The main beam in the lounge was actually not adequate and much thought went into a suitable solution. Timber was purchased and Peter went to work in his shed. Then on Monday, 8th May, Toc and I and pick up the resulting 6.8m beam with his big red Landrover. Susanna is not in the pictures as she was in China, and I was not in the pictures as I was taking them.
Getting ready for the beam, note the support in the middle.
Above, Peter, and below, Toc, both hammering in the homemade (Peter, of course) 'T' bone shaped pieces, designed to resist shear between the top and bottom beams. Used mainly at the ends.
And the finished product . . . (This is before the beam was oiled (twice) and before the original beam above it was sanded for hours by Peter to lighten up the colour. It got treated with a water based coat to reduce the contrast between the two beams.)
Now check out the fun to be insulating an existing house, here.