Engineered repair?

[Wasden]

Sorry I don't have the photo but I sketched this. While starting my inspection I noticed a drooping roof plane. The seller made it difficult for me to get to the hatch to the attic. I'm glad I took the time to check it out. It looked like the three rafters were cracked and this angle iron bracket with a strut welded at 90 degree with cables attached to put upward pressure on the rafter. Anyone see anything like it before? Thanks, Steve

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[Jim Katen]

Sorry I don't have the photo but I sketched this. While starting my inspection I noticed a drooping roof plane. The seller made it difficult for me to get to the hatch to the attic. I'm glad I took the time to check it out. It looked like the three rafters were cracked and this angle iron bracket with a strut welded at 90 degree with cables attached to put upward pressure on the rafter. Anyone see anything like it before? Thanks, Steve

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I've seen it done several times to support sagging beams in accessory structures, never in a house and never on a rafter. As long as the cable connection points are solid, it'll work just fine. Seems like an awful lot of trouble to go through when you could just sister a new rafter next to the old.

[Erby]

Must have been an engineer wannabe!

[AHI in AR]

As Jim said, it will work just fine if the conditions he stated are met. They've built a truss.

And not to put too fine a point on it, but it doesn't really put "upward" pressure on the rafter; it provides resistance to deflection at the center of the rafter.

[Marc]

The cables don't provide any uplift capacity. Uplift capacity is needed to resist the effects of wind on the leeward side of the roof.

Marc

[John Kogel]

It is not a typical engineered rafter repair, so I would be inclined to call for some paperwork signed by the 'engineer'.

When he can't produce this paper, we can get a real engineer to draw up a proper repair, or simply get an experienced builder to sister the rafters.

With a slight bit of movement, that cable can just pop off the brace and become useless. I'll search for the pics.

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One cable had popped off. A couple of years later, I returned to inspect another unit and found that the management had repaired this. It may been nudged by a truck.

[Jim Baird]

Give him a C for creativity. Looks like a bubba design, tho.

[Chad Fabry]

I did that to my barn's central support beam. The roof was down, the walls were spreading and the beam was sagging. I ran the cable through the walls and under the beam, tightened the turnbuckles and now everything is where it's supposed to be.

[Wasden]

Thank you everyone. I suspect that it didn't work too well since I saw the flaw on the exterior walk. Sure glad I took the extra effort to look into the attic.

[Erby]

"Extra" effort to look in the attic?

Really?

[John Kogel]

"Extra" effort to look in the attic?

Really?

Yeah, I did a double take, and it seems he had to climb over or move obstacles placed by the seller to block access to the hatch.

[Erby]

Well, hell! Where's that "feeling foolish" icon at.

Now I understand the extra effort with the seller placing obstacles in the way to the access.

Guess I should have read the whole thread again.

[hausdok]

Well, hell! Where's that "feeling foolish" icon at.

At the left of the composition box. Click on the "show entire smile list" selection.

Which one do you want?

[:-boggled [:-dopey] [:-dunce] [:-paperba []

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! [:-spin]

Mike