# Urgent advice needed on sagging roof for home I'm buying



## jwoair23 (Feb 11, 2007)

Hello,
This is my first post, I am inquiring about a house I am buying in a couple weeks. I am concerned about a sagging ridgeline in the roof, and would like opinions and advice. I really like the house and want to buy it, its the most I can afford, but I want to make sure the roof want fall in anytime soon. 

As you can see in the picture, there is a sagging in the middle of the roof as you look across the ridgeline. The attic is finished in the house, and there is a main beam that runs across the interior ridge line, that rests on the two walls. The beam is something like 4x6 or so. The house had a new roof put on three years ago, so the shingles are all really new. 

Should I be worried about this? Why is it like this, especially with the main beam in the middle? The beam inside does not appear to be bent or sagging at all. 

Please let me know any opinions soon, I will really appreciate it!


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## jwoair23 (Feb 11, 2007)

I should also say the ceiling follows the slope of the roof, there is no space to go look at in between the ceiling and roof of the room. But there is two corners of the rooms that are built out a little and you can see the roof from in the small (storage?) rooms.


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## joasis (May 28, 2006)

I would get an opinion from a reputable contractor....even if you have to pay for his time. The fix may be a negotiating point to getting the price down. I would not buy into this problem without having it looked at closely. If the house has been on the market for awhile, others may not have likes the sway either....so get a qualified look, and then if the fix is doable, even much later down the road, use it to get the price down.


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## redline (Mar 5, 2006)

Why did the current owner not repair this when the new roof was installed?

How long again did the attic get finished?

Are the floors below the sagging roof also sagging?

Did you look at the main beam in the basement for any damage/sag?


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## jwoair23 (Feb 11, 2007)

I have not noticed any sagging in the floors or basement, the only sagging I can see is from the outside looking at it. From the looks of things it seems the attic has been finished for a very long time, if not original to the house. The owner said they hadn't noticed the sagging roofline.


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## Darylh (Jan 2, 2006)

After evaluating your post I can come up with one of a few reasons for this.
The rafter roof was framed incorrectly and the ridge sagged and then they added a beam, (shimmed the rafters where there would of been a space) to stop the sagging.
Another reason for the sag is if the walls bowed out it would cause the ridge to sag so you need to check those outside walls.
As mentioned you need a pro to take a look at this pronto.


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## cibula11 (Jan 6, 2007)

When the attic was finished, was the dormer added then? If the dormer was added from an existing roof....there may be some sag due to the lack of support the dormer is giving. 

I would highly recommend getting a contractor or even a roofing company to look at the problem. Get at least 2 or 3 opinions.


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