Hi fellow home repair experts and friends,

I have a 12 year old house, with the original roof. On one side of my
roof, there is a sunken rafter which is causing a dip in the roof.


Here are 6 pictures:

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne...2210781&size=l
http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne...2210783&size=l
http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne...2210786&size=l
http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne...2210790&size=l
http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne...2210794&size=l
http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne...2210799&size=l



I was told that it would not move or sink anymore, but I would love to
get your opinion on this matter.


Questions:


1. What caused this to happen?


2. How severe is it?


3. Is it likely to get worse?


4. How common is this problem in other houses?


5. Any other comments or advice?


Thank you in advance.

I have a 12 year old house, with the original roof. On one side of my
roof, there is a sunken rafter which is causing a dip in the roof.
I was told that it would not move or sink anymore, but I would love to
get your opinion on this matter.
1. What caused this to happen?

My guess is that the framing member wasn't nailed down properly if at
all. Has any other part of your house shown the problem? Any problem
with the ceiling inside? If not then it has to be the framing.

2. How severe is it?

I think it's pretty bad. Residential roof are always wildly
overdesigned and failures are rare even in old houses. That house is
pretty new and there's no way that is right.

3. Is it likely to get worse?

I don't think so. Since the problem is at the top of the house there
is no weight bearing on it save the deck and the shingles. Even if the
rafters are on 24" centers that leaves adequate support for now.

4. How common is this problem in other houses?

I have been up on few roofs as a roofer and haven't ever seen one like
that.

5. Any other comments or advice?t

Just document the damage and wait until the roof need to be replaced.
Then you will be able to do something about it.

Claims on the builder can be difficult to pursue but something worth
considering. If you can bring a claim against the builder right away
they might agree to address the sitiuation when the roof is replaced.

1. What caused this to happen?

A framing member might have failed.

2. How severe is it?

Severe enough that I'd look into it.

3. Is it likely to get worse?

Don't know.

4. How common is this problem in other houses?

Don't know but it happened to me and it turned out to be a non-issue ... but
your sag looks worse than mine.


5. Any other comments or advice?

Can you get up into the attic and inspect the roof framing?

A few questions:

is this a trussed roof? how long has the dip been there--could it have
always been there? can you get in the attic? are there any other
symptoms, like cracked sheetrock, a hump on the other side of the roof,
etc?

it could have been there all the time--basically a framing error. if
that's the case, then it is a cosmetic problem that may be hard or
impossible to fix at this point. if on the other hand, it is a
recent development, definitely look into it. hard to imagine a rafter
or truss failing, but it could be a missing connector or something like
that. i'd say your best bet is to have a knowledgeable contractor go
up in the attic and have a look see.

i think some pictures taken in the attic in that area would help figure
out the problem, and how severe it really is

santa's got to lose some weight!
we'd like to see the underside of the problem.
what city is this in will determine the climate and shingle life. in
buffalo ny if there is no leak, plan on fixing it when the shingles
start leaking elswhere after 25-30 year age of roof.
cover the roof dent with a photovoltaic panel:
http://www.buildingscience.com/resou..._PV_Primer.pdf
or a skylight or loveseat balcony.


wrote:
Hi fellow home repair experts and friends,

I have a 12 year old house, with the original roof. On one side of my
roof, there is a sunken rafter which is causing a dip in the roof.


Here are 6 pictures:

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne...2210781&size=l
http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne...2210783&size=l
http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne...2210786&size=l
http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne...2210790&size=l
http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne...2210794&size=l
http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne...2210799&size=l



I was told that it would not move or sink anymore, but I would love to
get your opinion on this matter.


Questions:


1. What caused this to happen?


2. How severe is it?


3. Is it likely to get worse?


4. How common is this problem in other houses?


5. Any other comments or advice?


Thank you in advance.

buffalobill wrote:
santa's got to lose some weight!
we'd like to see the underside of the problem.
what city is this in will determine the climate and shingle life. in
buffalo ny if there is no leak, plan on fixing it when the shingles
start leaking elswhere after 25-30 year age of roof.
cover the roof dent with a photovoltaic panel:
http://www.buildingscience.com/resou..._PV_Primer.pdf
or a skylight or loveseat balcony.


wrote:
Hi fellow home repair experts and friends,

I have a 12 year old house, with the original roof. On one side of my
roof, there is a sunken rafter which is causing a dip in the roof.


Here are 6 pictures:

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne...2210781&size=l
http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne...2210783&size=l
http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne...2210786&size=l
http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne...2210790&size=l
http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne...2210794&size=l
http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne...2210799&size=l



I was told that it would not move or sink anymore, but I would love to
get your opinion on this matter.


Questions:


1. What caused this to happen?


2. How severe is it?


3. Is it likely to get worse?


4. How common is this problem in other houses?


5. Any other comments or advice?


Thank you in advance.



This is like sending a pic to a doctor of a bulge on your side, and
expecting an answer as to what caused it, how serious it is, etc.
Where is a pic from inside? Is the area not accessible from the attic?


Like the Doc, one thing I can tell you is that this is not normal and
needs to be investigated before it gets worse.