On Sat, 01 Jan 2005 19:46:44 +0000, The Natural Philosopher
wrote:

I'd say a structural engineer would be first port of call - pay for a
full structural survey. A couple of hundred probably and worth every penny.

FMR No!

Opening the Yellow Pages and picking out any old structural engineer
is just asking for a complete cock-up with a timber frame, let alone
an old one. It'd be like asking EDS to build a big IT project - sure,
they do a job that covers the same title, but they've never actually
seen such a thing done right before.

Talk to a local big framing shop and ask for recommendations, or web
search down your own. But there are very few structural engineers with
timber frame experience, and you need it.

And they're all dead easy to fix anyway. There's a reason why places
like Avoncroft can afford to pull down derelict framed building and
re-erect it in a museum - they really are very simple to perform
"huge" repairs on, compared to more modern building methods.