Keeping the roof frame in good repair is essential to a long-lasting roof.
It is essential to make needed repairs to the frame before installing new decking or shingles. The roof frame serves as a foundation of sorts, and no amount of patching on top can prevent further depreciation if the frame is out of alignment or sagging. Most frames are accessible through an attic or crawlspace above the rooms on the top floor. If yours is not, the decking will need to be removed to allow the frame to be accessed for repairs. The two most common repair procedures are reinforcing joints and adding parallel and vertical cripples. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
Reinforcing Open Joints
1. Examine the joints between the peaks of your rafters, the ends of your rafters where they meet the wall and the floor joists of your attic space at each end of every board for loose joints. Mark any joint that has more than a 1/8-in. visible gap with chalk to make sure they all get attention.
2. Hammer joint members back into position as much as possible to restore the joint. Hold boards together with clamps wherever you can.
3. Install nail-down mending plates designed for rafter joints to the face of any loose rafter peak joint. Lay the plate flat against the face of the rafters and pound the barbs in firmly with a framing hammer. Install a second plate on the reverse side of the joint if there is room.
4. Place a hurricane tie, available in lumber yards, in the corner of any rafter end joint or floor joist joint that needs reinforcing. Fit the tie into the corner so that it connects the joist or rafter firmly to the perpendicular frame piece it was attached to. Drive 1-1/4-in. treated deck screws through every available screw hole, seating them firmly.
Adding Horizontal Cripples
5. Attach a piece of lumber the same width and thickness as your rafter or alongside any split or damaged piece. Cut the cripple as long as the space beside the framing member will allow, and lay it flat against the damaged face.
6. Hold it in place with C-clamps, with the edges of the two boards flush with each other.
7. Drive 3-in. treated deck screws through the cripple into the rafter or joist in two rows, an inch in from each long edge. Space the screws every 12-in. Countersink the heads to ensure a snug fit.
Adding Vertical Cripples
8. Cut 2-by-6 lumber to fit between any rafter that has a cripple attached or appears to be sagging, and the joist below it. Cut the piece a little long and hold it up to the space. Mark the ends against the joist and rafter for accurate angle and dimensions. Cut it with a circular saw.
9. Cut a second piece 7 to 10 in. longer than the first, and nail them together with 16d nails so that the angled cripple is centered in the second board's length.
10. Position the cripple between the rafter and the joist with the cripple below the rafter and above the joist. The longer piece should overhang them at each end. Hammer the cripple firmly into place to lift the rafter up. Attach with screws through the ends of the longer board into the rafter and joist.
Tags: rafter joist, screws through, between rafter, deck screws, deck screws through, flat against, into rafter
