On Fri, 15 Aug 2003 17:37:16 +0000 (UTC), Niel A. Farrow wrote:

In the same downstairs front room I've discovered the end of one of
the ceiling joists is rotten.

First find out why just the end is rotten. As it's the end in an
outside world pentrating damp is most likely but could be very old and
no longer a problem.

As only the end is affected by rot, cut the rotten end off plus 18" or
so into sound timber and remove it. Then get a replacement bit of
timber of suitable size and butt it to the old end and into onto the
wall. Then fix it in place with planks 1/2 the thickness of the joist
thick either side with coach bolts or bolted right through. Make sure
holes for bolts are a snug fit on the bolts, it should be required to
tap them through rather than just put them in. Use penny washers
behind heads and nuts to spread the load onto the timber side plates.
should be required. All this can be done from above by lifting floor
boards. The unsupported end will be fine supported by the ceiling
unless it is in very poor condition anyway.

--
Cheers
Dave. pam is missing e-mail