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Discussion Forum

Ceiling Rafter “Droop”

VPayne | Posted in General Discussion on July 26, 2008 02:24am

So a 50 year old house has a bit of a droop in the ceiling as it approaches almost all of the exterior walls. From the code the ceiling rafters are not undersized.

The top of the rafters however are not braced by the attic flooring near the perimeter of the building and the rafters seems to show a bit of a roll near the exterior bearing ends.

What is causing this? Would it be moisture from the outside combined with the heat off the roof? Is there any fix such as scabbing that would be reasonable?

I was almost thinking about scabbing on a metal stud after heating the bottom flange but I would probably set the house on fire in the process…

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  1. Piffin | Jul 26, 2008 02:37am | #1

    I don't quite follow your description.

    Start here -

    cieling ~ joist

    Roof ~ rafter

    You have an attic, the floor of which is thge ceiling joists and the upper framing is the roof rafters.

    This all agreed? Right?

    now using the right terminology and maybe some photos, what is going on? Is the sag in the rafters or in the room under the cieling

     

     

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    1. john7g | Jul 26, 2008 03:22am | #2

      mebbe this'll help him

       

  2. john7g | Jul 26, 2008 03:26am | #3

    so the ceiling joists are rolled/tilted over a bit and not standing vertically? Do they all have the sme roll/tilt/twist?

    any attic storage nearby that might be overloading the joists?

    Metal stud won't do much for straightening twisted lumber. 

    1. Piffin | Jul 27, 2008 11:43pm | #5

      Hello out there.A discussion involves answering the questions posed to you so we can help 

       

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      1. frammer52 | Jul 28, 2008 01:04am | #6

        He has left the room!!

        1. Piffin | Jul 28, 2008 01:58am | #8

          One of those things where he read all our replies first and then left while ignoring any opportunity to reply.Ya never know if you have just been insulted by being ignored while trying to help or if he is off gathering facts and trying to make photos first. It does sound like an interesting problem, but his terminology was adding too much confusion to get it pictured. 

           

          Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!

          1. frammer52 | Jul 28, 2008 02:05am | #9

            It was confusing, I was hoping he would jump back in so we can figure it out!

          2. VPayne | Jul 28, 2008 06:39am | #10

            Yeah, I was just talking about the ceiling joists, sorry for the confusion. I really don't know if pictures will make any sense of the situation. The exaggerated shape would be close to that of a hockey stick with the hook part near the exterior wall but only about a 3/8" hook.

      2. john7g | Jul 28, 2008 01:11am | #7

        i was wondering the same thing.  too bad though.  his problem sounded a bit unique and had piqued my interest

  3. Sean2112 | Jul 26, 2008 05:18am | #4

    It's simply a gravity check.



    Edited 7/25/2008 10:23 pm ET by Sean2112

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