At the front of my house is a section of overhanging roof to form a porch. It is supported at one corner by a 3.5 x 3.5 inch wooden post that is embedded in a brick pier. Inevitably the base of the post has rotted and has allowed the roof to sag by a couple of inches or so.
I would like to replace the wood with a steel box section - ideally with:
A base fitting to spread the load over the hole left by the wooden post.
Some form of adjustment to allow me to progressively jack the roof back. ( I though of using an acrow prop but they don't have decorative ones!!)
I remember in a previous job that all sorts of fittings can be obtained for steel sections but so far haven't found a web site.
Any views on my plan - any suggestions of sources?
I used to work in a building which had lots of external supports like that. The timber posts were sawn off about 8" above ground level and went into a steel socket with a thin metal post taking it into the ground, a bit like a fence post spike, but much better made and more decorative. I have seen these elsewhere too so I presume the steel part is a reasonably standard building part.
Do you know the post has actually rotted, rather than having sunk due to having no foundations at that point?
Be very careful jacking back up in case it collapses on you.
There are screwed metal supports of the type you imagine which are used in the corners of bay windows when they are replaced by PVC frames. Not sure where you could buy them, but possibly from a PVC building materials supplier, who supplies windows installers. PBM - Plastic Building Materials Ltd is one such, but they don't seem to have a web presence.
Thanks - the bottom of the post is like tissue paper. Several neighbours houses are suffering the same fate. I suspect that the post rests on a brick end.
I have tried using a length of wood and a car jack and it took a fair bit of effort to lift it half an inch. Water is overflowing the rainwater gutter in the corner. (Not as bad as some neighbours)
===================== I would suggest that you get one or two Acrows under that roof promptly to stabilise the situation whilst you consider how to remedy it. There's enough weight there to kill you if it collapsed on you.
As far as a remedy is concerned, I would suggest that you remove the brick pillar and put in a 4" steel column with a welded base plate / top plate. Dig out about 12" depth and fill with concrete. You can re-instate the pillar when the roof is safe.
Cic.
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You can get concrete in bases, which provide a 16mm threaded rod which you drill a hole in end of post, a pair of nuts & a large washer on the threaded section allow you to adjust the post up. Would suggest using an acrow or temp prop to get roof to aprox right, and then you only have to allow an inch or so of adjustment.
These are used for decking, timber frame structures etc.
The ones I am referring to have the threaded rod coming up from a square plate, and under the plate is a piece of rebar you concrete in, and the plate also spreads the load.
I have also seen them without the rebar ... you rawl bolt the plate down.
The timber frame companies then have neat decorative mouldings that go around the wooden post totally hiding the assembly.
You can see these in the Beamlock Decking Solution brochure .... do a Google for Beamlock ... or go to manufacturers site (Finnforest)
However as this is uk.d-i-y - Would be very easy to make one out of some threaded bar & plate .... Simply take a 150 x 150 x 8mm plate, drill a 16.5mm hole in centre ..... put a 450mm length of 16mm threaded bar (zinc coated) through this .. nuts either side to lock it to plate ...concrete the one side into the existing hole, and the other sticking up with a pair on nuts and a washer will give you the jack for your post.
You can adjust plate size to suit your brick pier.
Threaded bar is in B&Q or any builders Merchants .... any Blacksmith shop or fabrication place will cut you a piece of 8mm plate and put a hole in it for you. They probably have something in the crap bin ... so could be cheap.
======================= I would certainly treat it as both urgent and dangerous.
A builder who uses an 8' length of 3" x 3" softwood to support a heavy roof is quite likely to skimp on other details such as the wall plate fixing. Judging by your pictures there is no water run-off around the base of the timber (hence the rot) and the horizontal roof timbers are visibly bending or sinking. If they're bending they're on their way to snapping and if they're sinking then they're stressing the rest of the roof. Also you have no real idea of the strength of the brick pier or its foundations. Unless this pier has a solid foundation any remedial work you do on the supporting post will fail.
I think that you should support the roof with one or two props to stabilise it as soon as possible. As far as getting the roof back into shape is concerned it depends on what the horizontal timbers are doing - bending or sinking. If they're bending then you might not be able to get them back into shape. If they're sinking then they will probably jack back into position. In any case you should look for damage along the inner edge of the roof to see if it's pulling away from the main house wall.
This may sound like scare-mongering but bits of buildings can collapse without warning.
Isn't structural failure like this covered by the NHBC guarantee if it's less than 10 years old? Cue all the usual torrent of stories about how useless the NHBC guarantee is, but it may be worth a try.
I'd also be having some pointed discussions with the original builder, and asking for some comment and advice from the L A Building Inspector.
I certainly wouldn't assume that the brick pillar is founded on anything substantial without doing a bit of digging.
Meanwhile, a baulk of timber and a couple of Acro props, I think, if only to stop it sinking further.
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