Rotten joists - cost of fixing??

jetblack61

Hi all,
We've recently bought our first house and are in the process of decorating and generally sorting it out.

Yesterday, we were up in the loft and have discovered a hole in the felt which is letting water in when it rains, and consequently (it seems), 2 of the joists are totally rotten. We've also got 1 with woodworm I think.

We obviously need this sorting out ASAP since I'm slightly concerned about the ceiling! Any clues as to what the costs involved are? And is it a joiner or a roofer or a builder we need to sort this out?

Thanks in advance

southcoastrgi

which one of these does your roof construction look like ?

jetblack61

The construction looks like the 2nd picture you show.

It's the long joists that are rotted - 2 of them, so we're not sure whether they'll need replacing (if possible), or whether additional joists can be added to 'replace' the purpose of those affected without actually removing them.

Gloomendoom

jetblack61 wrote: »

The construction looks like the 2nd picture you show.

It's the long joists that are rotted - 2 of them, so we're not sure whether they'll need replacing (if possible), or whether additional joists can be added to 'replace' the purpose of those affected without actually removing them.

As you say, you need to fix the roof first then sort the joists. I would just add an extra joist alongside the rotten originals, bolted into place. If the rot is close to the nodes on the truss it may complicate matters though.

Treating the rest of the loft timbers with a woodworm preventative would be a good idea too.