you should treat the old and new wood with BORACARE or TIMBOR which will prevent further and future growth. Finally, I would sister each side of the old joist to prevent warping

3. 
   Guest_ | May 29, 2000 01:34am | #7

   *Bob's right about rot spread. Don't believe it just take some badly rotted wood scraps and sandwhich a nice new piece of wood between them. Now take this experiment and set it in a nice dry spot inside your home. Will the piece in the center rot? No it won't aslong as it is dry.joe d

4. 
   Guest_ | May 30, 2000 08:49am | #8

   *Ditto (oops, am i agreeing with myself?) -- just like there's no such thing as "dry" rot. Or spontaneous generation of maggots in meat (an older story about some guy named Pasteur).