Dealing with roof rafter rot

[wolfsburged]

Not actually in the garage but in a sunroom, so forgive the post but I figured everyone here probably knows their way around such things.

Pulled drywall down on this sloped ceiling and found this rafter rotted away. Roof was replaced not too long ago, they obviously did not fix the rafter at that time, although the leak was fixed.

I'm thinking of cutting the rafter where the rot stops, pulling that joist hanger, relocating a new hanger just to the side, and extending a new 2x8 piece along side, perhaps 2' past the cut point on the old and using some nails to tie them together.

Thoughts? Better solutions? Don't want to rip up the roof decking at this time.

Bill

 

[BillK]

Bill,
That sounds like a plan but I would go a lot further than 2 ft past the cut off point on the old joist. I would probably go the entire length if at all possible.

Its really a shame that they didnt fix it while they had the roof off Looks like they replaced the sheathing, would have been pretty simple to do the job right and replace the joist at that time.

 

[Average_Joe]

Needs to be full length. If there are any roofing tacks in the way, they can easily be cut off with a sawzall.

 

[buildmyown]

First would be a call to the contractor that did the roof.

Your plan sounds solid cut the rotted rafter back to solid wood and run a new one right next to it all the way from the header to the peak if you can. Another way ive seen it done is to cut out the rotted section and just replace that with a new 2x6 or 2x8 whatever it might be. Rip some ply wood into 2 strips the width and length you need and using nails from both sides and construction adhesive and make a sandwhich.

 

[CTyankee]

Did the roof originally have a skylight?..I find the way the whole room was framed confusing...

 

[trbomax]

I would say the reason they didnt do anything with it was because of the drywall on the other side. They could have at least showed it to you.

 

[Consaka]

let me guess, Professional contractor work?
Sadly if it was me I would run a twin rafter right next to that one all the way back.
Now you could take a bit of a shortcut but you still want your new rafter to go back as far as possible. Jack everything in place and then glue and screw the two rafters together. Nail them too for the guys that dont like deck screws in their framing. Then I would cut out all the old rafter pieces that were rotted off. Might need some more work that I cant see.

Not actually in the garage but in a sunroom, so forgive the post but I figured everyone here probably knows their way around such things.

Pulled drywall down on this sloped ceiling and found this rafter rotted away. Roof was replaced not too long ago, they obviously did not fix the rafter at that time, although the leak was fixed.

I'm thinking of cutting the rafter where the rot stops, pulling that joist hanger, relocating a new hanger just to the side, and extending a new 2x8 piece along side, perhaps 2' past the cut point on the old and using some nails to tie them together.

Thoughts? Better solutions? Don't want to rip up the roof decking at this time.

Bill

 

[wolfsburged]

Yes, professional roofing company with good reviews on Angies' List, etc. Still goes to show nobody is looking out for your personal interests except you. I was even there most of the time but manage to miss checking that area between pulling up the old decking and putting down new.

There was indeed a skylight there originally, that explains some of the framing, and the entirety of the damage.

This roof is an add-on to the house, so the other end of that rafter is also on a joist hanger attached to a reinforced soffit, essentially. My biggest concern with a full length joist replacement is also dealing with that other hanger - won't be able to really attach the sister joist to the "soffit" side because of the hanger.

Thanks for all the advice.

 

[Consaka]

Probably but sheetrock is pretty cheap and easy to fix. Course I have a professional guy that pretty much looks at each room and says $200.00
I have seen the sandwich solution previously mentioned as well. Seems to do ok as long as it doesnt get wet. The best fix is to replace the whole thing if you can though. Little extra work but worth it in my opinion. A sawsall with a long thin metal blade will do wonders on nails if you have enough room to use it.

I would say the reason they didnt do anything with it was because of the drywall on the other side. They could have at least showed it to you.

 

[CTyankee]

It's hard to tell from the picture, but that hanger doesn't seem like it's hanging on to much. Regardless..you can put a 2x support under what's left of the existing rafter and remove the bracket and sister in a new rafter next to the old one...Sizing it as close to the old one as possible...Glue and screw both together. If the rotted end had any good wood left clean it up and replace the hanger with a double one ..if it's totally shot just put a bracket on the new one.

To be honest...I still have issues with how the framing was done. But apparently you're not having any other problems with the structure so I'll just stick with suggesting how to deal with the rafter.

 

[AZ Pete]

If that black stuff is mold, might as well take care of that too.