Broken Rafter In Attic

Locate the split rafter.

Broken rafter in attic.

I let him empty the attic because he could sit on the side of the entrance pull the stuff to him and toss it down. Overview from time to time an attic rafter will split along a knot typically after having a new roof installed because of the workers walking around on it. Measure the width at one. A rafter might split when heavier roof tiles are installed or if the rafter has.

You actually don t have to remove the broken rafter you can put the new one in right next to it. Measure the length of the split and multiply this measurement by three to determine the length of the metal angle you will need to fix the rafter. But i should know tomorrow. Obviously this is not a good situation as it can cause the entire roof to fail if not addressed.

Repairing this is called scabbing. Rafters can also be damaged by a blow to the roof from falling branches. This board is a section of lumber that is the same thickness as the rafter and 2 feet longer on each side of the damaged section. Add a 2nd rafter to the damaged one the rafter with the same size piece of lumber.

Some say you only have to patch the damaged area going a few few beyond the crack on either end but if you can sister the whole thing and you wont need to worry about future potential cracks. Although the rafter must be replaced if it is completely broken smaller areas of damage can be repaired through the application of a scab board.