This Big Ticket Item Isn’t Just Shingles – Learn About Roof Structure

When I talk to home buyers almost all of them are concerned with the condition of the roof.  This makes sense because problems with the roof can cause trouble in all other parts of the home, and roofs are expensive to replace.  When most people think of getting a new roof, they think of new shingles, but there’s much more that needs to be considered when assessing roof condition.  Like most areas of the home, a roof is a system, and all components need to be in good working order for the larger system to function as it should.

Today I am going to talk about the roof structure and how inadequate bracing can be a much bigger problem than old shingles. The roof structure has to be able to support the weight of the roofing materials and also the forces of wind.  If you’ve ever seen a house getting a new roof you’ve probably see a pallet of shingles, and can probably imagine how heavy it is.  The roof has to support thousands of pounds worth of shingles.  It’s like parking a car on top of you house!  Similarly, if you’ve ever seen a sailboat cutting through the waves on Lake Michigan, you can see how the power of wind can move a huge heavy boat like it’s nothing.  A roof is like a giant sail for your house, but it’s not supposed to move, so it better have a secure structure.

In the picture above you can see the roof is not flat by looking at the lines in the shingles.  The wavy area is an indication of a problem the requires further investigation, which is why the roof is also inspected from the attic.  The attic inspection is very important to a complete roof inspection because you can see the framing.  In the case of the roof above the wind bracing was visibly stressed.  One was even broken!  When one breaks the remaining braces are under even more stress.  How do you think this will end up for the roof?

There are several components to the roof framing, and talking about rafter ties, collar ties, purlins, and engineered trusses goes beyond the scope of this post.  Home buyers are justified in their concern for the condition of the roof.  What they might not know is that there’s a lot more going on than just shingles, and that is why a professional inspection can help them discover defects before they become major problems.