Subject: Barn Beam
Date: Tue, 22 Jun 1999

I have just discovered dry rot in a 12" x 12'' beam that is 10' long. The beam spans the door opening of a barn that is approx. 100 years old. The rot is in the center area in about a 2' - 3' area. It is not possible to see the exact extent of the damage but the wood on each side appears to be solid. Is it possible to inject your product into this area and then inject some type of filler? Also is your product effective in treating sills that are rotted similar to what I've described above? Any suggestions or recommendations will be greatly appreciated.

Oh yes, we have used a combination of CPES (Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer) and the Layup & Laminating Resin to repair many beams exactly as you describe. It's a fairly simple process of drilling CPES-access holes into the beam, injecting as much CPES as the wood will absorb, and then allowing 2-3 weeks for the carrier solvents to evaporate away and the epoxy to cure. You then follow with the L&L Resin, again filling to capacity, and allow 24 hours cure time.

How much CPES the beam will absorb may surprise you. We did this on one occasion and found that the entire center of the beam was rotted and it took over a gallon of CPES and L&L Resin to fill the area.

The access holes should be at least 1/4" and better 3/8" to allow easy application of the CPES and L&L Resin. The easiest method of getting it in is via a kitchen baster.

Rotted sills would be treated the same way, unless the rot is all surface in which case the drilling is not necessary. CPES will penetrate over 2" through bad wood if the application is on a vertical surface. The L&L Resin or Epoxy Filler would only be necessary here if there are voids to be filled.

Come back if you have additional questions.

Doc