Another Building Question. (Pictures Now Added)

[Norman Verona]

We, well Jacob, is building a 4 x 3 metre porch. He has 15 x 15 pine timbers on the 4 corners and for the door frame.

We need to seal between the stone wall and the two timbers which go against the wall. The wall is very uneven, it's a typical French undressed stone wall. Also the wall is sloping so that there is no gap at the top but about 2 cm at the bottom.(The timber is vertical in both planes as checked by a spirit level, which has been tested as true).

So, my question is what material would you use to seal the timber to the wall. Jacob wants to use expanding foam and then finish the edges with a lime and sand plaster.

Is everyone happy about this?

ps, I can put some pictures up if needed.

[Mark (smokey mow)]

personally I would fit the timber so it is parallel with the wall rather than vertical and then use something like a foam expansion joint filler between the two to fill the remaining gap. You can then mastic over the joint of it to give a nice finish.

Living in an old house myself I quickly learnt not to use a spirit level but instead do everything by eye. it looks much better that way.

[SootySport]

Sounds like a good plan to me as long as he is not relying on the foam to hold the frame to the wall, need coach bolts for that.

[Norman Verona]

Yes, got coach bolts. Smokey, it must be vertical because we have a huge double glazed window to go against it so it must be square. The window is going into channels to be cut into the four timbers so it looks like it has no frame.

Thanks chaps, I'm happy now.

[7sRWild]

Expandable foam is the way to go, works on this old house...

[Norman Verona]

Agreed, but I've only used it on fitting windows into non-square openings in old houses.

[Paul Hurdsfield - Joint Manchester AO]

Back in the days before expanding foam or all the joint sealers that people use today, time served joiners would scribe the timber to fit whatever it was butting up against.

As you say Norman the timber needs to be plumb so as to create a square opening for the glazing.

But if you pack the timber off the wall to make it plumb and fix it with coach bolts through the p[ackings, then you could use foam to fill the gap, and finish it all off with either lime sand mortar pointing or scribe some timber beads or architrave to cover the foam and packings.

[Norman Verona]

That's exactly what he's going to do. Set it square, fill the centre with expanding foam and the edges with a lime/sand mix. He's using coach bolts to bolt it to the wall.

I doubt whether anyone would want to scribe a 15 cm wide piece of wood going over a very irregular wall which is different right across the width.

Thanks Paul and everyone else.

Plan is now to leave it tomorrow to dry out and restart on Monday. Jacob is a total perfectionist. All the uprights have been clamped into position exactly level even though the whole lot have to come down for notching for the roof joists before being fitted permanently. He won't use a power saw and cuts everything with a hand saw. Where the door uprights needed notching over the low wall 6 cm in each side to leave the door opening at 85 cm he spent an hour on each side with a chisel. It's nice to see the care and attention being used. I'm glad I'm not paying him, it would cost a fortune if he was on an hourly rate.

[Norman Verona]

here's some pictures.

[Rory's Dad]

This may sound like a bodge but I would jam some polysterene foam into the gaps then follow up with the render as required. Expanding foam will go everywhere and stick to everything :cry:

Rory's Dad

[Norman Verona]

The plan is to get the foam on the inside and then render the edges with a lime and sand fix.

[7sRWild]

That's the whole point, the foam will stick to whatever it makes contact with therefore providing a good seal. Keeping it within the gap as much as possible of course.

[Norman Verona]

I have no idea how Jacob will fix these beams to the wall. He gave me a shopping list for 8 raw-bolts and 20 coach bolts. I'll find out tomorrow. I would prefer to fix threaded rod into the wall with chemical bolts and then pack out and put nuts and washers on. I would drill out recesses and cut the excess rod off so it's all flush. Then pack with mastic.

But, what do I know.

[pistonbroke]

Rawl bolts shirley

[Norman Verona]

OK, Bernadette, Rawl Bolts it is.