Subject: Question about main beam in house
Date: Sat, 09 Mar 2002

Dr. Rot,
We just had a house inspection of a house we are going to buy. The inspector told us that because of very high moisture in the crawl space, the main (or center) beam supporting the house has a good amount of rot and should be replaced. He has also suggested changes to increase airflow and stop moisture from rising from the bare ground.

He's right. You should do this.

Does your product have the strength to bond wood that is the main support structure under a house? Is the epoxy filling in spaces in the wood where there are no longer wood fibers?

Thanks for your help,
Susan W.

Susan,

If you can dry out the main beam, then structural repairs with our epoxies can be made. Fundamentally, it's a three-step process: 1) Saturate the beam wherever you can with CPES (Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer); 2) on bad areas come back after about a week (or longer) and apply our Layup & Laminating Resin, containing it if necessary with kitchen-wrap applied to the exterior of the wood; and 3) fill all vacancies in the wood with either our Fill-It Epoxy Filler or a paste mix made from mixing sawdust with the L&L Resin. The repair will be structurally sound and free of any rot problems. Everything is bonded together. You only do this once -- it lasts indefinitely.

But do fix the air circulation problem so more rot in other areas doesn't occur.

And come on back if you have additional questions, or want more detail on the process.

Doc