Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie

Roof Sagging. Maybe

  • 01-12-2010 7:39pm
    #1
    hopalong_ie
    Closed Accounts Posts: 175 ✭✭


    Hi All.

    Just looking for some advice. The rafters in my property run front to rear over a 12m span, property is 6m wide. Today I got home to find the ceiling has split / cracked open from side to side in approx the middle of the span of the rafters. I can feel cold air comming from it out of the attic above., crack is near enough one millimetre wide.

    Would you be concerned, the plasterboard has about 2mm of push in it upwards. Any advise.


Comments

  • #2
    gsxr1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,167 ✭✭✭gsxr1


    hopalong_ie wrote: »
    Hi All.

    Just looking for some advice. The rafters in my property run front to rear over a 12m span, property is 6m wide. Today I got home to find the ceiling has split / cracked open from side to side in approx the middle of the span of the rafters. I can feel cold air comming from it out of the attic above., crack is near enough one millimetre wide.

    Would you be concerned, the plasterboard has about 2mm of push in it upwards. Any advise.

    I would get a roofer or an engineer to have a look at this soon. The weight of snow on the roof could be putting stress on the collars/joists.
    Its probably nothing .

    you should at least go up and have a look.


  • #3
    may2001
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 51 ✭✭may2001


    I don't want to be a scare monger, but it is better to be safe than sorry. I would be very cagey about going into the roof space to have a look at the moment, until the snow has gone off the roof.It would probably be OK to stick your head into the attic and see what the roof timbers are like. Some old cut roofs may have inadequate timbers and may already be overloaded with the snow load without having to also carry a moving person.

    Last night, I was going from the garage to the house when I heard a loud bang. It sounded like something had hit the garage roof, but when I got a torch I couldn't see anything. Today, I realized what the loud bang was, when I was going down the road I saw a neighbour's haybarn roof had broken its back and collapsed - probably as a result of the heavy snow load last night. Luckily he only had straw bales in it and not animals.


  • #4
    hopalong_ie
    Closed Accounts Posts: 175 ✭✭hopalong_ie


    Thanks for the advise, the roof is only 20 years old and is constructed of double cantilever prefabbed trusses. Its one of two top floor apartments and its a hipped roof. It seems its definetly the front to rear trusses that are the issue as the crack stops at the point of the box section which supports the hip of the roof. Should I be consulting a structurial engineer specifically or is a roofer okay.


  • #5
    paddy147
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 15,858 ✭✭✭✭paddy147


    Get the snow off the roof asap.

    Just had 12 inches of snow cleared from the kitchen roof,some weight in the snow when it sitting on the roof and freezes over too.:eek:


  • #6
    Carpenter
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,683 ✭✭✭Carpenter


    Where are you based


  • Advertisement
  • #7
    hopalong_ie
    Closed Accounts Posts: 175 ✭✭hopalong_ie


    Hi, i'm in Naas. I have attached a bad image of the craic where I can reach it. It Generally runs over my stairs so I can only reach it at a small section of landing, there is stud walls each side which may or may not be helping but I have noticed in the bathroom the ceiling slab has cracked away from the walls on three sides but that may be due to something else, basically the crack follows along the joint between the ceiling slabs. In the bathroom that is on one wall but its has cracked on all three of four walls there. Attic is well
    insulated with 300mm of fibreglass and there is a storage area but that is near the outwall far from the area of the crack and has nothing supper heavy. A pram and some bits such as clothes and computer cables.


  • #8
    Carpenter
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,683 ✭✭✭Carpenter


    hopalong_ie wrote: »
    Hi, i'm in Naas. I have attached a bad image of the craic where I can reach it. It Generally runs over my stairs so I can only reach it at a small section of landing, there is stud walls each side which may or may not be helping but I have noticed in the bathroom the ceiling slab has cracked away from the walls on three sides but that may be due to something else, basically the crack follows along the joint between the ceiling slabs. In the bathroom that is on one wall but its has cracked on all three of four walls there. Attic is well
    insulated with 300mm of fibreglass and there is a storage area but that is near the outwall far from the area of the crack and has nothing supper heavy. A pram and some bits such as clothes and computer cables.


    Bit far with the snow I could have had a look at it for free if it was a bit closer dont worry it can be fixed but it might be a bigger job than you think it might be an insurance job depending on the size can you get the snow off the roof without putting you life in danger if you can do it asap.


  • #9
    hopalong_ie
    Closed Accounts Posts: 175 ✭✭hopalong_ie


    Thanks Carpenter. Any idea as to what the fix may involve, I was considering an attic conversion next year so possible it would be better to drop in the rsjs and drop the roof load onto them as a fix adhead of a full conversion but it all depends on what a general fix for an issue like this would be. Thanks.


Advertisement