# Need advice on the best way to handle this please



## Tylersloan (May 8, 2012)

Hey ,
I'm new here me and the wife just bought our first home we have lived here for about three months .
Yesterday I was cleaning the gutters and noticed that the bathroom roof looked funny as I inspected it further I seen that the roll out had a dip and the plywood is rotten under it .
The roof measures out to four sq the pitch is roughly 4 . Question is do I have to use roll out again or can I just shingle it ? Reason I ask is because this roof meets with the main roof and that part is a 10/12 pitch and it surrounds the flat  roof on two sides


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## nealtw (May 8, 2012)

Hey Tyler, welcome to the site. I can't answer your question so I will ask some of my own. This damage may be caused by whats below it instead of bad roofing. How much insulation do you have under that section of roof and is there air flow from the soffit to the peak. How much of a gap between insulation and the sheeting the was rotten. If you are in a colder zone this damage may have been caused by icedam and or roofing overheating in the summer.


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## Tylersloan (May 9, 2012)

I live in Peoria Illinois and can't tell how much insulation but judging by the roof and the bathroom ceiling I'm betting close to none . I'll take pictures tomorrow and post em up


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## Tylersloan (May 9, 2012)

And also about three good inches of wood is gone under the drip edge behind the gutter


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## Tylersloan (May 9, 2012)

Here it is from the side of the house


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## oldognewtrick (May 9, 2012)

Tyler do you have any roofing experience, or do you know someone who does? Also does the bathroom have a exhaust vent?


Oh yea... to *House Repair Talk*!


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## Tylersloan (May 9, 2012)

And here is the damage my hand is actually lifting the drip edge and part of the rotten plywood under the roll out roof .
Question can I re roof this with shingles or will I have to make a steeper pitch ? Really don't want to use roll out again


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## Tylersloan (May 9, 2012)

I have done roofs before yes but I don't know it all but I know if I get the right help I can tackle this myself .
Most of my roofing experience is throwing shingles and tare off but I have hand banged a few out . As far as a vent it did till it burnt up the tube coming out of the roof is flush and it looks like there is stuff in side of the vent pipe


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## Tylersloan (May 9, 2012)

Here is the bathroom inside the home would just love to gut it and start from scratch but my pocket book won't allow that right now

As you can see head room is not the best that's why I think raising the pitch would make more since and extend the wall by about 2 1/2 feet up


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## nealtw (May 9, 2012)

In the photo of the outside, it would appear that the bathroom is an add-on.  Is the whole room outside the main barring wall or has part of the wall been removed?  I don't see any reason why you couldn't raise the pitch of that roof.


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## Tylersloan (May 9, 2012)

No walls that I know of have been removed but this house has been monkeyed around with since 1950 . It was a one bedroom small house originally and now it's almost 2,200 sq ft I would love to get a structural engineer to take a look at it before I dive in but at last resort I'll call the city . 
Really don't want to go there because I know the home has major issues structurally and those will be fixed at the same time I just don't need it condemned in the mean time


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## nealtw (May 10, 2012)

If the whole bathroom is outside the original wall there would be no problem raising the outside wall to full height and adding a new shed roof to tie in to the old roof, I would take it right up to the peek behind it in the photo outside.


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## Tylersloan (May 10, 2012)

Thanks that's what I'll do after I get proper permits of course also have to run it by the man I bought the home from . Contract for deed home but he is a nice guy and as long as the work is to code he won't have a problem .
Also going to run cobra vent and do fake shake shingles to get away from the three tab that's on it now


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## Tylersloan (May 10, 2012)

Just got on the roof I have 18 ft from my peak to outside wall roughly and there is no vent for the fan thought there was but it's just the sewer gas escape pipe .
Honestly it's the first roof that kind of made me scared I only weigh a buck and a quarter and the roof was moving under my feet as in up and down im going to lowes to price materials may just farm this job out .


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## nealtw (May 10, 2012)

Let me back up again and ask how big is this bathroom and how big is the bump out that is the bathroom. My fear is that some one built a leanto attached the ends of the rafter and then removed part of the wall that support the original rafters. The main roof does appear to sag above that area and would explain the sponge roof when walked on. So in the photo outside we see the corner with a down pipe, measure the wall to the left of that pipe, the one we cannot see. You may find you fan is a direct vent there.


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## Tylersloan (May 10, 2012)

The bump out is 20 IN the length is exactly ten feet . The wall to the left you can't see is 6 ft 3 in took a better picture let me know if you need any more


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## nealtw (May 11, 2012)

When you go thru that door, just to left, is there a wall running from there to the next addition, how many doors and opening are in that wall? Are there headers in those doorways? Driving a few nails 4" above the door will show whether you have headers.


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## Tylersloan (May 11, 2012)

Wall yes and two door ways standard 32 in all I had handy were two in roofing nails drove them above both doors about three in up they hit nothing .
Question could the whole right side be a add on even though there is a basement under it ? The guy next door did say something about stairs outside to the basement out back at one point in the houses history .


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## Tylersloan (May 11, 2012)

Hit something but had to go up higher than four in take a look at the pictures the first and last is bathroom door the middle is going to the back door on the outside of the house


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## nealtw (May 11, 2012)

I was afraid the structure had been compremized by who ever did the add on. In a newer house you would find a double 2x10 header over a door like that. I have seen lots of older houses with a lot less and as we see no stress damage to the plaster on the inside, it is probably ok.
Have you found where the bathroom fan vents?
Have you got access to the attic?
A scary roof that bends a lot when you walk on it could indicate, rafters that are overspanned without enough cross bracing and the fix would be just to add cross bracing from low on one side to center span of the other side.
Worsed case would be that the fan has been pumping water into the attic for years and you could have mold and rot running rampant up there.


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## Tylersloan (May 11, 2012)

I do have access but it's a death trap it's right above the basement stairs . I would have to set a ladder on the stairs and I have a funny feeling the vent was just for show it's wired and I have the breaker shut off it started smoking the first time I used it .


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## nealtw (May 11, 2012)

The fan not working, may be the best news. You will have to find a safe way to get up there and have a look at the structure and if you get up there don't forget the camera. Your best bet is to talk to the local truss company.  Take a few photos of the house and measure everything that you can see before you talk to them, then they will send you home to measure some more. They should be able to give you trusses that sit on the two wall and put very little weight on the old roof. Don't forget to tell them you want to raise the walls at the same time. My first thought was you could run it to the peak but that won't work with the other roof so you will need pictures of the inside of that roof too.


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## nealtw (May 11, 2012)

This is what I had in mind.


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## Tylersloan (May 11, 2012)

Thank you and that's what I had in mind in the last picture also


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## Tylersloan (May 12, 2012)

Will I have to redesign my valley with the dining room roof at all ?  Sorry for the questions I just want to make sure the water flows right


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## nealtw (May 13, 2012)

A truss company would design a valley set to run up that roof too and correct the valley to run properly.


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## Tylersloan (May 14, 2012)

Thank you nealtw I'll post up pictures as I go along talked with the man that is carrying my loan and he said go for it as long as it's done right that's all he cares about ,


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## nealtw (May 14, 2012)

Take some more photo for them from different angles  so they get an idea of what you want. The will need to know the height difference from the dinning room walls and walls supporting the rear main roof. They will ask for the heel cut on each roof, you get that when you look at the rafters from the outside. If you put your tape up the outside of the wall it is the distance from the top of the wall to the underside of the sheeting. They will need the width of the fron door area aswell as the bathroom and the length of both and the pitch of both roofs and they will want you to raise the wall for door area as well.
It sounds like a big deal but a weekend with a helper should have it ready for a roofer.
I would leave ceilings in place and do that work later when you want to gut the bathroom. And you still have to get up in the attic and check for rot and things. If it is just bracing that is needed you could do that at the same time by cutting out some sheeting where it will be covered with the new trusses.


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## Tylersloan (May 14, 2012)

On the heal cut how much should I add for my siding  ? Behind the siding is foam board looks 1/4 inch to me I just can't get my tape all the way to the studs I got ya your talking up and down not rafter overhang . I'm hoping I can do this for less than three grand but I doubt it


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## nealtw (May 14, 2012)

Just measure the outside and tell the the thickness to the studs as best you can. I would be surprized if three didn't get you close and if you do the labour. It's the unknown that will kill you every time.


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## Tylersloan (May 14, 2012)

Well you can say that again Neal been there done that . I was talking with the guy I got the house from and he was like if it was mine I would replace the joists as well well no $&@! .
He did replace some under the kitchen but he only scabbed over one side and left the rotted stuff on there .
As of right now I can't have more than one person in the bathroom at once and don't get me started on the joist they cut two feet out of for a a/c vent or how bout the main support beam they cut in half


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## nealtw (May 14, 2012)

One desaster at a time.


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