The wooden rafters in your attic may start to rot if your roof leaks or if the humidity levels in your attic are too high. If you notice that one or more of the rafters in your attic are rotting, it's important to call a roof repair service as soon as possible to have them reinforced. Wood rot is caused by a fungus that eats wood, so a rotting rafter will become weaker over time. If it becomes too weak, the rafter may snap and cause your roof to collapse. Having the rafter reinforced by a roof repair service will restore your roof's structural support and stop it from collapsing. To learn how a roof repair service fixes a rotting rafter, read on.
Remove the Rotting Area and Treat the Wood
The first step in repairing a rotting roof rafter is to remove all of the areas that have been eaten by the fungus. This will stop it from spreading further throughout the rafter. Once the damaged areas have been cut away from the wood, the roof will be sprayed with a biocide that will eliminate any fungus that may still be lurking inside the wood. Once all of the fungus is gone, repairs can begin.
Sister a New Rafter to the Damaged One
Rotting rafters are repaired by a process called sistering. This process involves securing a new piece of lumber to the damaged wood to give it more support. The weight of your home's roof will be spread across the weak, damaged rafter and the new lumber attached to it, preventing the weight from cracking the weakened rafter.
To sister new lumber to the rotting rafter, a roof repair service will cut a piece of lumber that's slightly longer than the area that has been eaten by fungus. They'll drill holes into the damaged rafter, then nail the ends of the new lumber into the rafter to fix it in place. Once it's stable, they'll drive bolts through the new lumber into the holes that were drilled into the rafter, which will create a very secure bond between the two pieces of wood.
This process will need to be repeated for any rafter in your attic that is rotting. Once all of the new lumber is in place, your roof's structural support will be restored.
If you've noticed that the rafters in your attic are rotting, call a roof repair company in your area and have them reinforced with new lumber. If you don't reinforce the weakened rafters, your roof may collapse, especially if snow or ice collects on your roof and adds more weight to it. Reinforcing the rafters will restore your roof's strength and prevent a catastrophic collapse.
