White Marks On Wood Beam

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R

RhP

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Hi guys, I was wondering whether anyone could give me some insight into what the strange white marks on my ceiling rafter are (photo attached)? They appear only on one part of the beam, but the same marks appear in exactly the same place on the opposite side of the beam in the adjoining room (I'm unable to see the top or the bottom of the rafter as it is part of an interior wall).

Aside from the colour they look and feel exactly the same as the rest of the wood, i.e. they're not spongy or soft or obviously decaying. But they're certainly not just stains that can be cleaned off.

I have no idea how long they have been there as I'm a tenant and I've only just noticed them, but I wanted to check that they are not some sort of nasty rot that needs to be dealt with...

white blotches.jpg
 
This is a little like the guy that asked, who walked across the ceiling.
Before this was a rafter it was just a board laying on the floor or in the mud or, or.
I don't think you have to worry about it. And welcome to the site.
 
People walk on piles of drywall all the time so it is no surprise to get foot prints high on the wall or on the ceiling. And every once in a while some one asks about it.;)
 
nealtw said:
People walk on piles of drywall all the time so it is no surprise to get foot prints high on the wall or on the ceiling. And every once in a while some one asks about it.;)
Click to expand...

I'm sorry if I was being stupid :confused: The reason for my concern was the existence of similar white patches on the other side of the same beam, as shown in this photo, and so I thought it might have been symptomatic of some kind of fungus inside the wood that's causing it to become depigmented on the outside.

But I'm really totally ignorant of these kinds of things!

20160301_202331.jpg
 
Let's be clear.. There are no dumb questions.
You are saying beam but in your last photo I see a 1x something board nailed on the side of something behind it. So it is not the same board as in the other room.
It appears that that board was put there before the white plaster was put on the wall beside it. It might just be some sloppy work there and chemicals may have beached the color a bit.
Thoughts??
 
nealtw said:
Let's be clear.. There are no dumb questions.
You are saying beam but in your last photo I see a 1x something board nailed on the side of something behind it. So it is not the same board as in the other room.
It appears that that board was put there before the white plaster was put on the wall beside it. It might just be some sloppy work there and chemicals may have beached the color a bit.
Thoughts??
Click to expand...

The other boards are all planks nailed to something underneath (which is why you see a nail), but the slightly larger one with all the white blotches is indeed the reverse side of the solid beam in the first photo.

I suppose it could be that something was spilled on both sides, as you suggest. It's just the fact that the bleached parts are small and roundish made me think of mold or rot! But as far as I can tell they really are just bleached, there is no substance on the wood and the texture is the same. They most resemble water marks that you sometimes get on coffee tables so they could be that.

And I'm guessing that if the whole beam (about 1 foot thickness) was rotted through the middle and causing marks on both sides, then it would probably appear worse than it does?
 
I really don't think it anything but now you have picture so you can compare it over time to make sure there are no changes.
Can you back up and take another photo so I can see more of what you have.
 
nealtw said:
I really don't think it anything but now you have picture so you can compare it over time to make sure there are no changes.
Can you back up and take another photo so I can see more of what you have.
Click to expand...

Sure - as you can see it's limited to a small section of the beam towards the edge. The spots are in approximately the same place on the other side i.e. close to the same wall, but there are fewer of them.

20160301_165224.jpg
 
RhP said:
Sure - as you can see it's limited to a small section of the beam towards the edge. The spots are in approximately the same place on the other side i.e. close to the same wall, but there are fewer of them.
Click to expand...

There will be a structural member in there maybe a beam or a girder but most of what you are looking at will be nothing more than decoration. I may be hiding other things too like plumbing or HVAC but if you had a problem with water there you would also have a leak that would be visible.

If you knock on the different pieces of wood you can tell what is solid like a beam and what has voids behind it.
The 2 ply beam in the last photo will be solid so you can compare that sound to the beam in question.
 
nealtw said:
There will be a structural member in there maybe a beam or a girder but most of what you are looking at will be nothing more than decoration. I may be hiding other things too like plumbing or HVAC but if you had a problem with water there you would also have a leak that would be visible.

If you knock on the different pieces of wood you can tell what is solid like a beam and what has voids behind it.
The 2 ply beam in the last photo will be solid so you can compare that sound to the beam in question.
Click to expand...

Yeah the piece with the white marks on it is definitely solid as it extends out into the corridor adjacent to the room where you can see it in its entirety. It's about 1 foot square, and the marks are only on this piece, not the superficial 1 dimensional pieces which surround it.
 
It was most likely installed that way. It could be from anything from a person using that beam as a piece of staging before it was installed , hence the marks on the ends only, or it could have been done during shipping.
Sometimes folks never notice things like this for months or years after the building is done.
I think its a non issue, but I have been wrong before from my chair here in CT.
 
RhP said:
Yeah the piece with the white marks on it is definitely solid as it extends out into the corridor adjacent to the room where you can see it in its entirety. It's about 1 foot square, and the marks are only on this piece, not the superficial 1 dimensional pieces which surround it.
Click to expand...

There are a few things in your picture that says to me that the boards you are looking at are just hiding a beam behind them, so I went looking for an explanation of what beams look like.

You might not find all of this interesting but in the beginning he does explain the different types of beams and you won't find one that looks like what you have.
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOX9MIK9mwI[/ame]
 
nealtw said:
There are a few things in your picture that says to me that the boards you are looking at are just hiding a beam behind them, so I went looking for an explanation of what beams look like.

You might not find all of this interesting but in the beginning he does explain the different types of beams and you won't find one that looks like what you have.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOX9MIK9mwI
Click to expand...

I do find it interesting. In fact, while I was putting the bins out just now I caught a glance through my neighbor's French windows at the part of the same beam which runs through his adjoining apartment, and it's a totally different shape: thinner and not square like mine.

So could it be that the 'solid' piece of wood I'm referring to is actually a hollow shell which contains the real beam? It doesn't sound hollow when I tap it, but then again the beam could be tightly packed inside.

In any case, thanks for your help and the insightful comments!
 
RhP said:
I do find it interesting. In fact, while I was putting the bins out just now I caught a glance through my neighbor's French windows at the part of the same beam which runs through his adjoining apartment, and it's a totally different shape: thinner and not square like mine.

So could it be that the 'solid' piece of wood I'm referring to is actually a hollow shell which contains the real beam? It doesn't sound hollow when I tap it, but then again the beam could be tightly packed inside.

In any case, thanks for your help and the insightful comments!
Click to expand...

It is always a good idea to look at things and ask questions until you understand
and catch problems early rather than later.;)
 
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