Renovating beams and Woodwork
One of the most attractive features of many of the old houses in France is their exposed beams. If they are dry, they can last for hundreds of years with no particular care and attention. To ensure the continue to be both beautiful and strong, renovation projects usually include a review of the condition of the exposed beams, then some sanding or sandblasting, and removal of decayed wood. This is then followed by wood treatment, to protect against wood-boring insects.
Even if old beams look to be in a bad condition they are usually still very solid on the inside.
It has often been said to me that woodworm and other wood-boring creatures can not eat into the hard centre of the wood, so no real harm will be done. Although this is usually the case it is not a fixed rule. As an example, some old beams are made from a softer wood – poplar, for example, instead of oak. This softer wood is more vulnerable to being eaten right through. Even with old oak beams, I have had cause to cut through a few and on at least one occasion there was certainly some damage right to the centre of the wood. It is very unusual though – possibly because the wood has been damp at some point.
The usual way that the condition of wood is verified is by banging three inch nails into it with a hammer. If the nail won’t go in, or only with great difficulty, the wood is in good condition. If the nail goes in easily there is a strong likelihood that the beam will need replacing. More pessimistic people do the same test with a screwdriver or a stanley knife – same result, but it will tend to identify beams with significant surface damage as needing replacement.
The main place that exposed beams are susceptible to problems in normal use is the point where they are set into the wall, at the ends of the beams. The humidity of the wall can cause some permanent dampness in the wood, which can lead to weakness, rot and invasion by boring insects, so this is the part that should be tested most thoroughly.
If your beams do need replacing you are very likely to need professional advice and help, since the beams are probably acting as a support for the floor or structure above. In any event, since there are load-bearing and other structural considerations it is outside the remit of this site.
Initial Process
After you have checked that the beams are in a reasonable condition, the next stage is to remove all the weak, decayed and crumbling wood from the surface of the beam, until you can find some solid wood. The tools to use will depend on the amount to be removed. i have used everything from sandpaper to hammer and chisel at various times. The amount of general sanding required will be greater if the wood has been painted or gloss varnished at some earlier stage. In this situation sandblasting (with care) may be the best approach.
After you have done, sand the wood to remove residual damaged wood and provide a clean, solid surface.
A quick wash with detergent water should then suffice to finish the preparation.
Treatment
There are several treatments available for protection against wood-boring insects. In France the most commonly used is Xylophene.
NOTE ADDED LATER: Xylophene is VERY toxic. You MUST follow the safety instructions, including the wearing of protective gear and an appropriate breathing mask. As an alternative to xylophene it has been suggested to me that boron can be used (I have no experience of this, please research on the internet if you are interested).
The treatment liquid should be brushed vigorously onto the wood, while a long-nozzled plant sprayer can be used for inaccessible corners and gaps if necessary. Two coats is recommended for sound wood or three coats for infected wood.
You should not be living in the property at the time of treatment, since the fumes tend to get everywhere and are quite noxious. In any event, during application, the wearing of suitable protective gear is imperative.
Specialists will sometimes recommend more intensive wood treatment. Typically this will include drilling some holes in the beams every few centimetres, and then injecting treatment at high pressure into the heart of the wood. This is probably beyond the scope of DIY. In any event a professional company will also offer some form of guarantee.
I am not personally convinced that the benefits of doing this are significant, because the damage to the wood is largely along the surface of the wood, and the holes drilled could weaken the wood more than any insect. I am not one to get over-neurotic with treating wood that has been standing without any treatment at all for 200 years. You are welcome to disagree with me on this. The sound of capricorn beetles munching your roof beams can be a very persuasive argument.
The wood treatment should be redone every few years to ensure continued protection. Of course, the ongoing risk to the wood is much less in an inhabited, restored, clean, dry and broadly insect free building than in an old derelict building.
Termites
None of the above comments applies if you have evidence of termites at the property. I would not adopt my casual approach if I found these in my house. Termites always need professional treatment. Although Xylophene and other products say they can deal with termites, you will always need an expert if you find evidence of a termite infestation. Any confirmed sighting of termites at your property must also be reported to your local mairie.
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Do French timbers come with some sort of categorisation. I am thinking of Floor Joist timbers (load bearing) 200mmX70mm. Do they carry any markings?.
Hi
I think not. In five years I don’t recall ever seeing a marking on any type of timber.
It is not impossible that floor joist timbers are a special case – the ones I have used were ordered ready-sanded, so any markings might have been sanded off! But no, I don’t think so.
Do you have a contact number for an expert I could talk to about old beams?
Thanks.
Hi
I don’t I’m afraid, it will depend on where you live.
Find the phone number for the local charpentier or ask at your local mairie would be my best suggestion, they should be able to put you in touch with a local specialist.
Cheers
We have paid to have beams treated for Capricorn beetle. How quickly does it take effect? We can still hear the sound of beetles munching on wood but we are not sure whether this is to be expected for a few days or weeks until the beetle finds its way to the surface & eats the treated wood.
Good question. If the beams are sprayed the ‘munching’ can continue for many months. The treatment only affects the surface few millimetres, so when the capricorn reaches the surface it takes effect…but capricorn can take several years to get there!
In our barn we started with about 4 obvious ‘munching’ points – after three years it’s down to just 1 place.
You could try localised injection treatment where the noise is coming from, or just sit it out..
Hi there,
We are in the renovation process and have just had our 3 250 year old charpentes sand blasted and have treated them with a product like Xylophene. My question is this – do you recommend now treating them with any other kind of product. Our charpentier is recommending varnish – which we’re not sure about. We have also had our roof rebuilt, so all of the ridge beams and the chevrons have been replaced. He also said they would start to yellow fairly quickly if they weren’t treated – not sure at this point if he meant Xylophene or varnish.
We have never varnished treated beams – partly from personal choice and partly because it will make future treatment and maintenance more complicated if the treatment ever needs to be reapplied.
But ours are more structural than decorative, and there are too many to varnish even if we wanted to.
I think that varnish might not be a bad idea in a ‘room’ environment, although not at all essential.
We are looking at using some of our wood oak beams as upright posts for our porch outside. What type of finish would be the best for the moisture and ultraviolet rays to prevent deterioration? How do we finish them inside – they’re decorative only – to bring out the color and not gray? We are sandblasting them but not sure what to use for a finish.
I would use a mix of linseed oil (huile de lin), 1 part turpentine (terebenthine) and a small amount of drying agent (siccatif) which helps the oil ’set’ – as mentioned at the end of the article about colombage at http://www.france-renovation.com/restoring-colombage/15
Hi
I wonder if you can help – maybe the response is as the one already posted above. We had 2 or 3 beams replaced in an old farmhouse and immediately coated these new beams with Xylophene ( as you described – not nice stuff). But we started hearing a munching noise. We mentioned it to the charpentier who had fitted the beams – and he implied it was nothing to worry about – implying it was not Carpricorn,/House Beetle but something else. 2 years on and after several surface sprayings with Xylophene some are still there and quite a few – is it flight/exit oval/round holes (5-10mm )- have appeared. We have also tried a CAF Fumigateur which did not have any effect. Any other thoughts – the munching is driving us crazy in the evenin and of course we are concerned that it spreads!
We have just completed a brand new total renovation of a barn on our property in the Midi. All the oak was supplied “as new” (Think its called green oak) and we were told it had been treated. Within a few weeks of moving in, there is a fine dust on our furniture and there are oval holes in some of these beams. We are told that it is Capricorne Beetle and the Barn will have to be vacated for 10 days while it is treated. So much for new oak!
That’s interesting (and shocking!) A lot of the oak trees around here are infested by a type of capricorn beetle and die as a result, but I’m surprised someone would build a roof from an infected tree.
I would also be concerned. We had the same issue, but it stopped within a year or so as the beetles came to the surface and died. Probably there is not a problem – they can survive in the timber for several years before coming to the surface (and hopefully the poison) but perhaps you should have it further treated by injection if it is still persisting.
We ae in the process of having our beams treated.
The men have drilled a hole at the end of each beam where it meets the wall (because he said that’s where they will enter the wood) and have put a little plastic thing in which they are going to inject something ( permethrine 0.51% m/m) they are then going to scrape the infected wood away an treat all the wood with a gel.
He said it’s safe and that there is no odour and that will be able to sleep in the bedroom after it has been done. The men have just said that the windows must be left open for at least half an hour before I can go in. Is all this right.