Roof Truss Water Damage

Roof truss water damage isn't going to be uncommon in an attic that has water leaking from the roof. The damage to this roof truss doesn't look too bad yet, but if you look at the vertical roof truss support next to the fireplace, it actually looks like it's bowing.

If this is truly the case, this engineered roof system could have some problems and it's not just going to be the water that's leaking through the roof onto the rest of the house.

To the trained eye, this type of water damage isn't that hard to find, but if you don't really know what you're looking at or what you're looking for, something like this could easily go unnoticed.

One of the best pieces of advice that I could give anyone who is looking for damage that needs to be repaired around your house, is to look for discolorations in the building materials.

If you notice in the picture above, there are water stains on the plywood that are a different color than the rest of the roof framing and there is black mold growing on the wood. You can also use this method when inspecting your interior and exterior walls, attic, crawlspace and ceilings.

Home Repair Tip: The first thing that we need to do, is fix the roof leak and after that, you can check the roof truss for wood damage like termites or wood rot, by taking a small screwdriver and pressing it into the wood.

If the screwdriver goes into the roof truss water damaged area deeper than a quarter of an inch without pressing real hard, it wouldn't be a bad idea to contact a local contractor to get a better assessment of the damage.