Home Improvement
I noticed this a few years ago and forgot about it. How concerning is this?
We had a glulam beam replaced under home insurance that wasn't as bad as that.
Go hire a structural engineer to inspect it though, that's what we did. Helped immensely with our claim too.
Where is it and what's it supporting?
It's in the garage above the garage door. Elsewhere in this thread I have more photos. (Sorry I'm new to let me and not good at directly linking on mobile)
Has it gotten any larger? And do you have a photo from further away?
Here is the further away part. And surprisingly no, it has not gotten any bigger.
I have no idea why that uploaded upside down...
Here are more shots of it.
The beam contains the center of tree which is prone to checking. The load bearing properties of the beam are predominantly on the outer sides not the center.
Seen enough deck posts on reddit to gather this is common and more of an aesthetic thing. Obviously you can ask a structural engineer for a real opinion. But this does not look all that concerning.
I'd be more concerned that your garage door spring is not enclosed. Those things get nasty when they pop.
I've never seen an enclosed garage spring. Is that common, or more of a high-end garage door installation?
Sorry I was thinking of a garage door "safety cable" which is not applicable to the spring in the picture. I will fix my post to avoid further confusion.
No worries! Tbh an enclosed (or at least shielded) garage spring is not a bad idea, although would be more difficult to inspect and work on in the event it’s needed.