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We replaced the old roof last week including taking off all layers and boarding with plywood the entire roof. Now, one corner has noticeable sagging. Sagging didn't occur before roof replacement. I have pictures before and after.

What should I do and can I request the roofing company to take care of the sagging corner after new roof was already installed? They didn't tell me about the problem I would pay extra to fix it since I already paid $16k. We want to sell the house in next 6 months and I'm afraid it will come up during potential buyers house inspection. It's a brand new roof that looks worst than old. new roof photo

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  • can you post pics that show the sagging? Jul 21, 2016 at 10:33
  • I'd certainly call them and complain.
    – keshlam
    Jul 21, 2016 at 12:28
  • If they replaced the sheeting, sounds like they did they may be liable for the repair. I hope they were licensed and bonded or you may not get any satisfaction. Since the roof has not been up long it may be able to be braced from underneath but once the shingles go through a few hot days it is tough to remove sag without damaging the shingles.
    – Ed Beal
    Jul 21, 2016 at 19:08
  • You are all amazing thank you for your responses. They are licensed, insured and with good reviews, they told me it's an old house so it's normal. But it's a brand-new roof completely redone and it really doesn't look good. Will try to post pictures below.
    – Renata
    Jul 21, 2016 at 22:31
  • I have pictures but I can't post them. Too low status?? I guess I also need an advice how to post pictures
    – Renata
    Jul 21, 2016 at 22:49

1 Answer 1

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Now that the pics have been posted, here are some observations. There is definately a dip to the outside wall, as evidenced by the decreasing gap of the gutters to the shadow board. It also appears that there is some bending of the gutter supports as the gutter gets closer to the drip edge. I am trying to think of anything the roofers may have done that would cause this, but quite honestly, I cannot. Replacing the sheathing and shingles would not have caused this to happen. I see that the dip is directly related to the change of the wall construction where the brick changes to clapboard siding. I suspect there is a change of framing and foundation from the brick section to the corner where the dip is most obvious. I think there could be two possible causes. Is it possible the rafters or rafter tails have settled due to some dry rot where they meet the top plates? If so, I would think it would have been obvious when the old sheathing was removed. If this were the case, the roofers should have brought that to your attention and determined if a fix was possible before the sheathing went back down. The second possibility is that there is settling in the corner of the house. Very hard to see from the pics if this is true. I'd check level on the top of the window and top row of siding to see if the corner has dropped.

With all this said, I think you need a good carpenter to take a close look before blame can be placed on the roofer. I think the roofer did what they do, put the new plywood on and lay the shingles. I would lay odds that there is a problem with the rafter tails. A good carpenter should be able to correct that problem without affecting your new roof.

Without taking a close look, maybe removing the gutter and part of the soffit to see the connection between the roof and wall, and checking the alignment of the rafter tails, it is difficult to diagnose. This may be able to be inspected from the inside if there is access to that area.

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  • Thank you for your diagnostics. This is really helpful. The line was straight in the old pictures before old roof was removed, the gap and lower corner were not visible before. This is why I was concerned. What bothers me is that my husband was asked to take a look when plywood needed to be installed and to resign the contract to approve additional cost and other things were pointed out to him but not the corner. We would authorize the repair since the cost already doubled from the original estimate. Again thank you for your feedback, I really appreciate.
    – Renata
    Jul 22, 2016 at 10:35
  • With luck, it may be just sagged rafter tails and may be repaired fairly easily. Sorry I could not be more specific, but some situations need to be hands on inspected to find the root cause Jul 22, 2016 at 10:56
  • The old roof decking may have been strong and holding up the compromised rafters or other framing and the new decking is not up to the task and/or things settled during change.
    – Alaska Man
    Aug 22, 2016 at 8:46

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