Buckling of roof

[josephsapien]

A home I am considering buying has a roof with warped shingles and a buckled roof surface.  What are the causes of the buckling?

[Marc]

Buckling can be sourced in either the shingles or the roof deck.

Shingles butted together too tightly during installation on a cold day will sometimes buckle up later when temperatures are warmer.

The house of a friend of mine had a foundation failure from 14 inches of flood waters that poured into the house and buckled the plywood roof deck in several places, quite badly too.

Edited November 5, 2017 by Marc

[Jim Katen]

It's impossible to say without seeing some pictures and knowing what the construction methods are.

Wood shingles, shakes, 3-tab comp, laminated comp, or what? 

What kind of roof framing, trusses or rafters? Spacing? 

What kind of roof deck, plywood, shiplap, or skip sheathing with plywood on top. If plywood, what thickness? 

Crawlspace or basement? Water problems? 

Even with all of the necessary data, we can't really say without seeing it. 

 

 

 

[josephsapien]

2 hours ago, Jim Katen said:

It's impossible to say without seeing some pictures and knowing what the construction methods are.

Wood shingles, shakes, 3-tab comp, laminated comp, or what? 

What kind of roof framing, trusses or rafters? Spacing? 

What kind of roof deck, plywood, shiplap, or skip sheathing with plywood on top. If plywood, what thickness? 

Crawlspace or basement? Water problems? 

Even with all of the necessary data, we can't really say without seeing it. 

 

 

 

I don't have pictures or know the construction method.  In fact, the seller has placed all kinds of stuff in the garage.  It would be very difficult to pull out the attic ladder and look into below the roof.  And my understanding is that home inspectors will not touch/move the stuff in the garage to bring down the ladder because of liability.

Further, the seller has never lived there.  The seller is the trustee of mom's house.  

Edited November 5, 2017 by josephsapien

[John Kogel]

Not occupied, no problem then. 

Tell your inspector and the trustee that somebody  may need to move stuff, but you must see pictures taken in the attic.You need to know the insulation depth and type, and not just sampled beside the hatch. He needs to check the back corners of the attic, looking for signs of moisture damage, pests such as rodents, and leaking vent pipes. Sometimes in a 60's house, the kitchen hood fan is belching bacon fat into the attic.

Rats chew on wiring and are hard to eradicate, since most of them were born there.

By the way, a walkout basement is a good thing usually, lots of slope for good drainage. Concrete block wall cracks need an experienced eye, but if the gaps are less than 3/16ths inches wide, look to see if movement is recent or old cracks. With a pipe scope camera, look to see if perimeter drains are clear. Direct downspouts away several feet from the basement back corners.

 

Edited November 6, 2017 by John Kogel

[Jim Katen]

On 11/5/2017 at 1:05 PM, josephsapien said:

I don't have pictures or know the construction method.  In fact, the seller has placed all kinds of stuff in the garage.  It would be very difficult to pull out the attic ladder and look into below the roof.  And my understanding is that home inspectors will not touch/move the stuff in the garage to bring down the ladder because of liability.

I guess I've wasted hundreds of hours moving stuff during my inspections. . . 

You're asking for information that no one can give you from a distance. 

We can't remote-inspect a house for you. 

[josephsapien]

15 hours ago, Jim Katen said:

I guess I've wasted hundreds of hours moving stuff during my inspections. . . 

You're asking for information that no one can give you from a distance. 

We can't remote-inspect a house for you. 

I understand.  Thank you.