Roof Problem - Major or Minor Problem?
 

Greetings,


Help! What's wrong with this roof? We are considering buying a house
that is 6 years old. We have through Monday to make our decision. The
house is in perfect condition.. except for the roof. There are no
leaks/moisture spots in the house. There are no leaks visible in the
attic.


PROBLEM: Quite a few shingles are slightly raised. Not buckled, or
warped, just raised slightly --at random-- primarily over the west side

of the roof. One area of the roof appears wavy. Almost all the aluminum

drip caps --where they overlay the other drip caps-- are raised by 1/4
inch. The drip cap ends are raised enough to start making inverted "v"
indentations in the shingles above them.
None of the other roofs in the same neighborhood --the houses were all
built at the same time-- have the same problem. All their shigles are
flat and their drip caps are not raised.


There is a bonus room built in the attic and I am wondering if there
isn't enough ventilation.


Thanks!

A photo would help but with a finished attic it is a real posibility
that there is no roof ventilation or air gap inbetween the roof deck and
insulation. My neighbor has a cathedral ceiling their roof that is in
direct sun was trash after 7 yrs a 35 yr roof. Soffit vents and ridge
vent may or may not help, air still may not circulate. Are any areas in
complete shade that are ok. Look into it before you buy . An air gap
before the attic insulation was instaled and proper venting would have
cured it, if it is a venting air circulation issue. You dont want to pay
for a new roof every 10 yrs.

Patrick wrote:
Greetings,


Help! What's wrong with this roof? We are considering buying a house
that is 6 years old. We have through Monday to make our decision. The
house is in perfect condition.. except for the roof. There are no
leaks/moisture spots in the house. There are no leaks visible in the
attic.


PROBLEM: Quite a few shingles are slightly raised. Not buckled, or
warped, just raised slightly --at random-- primarily over the west side

of the roof. One area of the roof appears wavy. Almost all the aluminum

drip caps --where they overlay the other drip caps-- are raised by 1/4
inch. The drip cap ends are raised enough to start making inverted "v"
indentations in the shingles above them.
None of the other roofs in the same neighborhood --the houses were all
built at the same time-- have the same problem. All their shigles are
flat and their drip caps are not raised.


There is a bonus room built in the attic and I am wondering if there
isn't enough ventilation.


Thanks!

(Not the roof expert...)

You could be right about the ventilation issue.
This sounds like the roof deck (plywood?) is
de-laminating and buckling, perhaps from moisture.

If you really like the house, negotiate with the
seller after getting prices from reputable roofers.
Have the roofer include a means of remediating the
venting problem.

Jim

Patrick wrote:
Greetings,


Help! What's wrong with this roof? We are considering buying a house
that is 6 years old. We have through Monday to make our decision. The
house is in perfect condition.. except for the roof. There are no
leaks/moisture spots in the house. There are no leaks visible in the
attic.


PROBLEM: Quite a few shingles are slightly raised. Not buckled, or
warped, just raised slightly --at random-- primarily over the west side

of the roof. One area of the roof appears wavy. Almost all the aluminum

drip caps --where they overlay the other drip caps-- are raised by 1/4
inch. The drip cap ends are raised enough to start making inverted "v"
indentations in the shingles above them.
None of the other roofs in the same neighborhood --the houses were all
built at the same time-- have the same problem. All their shigles are
flat and their drip caps are not raised.


There is a bonus room built in the attic and I am wondering if there
isn't enough ventilation.


Thanks!


Patrick,

Seems to me a qualified home inspector is in order.

"Patrick" wrote in message
oups.com...
Greetings,


Help! What's wrong with this roof? We are considering buying a house
that is 6 years old. We have through Monday to make our decision. The
house is in perfect condition.. except for the roof. There are no
leaks/moisture spots in the house. There are no leaks visible in the
attic.


PROBLEM: Quite a few shingles are slightly raised. Not buckled, or
warped, just raised slightly --at random-- primarily over the west side

of the roof. One area of the roof appears wavy. Almost all the aluminum

drip caps --where they overlay the other drip caps-- are raised by 1/4
inch. The drip cap ends are raised enough to start making inverted "v"
indentations in the shingles above them.
None of the other roofs in the same neighborhood --the houses were all
built at the same time-- have the same problem. All their shigles are
flat and their drip caps are not raised.


There is a bonus room built in the attic and I am wondering if there
isn't enough ventilation.


Thanks!


Have a good roofer quote the repairs / new roof and ask the sellers to pick
up the tab by putting the money into escrow. This way you have control over
the roofing process not the seller who will be long gone as well as the
roofer if there are problems later...Good luck in your new home, Ross

On Sun, 27 Mar 2005 12:14:12 -0500, "Ross Mac"
wrote:


"Patrick" wrote in message
roups.com...
Greetings,


Help! What's wrong with this roof? We are considering buying a house
that is 6 years old. We have through Monday to make our decision. The
house is in perfect condition.. except for the roof. There are no
leaks/moisture spots in the house. There are no leaks visible in the
attic.


PROBLEM: Quite a few shingles are slightly raised. Not buckled, or
warped, just raised slightly --at random-- primarily over the west side

of the roof. One area of the roof appears wavy. Almost all the aluminum

drip caps --where they overlay the other drip caps-- are raised by 1/4
inch. The drip cap ends are raised enough to start making inverted "v"
indentations in the shingles above them.
None of the other roofs in the same neighborhood --the houses were all
built at the same time-- have the same problem. All their shigles are
flat and their drip caps are not raised.


There is a bonus room built in the attic and I am wondering if there
isn't enough ventilation.


Thanks!


Have a good roofer quote the repairs / new roof and ask the sellers to pick
up the tab by putting the money into escrow. This way you have control over
the roofing process not the seller who will be long gone as well as the
roofer if there are problems later...Good luck in your new home, Ross


My guess is that the seller will balk at "picking up the tab", as he
probably should. I'd advise the seller to add an "AS IS" clause to
the contract..

My guess also is that the OP here will NOT be buying this house.

On Sun, 27 Mar 2005 08:36:35 -0600, (m Ransley)
wrote:

A photo would help but with a finished attic it is a real posibility
that there is no roof ventilation or air gap inbetween the roof deck and
insulation. My neighbor has a cathedral ceiling their roof that is in
direct sun was trash after 7 yrs a 35 yr roof. Soffit vents and ridge
vent may or may not help, air still may not circulate. Are any areas in
complete shade that are ok. Look into it before you buy . An air gap
before the attic insulation was instaled and proper venting would have
cured it, if it is a venting air circulation issue. You dont want to pay
for a new roof every 10 yrs.

I have a cathedral ceiling with inadequate (no) ventilation in hot
Houston on the south side of the house. Theres 10 inches of
insulation there but no room for air flow from sophit vent to ridge
vent due to the insulation completely filling the space.

That part of my roof had massive 20yr shingle failure after 15
years. No buckling of plywood but the shingles were toast ONLY on
that side of the roof.

Home depot has these lightweight 2 inch vent panels that lay on the
insulation and provide a air flow channel that I wish were up
there.....

I can see where (starting at the point where the knee wall meets the
angled ceiling wall) the angled ceiling sheetrock is supported by the
same series of 2x4 (2 x 6?) that are used for the roof support. In
other words, there is
roofing
plywood (on top of supporting stud)
roof supporting studs --with insulation between the studs (no air
space)
sheetrock (on bottom of supporting stud)

Thanks.

On 27 Mar 2005 05:36:08 -0800, "Patrick"
wrote:

Greetings,


Help! What's wrong with this roof? We are considering buying a house
that is 6 years old. We have through Monday to make our decision. The
house is in perfect condition.. except for the roof. There are no
leaks/moisture spots in the house. There are no leaks visible in the
attic.


PROBLEM: Quite a few shingles are slightly raised. Not buckled, or
warped, just raised slightly --at random-- primarily over the west side

of the roof. One area of the roof appears wavy. Almost all the aluminum

drip caps --where they overlay the other drip caps-- are raised by 1/4
inch. The drip cap ends are raised enough to start making inverted "v"
indentations in the shingles above them.
None of the other roofs in the same neighborhood --the houses were all
built at the same time-- have the same problem. All their shigles are
flat and their drip caps are not raised.


There is a bonus room built in the attic and I am wondering if there
isn't enough ventilation.


Thanks!

I think most follow-up post are correct...sounds like inadequate
ventilation. I can't think of any fix for this except for taking out
the sheetrock in the cathedral area and reworking the insulation with
proper air flow baffles. If indeed it is so bad that the roof
decking is delaminating and needs replacing then it would probably be
better to re-do the insulation from the top side. A roofer and/or
insulation company might have better solutions to offer.

However, the house is only 6 years old? I wonder if the original
contractor could be held responsible for this. I'm pretty sure that
insulating without adequate airspace is a code violation. A couple of
years ago I repaired a rotten wooden chimney that had rotted because
of improper flashing and Centex (the homebuilder) paid for the repairs
which totaled about $750.

If it is venting gutting the attic may be necessary to add air space
at the roof deck, Major job. Dont buy any house before you get an
inspector out, one that has proper insurance.

Patrick wrote:
Greetings,


Help! What's wrong with this roof? We are considering buying a house
that is 6 years old. We have through Monday to make our decision. The
house is in perfect condition.. except for the roof. There are no
leaks/moisture spots in the house. There are no leaks visible in the
attic.


PROBLEM: Quite a few shingles are slightly raised. Not buckled, or
warped, just raised slightly --at random-- primarily over the west side

of the roof. One area of the roof appears wavy. Almost all the aluminum

drip caps --where they overlay the other drip caps-- are raised by 1/4
inch. The drip cap ends are raised enough to start making inverted "v"
indentations in the shingles above them.
None of the other roofs in the same neighborhood --the houses were all
built at the same time-- have the same problem. All their shigles are
flat and their drip caps are not raised.


There is a bonus room built in the attic and I am wondering if there
isn't enough ventilation.


Thanks!


I'm not a roofer either, but I go along with the
idea that the roof sheets are deteriorating for
whatever reason and will likely have to be
replaced. You may get away with just redoing the
West side, so just figure a that into your
purchase costs.