Thread: Any chippies?

I am no chippie.

Looking at the photo the posts look like they are fairly thick limbs or trunks cut to length. I think that there is plenty of material there to conjure up an extension to level out the post heights.

I can think of two ways of doing a joint fairly easily. A lap joint

End lap

Also known simply as a 'pull lap', it is the basic form of the lap joint and is used when joining members end to end either parallel or at right angles.



or a butt joint, where you just joint the members end to end and use some ganged nails or metal plate and screws to hold the two parts of the joint together. You could make a metal sleeve or just use a couple of plates or ganged nails around the post.

The straightening the spanning beams will be a another issue to contend with. You may have to relieve the beams by taking some material out where they have stretched over time. A a couple of saw cuts is usually enough, just remember the underside of the beam will be in tension so avoid cutting there. You will have to make up for the weakness in the top of the bean if you relieve with saw cuts on the top side of the beams. In that case just plate or use ganged nails to stop the beam from breaking when a wind wants to lift the roof.

I'd say that unless your going to do it yourself or got a tamed tradie as a mate to give you a hand for beer and bbq, you might have to save up for some conservation work (there might be a local society that will help) or new shed.

I would dig around any sunken post, jack up the roof to level at that point, reinforce with steel plates etc. and concrete around the post.

If you don't care too much about how it will look.

get a car bottle jack and a plate to put it on, sit a 100mmx100m or 4"x4" post on it and under the spanning beam next to the sunken post. Jack the weight off the sunken post, jack beam up until level then pack the top of the sunken post with timber or bricks or steel. Take a metal strip 25mm by 3mm put a 90 degree twist into it in the middle. See if this image helps. The grey is your existing timber the orange the brick and the blue the steel. A red bottle jack and timber post to help with the jacking.

You will have to remove or cut what ever fasteners are currently connecting your posts to the roof beams if they don't let go when you start jacking.

duplicate post, when photobucket gets back on the image should display

Originally Posted by bee utey

I would dig around any sunken post, jack up the roof to level at that point, reinforce with steel plates etc. and concrete around the post.

If the post is solid I would just allow that it will sink again in 60-70 years. If rotten then dig and concrete or replace.

Dig around the base of the post to expose the timber, get a a sledge hammer and give the base of the post a good wack, if it is solid it should give a sharp crisp sound, if it returns a dull thud and the post moves you best replace the post.

everything comes down to money.....

the shed looks to have no historical value, if that is the case, do a quick cost of what a complete new roof will cost...now with that in mind, is it worth putting those sorts of $$$ ontop of that structure?

You can screw the new roof to the batterns, but how are those batterns connected to the rafters???

this continues down to the ground if you get my meaning....

Now extending will only prolong the enevitbale, ie the posts will keep sinking unitll they hit something hard enough to resist the downward pressure....the are probably starting to rot, and at best guess would have some termite activity.

Time is money, so trying to fix a "pigs ear" may not be the best solution. If the posts and other timber are mostly sound, you could pull the lot down and reuse, but starting with decent footings with steel fabricated supports, that will allow the height to be leveled and give you adequate tie down and bracing. fix beams with bolts and battern screw batterns to rafters...you will be able to get it straight, plumb and level and make it all worthly of a new roof.

If done properly, and with required maintainence, it will outlast you.

btw, IMO it is a bad idea to extend the posts with timber by any type of timber joint....

Levelling sunken house stumps is normal practice in Queensland where the majority of houses were once built on stumps. Any competent building contractor can do this. Usual practice is to jack up the structure until the bearers are level, lift the stump out and check it for rot or termites or general soundness and pour concrete in the hole to the appropriate level to give the stump something to bear down on and hopefully prevent it sinking again. Your shed would undoubtedly be made of Qld. hardwood and be sound unless the termites have got to it. Most native hardwoods mature to the consistency of steel and can be a fair bugger to nail, saw, or drill, particularly with hand tools.