I have a conservatory attached out the back of my house that was built around twenty years ago. For some reason the ground was built up against the conservatory, so some of the timber was underground. I decided to dig away the earth and found a rotten bit of timber (see pictures below). It's just this bit that is rotten, I guess it's because it's the lowest point and water is draining towards this area. I'm wondering how to fix this, do I need to completely replace the wood or is there a way of patching it. Then to stop it happening, how do I do that, do I need to dig away the dirt and slope the ground away from the conservatory?





Thanks for your help

 

Changing the slope would be a good thing to do. Another idea would be a trench drain & dry well.

 

What is the hole in the ground for? As Pulpo said, drainage away from this structure is best.

 

Is that rotten piece a vertical timber into the ground? It looks like the conservatory was constructed like a deck and without a traditional footer and foundation wall.

 

Yeah it does seem to be constructed like a deck.

The rotten piece (where the hole is) is a vertical bit of timber into the ground, supported by concrete.

 

I wonder if the posts were pressure treated ?? It would be difficult to replace the post. You might could get by with replacing the post with a cap block. What type of climate are you in? does it freeze much in the winter?