"Pecanfan" wrote in message
...
Once dried out should i be applying something to preserve the
timber/reduce
the risk of any rot/kill off any possible fungus, or am i being
paranoid?

I'm no expert but have had a similar situation recently myself (a major
beam
had been subject to many months, possibly years of water penetration
through
a hole in the roof). The beam was significantly softer as a result of the
water saturation (not so soft as to be useless but soft enough to be cause
of concern).

Anyway, the roof's fixed now and after about 4-5 weeks the beam dried out
naturally and you'd never know there'd been a problem - it seems just as
solid as all the other beams.

Based on this, and advice given by professional joiners, providing it's
now
dry and there's plenty airflow around the timber in question I'd just
leave
it to dry out naturally. I'd be wary about applying any form of
preservative at this stage in case it actually inhibited the drying
process?
As I say, no expert though...

Andy


thanks, i'm going to let it dry out, i just wondered if fungicide would be
beneficial. I'll keep an eye on it for any rogue growths.

DD