You want a safe home. You want a warm home. And of course, you want an energy-efficient home. Do you know what can help you achieve all of these goals? Your roof. That's right, if you call up a roofer and tell them about your desires, they can recommend some roofing repairs or materials to help you achieve those desires. They may recommend a metal roof, or they might recommend adding zinc strips to the roof peak. It all depends. One thing we can promise, though, is that learning more about roofing is a good idea. This blog is a good resource, but we recommend looking for other ones, too.
5 Signs of Damaged Roof Supports
Your roof is supported by wood or metal trusses. These supports are designed to hold up not only the weight of the roof, but also any weight that collects on it such as from heavy snowfall. Failing supports can lead to a roof collapse, which is both dangerous and damaging.
1. Sagging Ridge or Eaves
It's a good idea to survey the lines of your roof periodically. Support issues often affect the ridgeline or eaves first. If either of these components looks to be sagging in the middle, then there is damage that needs to be addressed. Sagging ridges and eaves put undue stress on both the truss system as well as on the roof decking, so prompt repair is necessary.
2. Interior Wall Cracks
When the trusses are damaged and can no longer properly hold the roof's weight, some of the stress is transferred to the walls of your home. Cracks will often form in the sheetrock or plaster. These cracks tend to develop in the corners of a room or the corners of a window or doorframe. The cracks may stretch straight from the corner to the roof, or they may form on a diagonal.
3. Water Pooling
The main roof plane should be level so that water flows off it easily. If it sags at any point, water will pool on the roof and increase the likelihood of leaks. Sagging is sometimes caused by rotting roof decking, but it can also be a result of a failing support beam that is bowed and no longer supporting the roof properly.
4. Cracked Rafters
You may be able to spot support damage more easily if you examine the inside of your attic. It's a smart idea to periodically peek in the attic to survey the condition of the rafters and truss system. If you see any that are cracked or appear warped, there may be a support problem developing. A roofer can often replace one or two damaged supports without having to replace the entire roof.
5. Squaring Issues
Doors and windows should close and open easily. If they don't, then the roof supports may not be holding up the weight of the roof. When that happens, weight transfers to the walls and it can bow them out of square. The result is doors and windows that no longer open and close easily.
Contact a residential roofing service immediately if you are concerned with the state of the roof supports.