On Sat, 01 Sep 2007 17:50:49 -0700, John J. Beltham wrote:

I am in the process of evaluating a house for possible purchase. While
inspecting it I noticed that the roof was sagging. I crawled into the
attic and noticed that a main support timber had failed and someone
had attempted to brace it. You can see a photo here
http://s216.photobucket.com/albums/cc81/digital686/ This is not the
roof in question but ithe picture depects exactly what I found in the
attic. I plan on having a licensed roofing contractor evaluate the
roof. The house is circa 1955 and built on a slab. I do not see any
cracks in the stucco or drywall, just one small area that is sagging
on the roof above where this timber is. I was just wondering what
could cause this timber to fail?

Probably defective timber, but it makes no nevermind.

You can brace it and level it and it will last forever so take the
money you spend on inspectors and put it in bracing timber.

..