Common Roof Support Problems and their Solutions
A roof is technically the most important part of any house; this is the first part everyone will look at it on the first impression and so a beautiful roof makes a beautiful house. However there is more importance than just beauty, this is the part of the house that protects us from different harsh weather conditions, whether the harsh sun in summer or the coldness and the snow in winter. This is the reason why you need to have a very strong roof that is in perfect condition.
The strength of the roof entirely depends on the support it gets, a roof cannot just stand on the walls without something supporting it, and trusses are the supporters to the roof. Sometimes there arises some problems with the roof support structure which threatens the strength of your roof; the problems on the supports can create a problem to the whole structure. So what causes roof support problems? Well, you don’t really need to worry if you don’t know because in this article I will be taking you through the common causes of these roof support problems and how you can solve them.
Weak materials
This is one of the most common causes of roof support problems. The supports are commonly made of wood or steel beams. There are very many things that should be considered before a material is chosen for a roof, one of the things is the strength of the material, and the material should be strong enough to support the roof. For instance if the roof is designed to rise very high, it will need to have very strong supporting material for it to withstand the destructors that come its way like heavy winds among others. Sometimes the roof can be designed to be very wide or very heavy depending to the structure itself, such roofs needs very strong materials for roof support. Generally, weaker materials will cause problems to roof support, one of the most common results might be roof sagging.
Leaking roof
A leaking roof is a very big problem to a roofing support materials, especially if it is made of wood, mostly a roof will leak if the builder made some mistakes while erecting the roof, maybe wrong nailing or poor ridging which will give an inlet for water especially if it is a rainy season. Some other causes might be due to condensation of the moisture in the air due to poor ventilations. The water that leaks gets in contact with the wood used to make the trusses, they will then rot which may break and cause a lot of damages to the roof.
Poor bracing
Roof supports are not made from trusses only, the trusses will need braces to hold them together. Braces are the materials that are nailed across the trusses to help in the support of the weight of the roof; they is very common especially in the extra wide roofs. If you make a choice to use poor materials for braces, you will automatically be weakening the trusses and the whole roof, another thing is the correct positioning of the braces, they play a very big role in the distribution of the weight of the whole roof to the wall and so if they are not positioned correctly, the weight of the roof will not be distributed evenly making it to lean on one side. For the strength of you roof, make sure you have a qualified professional to help you in the construction.
Harsh weather
Sometimes, all the problems that are associated with the roof support might be brought about by very harsh weather conditions, for instance very strong winds are very dangerous for the roof, this is especially if all the required building standards are not met, the winds can easily carry away the roof. Some of the requirements needed might be in relation to the size and height of the roof and the ventilation that are available, if they are not met; it makes the roof very weak and prone to such weather conditions. For you to be able to prevent this, you need to check with the building regulations with your contractor and make sure that all are met.
How are there roofing problems solved?
Problems with roof support cannot be neglected because they can turn into a real damage to the property; this is the reason why a solution should be found quickly for you to stay safe in your house. There are two ways to get a solution to this.
Roof repairs
This will be the very first thing that will run your mind if you get some real damages to your roof support. You need to find an expert in the field tom help you with the repairing of the roof, they will first asses the cause of the damage and get the solution for it, if it is all about leakages, they can fix the roof. Remember that this method is only applicable when the damage is not too much extended, however, if the damage is beyond repair, you will have to opt for the second method of solving this which is restoration. Repairing is the cheapest method you can use to get your roof back again.
Roof restoration
This is a bit pricy when you compare it to the repairing method; it involves changing the whole roof and replacing it with the new one, however much it seems expensive, it is very effective and very long lasting. You can replace the roof with a more quality materials that the ones that were used before making it to start over as new.
In Awe Roofing Limited is an Award-Winning, family owned and operated Vancouver Roofing Contractor with over 17 years of roofing experience. We serve the entire Lower Mainland area, from Whistler to Chilliwack, employing a team of professional staff members. Our team has won numerous awards including Best of Homestars for the last five years, and Three Best Rated six years in a row. Learn more
