Thread: Roof Pitch Change

Has anybody ever seen this before. 2/12 pitched roof modified to a 4/12 pitch. They literally jacked the roof up in the center and filled in the framing were it was short. The original roof (probably built up with gravel) has been replace with concrete tile. Yes, I deferred to a structural engineer.

The full lift can best be seen at the garage firewall. The rafters at the fireplace were cut off, the metal straps can be seen still attached.

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It looks to be done correctly based on your photos, except they should have transferred the fireplace straps to the new rafters. Usually when a roof pitch change is done the old rafters will remain and new framing will be applied on top of the old. The method shown in your pictures is the preferred method.

I looked at the photos again and have one question. Do the "new" rafters extend all the way from the ridge board to the bearing walls, or are they merely spliced to the "old" rafters? If they extend, no problem. If they are merely spliced to the "old" rafters your engineer should check the moment splice for adequacy.

Originally Posted by Thom Huggett

Do the "new" rafters extend all the way from the ridge board to the bearing walls, or are they merely spliced to the "old" rafters?

The rafters are spliced to fill in the gap at the ridge. I did not see any full length rafters except at the fireplace.

It's a hack job, IMO. Inconsistent, and poorly executed. Would you buy it?

To answer your questions, I have seen this before. I have even seen it done well before. This is not an example of well done. There must be evidence of this work in the drip eaves, so I would check closely there for possible water entry points. There are options for the structural work, but this example is incomplete.

This is the comment that went in my report.

The roof pitch has been altered after original construction. The inspector assumes this was done at the time of the tile roof retrofit. Most of the rafters in the attic and garage are not full length and are spliced near the ridge beam. The mid-span supports (purlins) are under-sized (smaller than the rafter) and improperly installed. Structural changes to the roofing system and retrofitting to concrete tile is not allowed without permits and engineering approval. Verification of permits and engineering approval was not done by us and is beyond the scope of our inspection. Recommend further evaluation and repairs as needed by a state licensed structural engineer prior to the close of escrow.

Don,

Agree with John & Darrel that this appears to be a 'hack job' and 'not done well'.

-There does not appear to be any 'positive connectors' at the bottoms of the cut/extended 2x6 rafters
- The modified 2x6 rafters are not close to opposite each other at the hip/ridge boards
- Those 2x4 'purlins' are not properly sized OR installed correctly, which should be 'no smaller than the 2x6 rafters, with the horizontal bracing installed 'on edge', not 'flat' and sagging like that.

Steve L.