Ever driven by an old home and saw it literally falling apart? One of the main reasons is a lack of quality roof support and as these homes are unoccupied the property and structure isn’t maintained, resulting in deterioration. But it doesn’t take a house to be empty to have structural support issues or need roof restoration or roof replacement. You could be living in a home like this too. In this post, we share 3 common roof support problems and what you should do.

Introducing Roof Support

When you talk about roofs, this doesn’t just mean the physical roof itself but all the parts that support it. Roofs that are well supported have an intricate system of rafters and trusses, holding most of the roof weight and rest on the designated interior, load bearing, walls. For homes with a unique roof shape, trusses are the best choice for supporting a roof. Trusses offer close fabrication tolerances that benefit homes with complex roof framing configurations. One of the main differences between rafters and trusses is that trusses do not need support from partition walls in interior rooms because this technology uses outer bearing points to support their load. Trusses are customised to fit across the entire width of a home.

Roof Support Problems

Roof support problems threatens the safety of everyone inside your home. Whether due to a building defect, regular wear and tear, or an unattended leak, roofs are not impervious to dangerous structural problems, which can inflict serious property damage and bodily harm.

1 Sagging Roof

Roof sagging is a common problem found in both old and new properties. When you look at a house from outside, the roof appears wavy and not straight.  The use of incorrectly sized strutting beams or the incorrect strutting or even the absence of struts to the underpurlin can be causes of roof sagging.

2 Sagging Floor

A structural analysis will usually show that the roof-bracing system picks up most of the roof load (weight). Hence, it is very important that the roof braces land (rest) on only designated interior “load-bearing” walls. Unfortunately, many builders/framers often support the roof bracing systems on the closest or most convenient interior room partition wall. This can lead to long-term floor sagging because most floor joists are not sized for roof loads.

3 Too many ridges

Ridges have a ridge board that doesn’t provide structural support, instead, it acts as a bearing-plate for opposing rafters. When a ridge board is placed in a rafter-framed home and isn’t non-structural, it is essential for the roof rafters to be lapped and connected to the ceiling joists at the exterior wall plate. With all of the overlapping of rafters and the ridge board, the result causes a tension-tie across the home. If any part of the structural support of a rafter-framed roof isn’t accurately placed, the roof will sag causing the interior walls to lean.

What to Look for Outside

Observe the roof from ground level – don’t climb on top of it, especially if you suspect issues with the underlying support system. Is the ridge straight and even? Do you notice areas of the roof’s surface that seem to be sagging? Any buckling and bending evident to the eye from ground level are sure signs the roof’s support system is not up to standard and requires immediate attention.

What to Look for in the Home

When a roof has serious structural issues, signs will begin to show throughout the house too. First, look for cracked plaster and warped window and door frames. When a roof shifts, it can make windows and doors difficult to open and close. Ceilings may also begin to sag, and you might begin to hear a steady increase of creaking or popping sound. Lastly, severe leaks are always a threat to the home’s structure and must be dealt with as soon as possible.

What do you do?

As soon as you suspect your roof is in danger of collapse due to a structural problem, evacuate the property promptly and contact us at Roo Roofing right away for immediate repairs of any structural roof problem in order to limit further damage to your home.