Rood Rafters are turning black in my attic in a odd way.

[Emily Saliba]

I bought my house a year ago. It was my first time i check the attic. I found that the rafters are turning black (or they were black). I attached some pictures that i took. I am concern that I may have mold in the attic.
Could any of the expert give me his/her opinion why do you think the rafters are black and the plywood is very clean?

Thank you

[Joe Klampfer]

It appears those trusses were stained long before being placed, notice how 'clean' the OSB sheathing is. Also, the top chord appears rotted in one small area (pic 2) which was likely caused from those trusses sitting exposed to weather for a while before being installed, either that, or the house sat partially built for a long time before the roof was installed.

Sorry to say... you should have had a home inspection, you would've known about this going in.

[Emily Saliba]

It appears those trusses were stained long before being placed, notice how 'clean' the OSB sheathing is. Also, the top chord appears rotted in one small area (pic 2) which was likely caused from those trusses sitting exposed to weather for a while before being installed, either that, or the house sat partially built for a long time before the roof was installed.

Sorry to say... you should have had a home inspection, you would've known about this going in.

good grief :( I paid a lot for an inspector. I don't know why they didn't mention that to me :(
Do you think it is something dangerous and I should replace them?

[Raymond Wand]

It appears you have a leak(s) immediately above the rafter. Likely at a shingle nail which has popped, loose, exposed ...

[Garry Sorrells]

My first thought is that when the roof was done they replaced the deck.
Staining was from previous roof and deck that was leaking and rotten. OSB looks new.

[Joe Klampfer]

Good call guys, I misread the original post & thought the house was only a year old.

[Dom D'Agostino]

Clearly signs of leakage.
Sheathing looks new, as has been stated already.

[John Kogel]

The roof was allowed to leak for a year or more, then the rotten sheathing was torn off and replaced with new OSB.

No mold concerns in the attic but there could be moisture in the interior ceiling and wall cavities.

The truss in pic 2 needs a repair patch, plywood gussets maybe.

[Jerry Peck]

The truss engineer (from the manufacturer of the trusses) or a structural engineer needs to probe those top chords for damage and weakness, and provide an engineer's letter stating that the wood is still structurally sufficient for the design loads the truss was designed for or design appropriate repairs for any and all areas the structural engineer deems insufficient.

Everything else is a guess.

I agree that it looks like the previous roof leaked for a very long time (likely more than a year), and that could very well have damaged the top chords from the top down internally from the visible surfaces.

[Mark Reinmiller]

At photo 2 the damage appears to be from a roof leak. The amount of staining at other areas makes me think more about excessive moisture accumulation-maybe also being trapped by insulation against the roof sheathing. The roof sheathing was obviously replaced, but if this is a moisture issue they may not have dealt with it. It would be helpful to know the age of the roof sheathing (should be the same as the roofing). If it has been around for a couple years than I would be less concerned about a present moisture problem.

Some of the top chords may need repairs. Since these are compression members and have sheathing attached to them this situation is a little better than if other members are damaged, but some may be. I would be more concerned about the metal plate connections. They can be weakened significantly if the wood is deteriorated, and changed in moisture can cause plated to withdraw from the wood. This was not properly dealt with when the roof sheathing was replaced. Whether the contractor ignored it, did not evaluate it properly, or advised the owner who did not follow up on it is another story.

If you had a home inspection this should have been identified.

[Raymond Wand]

Mark, what insulation against the sheathing? Am I missing something?

[Mark Reinmiller]

Mark, what insulation against the sheathing? Am I missing something?

I occasionally see insulation installed against the underside of the roof sheathing. This sometimes leads to the type of staining noted near the top of some truss chords. If it had been present it would have been removed when the sheathing was replaced. I'm not saying it was there for certain, just a possibility. The sheathing must have gotten very wet to stain the trusses that much.

I have also seen some trusses stained from certain FRT plywood, but not often.

[Raymond Wand]

Thanks Mark for the clarification. Wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something in the photos.

[ROBERT YOUNG]

I bought my house a year ago. It was my first time i check the attic. I found that the rafters are turning black (or they were black). I attached some pictures that i took. I am concern that I may have mold in the attic.
Could any of the expert give me his/her opinion why do you think the rafters are black and the plywood is very clean?

Thank you

Fink truss, not rafters.

Roof likely required resurfacing moons ago.
Looks like there is more work to do now unfortunately.

[Eric Barker]

Hi Emily,

I have extensive experience with such conditions. While the roof may have had previous leakage it's quite unlikely that it caused all of the staining. Leaks are localized events, the staining in your photos is uniform. The attic has had moisture issues (as opposed to just roof leakage). The question is whether the cause for the moisture has been corrected. Considering the staining I would be wondering about how wet the insulation had become. Sometimes there can be fungal growth in the insulation in which case the insulation should be discarded.

I really do not have any doubt that the roof sheathing was replaced and that the trusses were not remediated for potential mold presence. I certainly can't say what background your inspector had but at least he should have pointed out the staining so that you could have asked the seller about it.

[Emily Saliba]

Hi Emily,

I have extensive experience with such conditions. While the roof may have had previous leakage it's quite unlikely that it caused all of the staining. Leaks are localized events, the staining in your photos is uniform. The attic has had moisture issues (as opposed to just roof leakage). The question is whether the cause for the moisture has been corrected. Considering the staining I would be wondering about how wet the insulation had become. Sometimes there can be fungal growth in the insulation in which case the insulation should be discarded.

I really do not have any doubt that the roof sheathing was replaced and that the trusses were not remediated for potential mold presence. I certainly can't say what background your inspector had but at least he should have pointed out the staining so that you could have asked the seller about it.

I really appreciate all your comments and advice. Unfortunately, the inspector I got didn't mention anything about the attic and sadly he charged me more than any other company charges :(.
The reason I am afraid is that my 15 month daughter is always sick since she was born. She is having the same symptoms as if we are living in a mold house (sinus infection, Bronchitis, ear infection, Pink eye, difficulty breathing). I will get a company to change the entire roof for me with all the necessary structure needed. Also, I will get a mold inspector to make sure nothing is affection our health.

Do you guys know how much I am expecting to pay to fix the attic? I live in a townhouse. It is 1600 sqft. Any company recommendation in Maryland? Do you think the home insurance company covers such damage?

Thanks again all