Fixing rotten end of oak beam

[photogav]

I hope I'm posting this in the right section.

I have a large supporting oak beam in a 1840s cottage. It runs across the living room ceiling and into each wall. The end that enters the left hand wall which it the end wall of the house is partly soft and rotten in a small area. I have no idea what its like in the wall I can only guess it is bad. The rest of the beam is solid and I can only assume that because the wall had damp issues (thanks mainly to 1980s decoration using modern materials (not mine as I've only owned it a couple of years).

Removing and replacing the whole beam is going to be extremely messy and very impractical as it runs through the right hand wall and into neighbour's property. Has anyone had to repair this sort of situation? Any ideas?

I thought of cutting out a section of wood bolting in a piece of steel and covering it with the bit I cut out, but I'd like to get as many ideas as possible.

Many thanks

Gavin

 

[foxhole]

Get a structural engineer in to inspect, he can recommend any treatment required .

 

[ladylola]

I've done this sort of thing many many times.
A good method is to cut a slot in the beam from above, it only needs to be 15-20mm maximum and shouldn't break through the bottom face of the timber. A steel is then inserted into this slot and bolts put through. The heads can be sunk and the holes filled , spliced or disguised. The lower edge of the steel should have a plate welded to it at one end to give bearing on the wall. Once bolted it can be left as is or alternatively resin can be used to fill any gaps.
One tip is to make up a template in ply and insert and drill with that in place. This can then be taken out and to a steel fabricators who will make a replica in metal which will then fit with the minimum of hassle.