Bolted Roof Joints...

[kirky1176]

Hi All,

I recently moved house an moved into a property that had a double-storey extension added in 2007. As part of the extension, the roof was extended. I was in the loft at the weekend adding some lighting in there and noticed that where the various elements of the roof structure join, the builder has used large bolts. However, many of the bolts don't sit square the two pieces of wood that it is joining together. Instead, they skewed somewhat as if they've not been fully tightened when installed.

The roof structure is pretty simply as it's a large rectangular house. The roof doesn't come to a point, instead the builders installed a flat roof section.

It's the first time I've seen a bolted roof structure and am concerned that the bolts may not have been installed correctly. However, almost all of them are like it so wondering if this is normal and simply done to allow for movement/shrinkage etc.

If needed, I can grab a picture and post if my explanation is poor!

Thanks,
Mark

 

[Burnerman]

Its likely that the roof trusses had a twist when they were bolted together, and if the roofer did manage to square them then he'd produce stresses further on.
Just test to see if the nuts are tight, and no need to panic.
John

 

[kirky1176]

Hi John,

Thanks for the speedy reply!

I'll double-check to see if they're tight, they certainly looked it from a visual inspection but pretty much all the bolts are skewed so will need to check them all.

Thanks!

 

[ladylola]

It's also likely the bolts were put in after the general structure was put up creating an access problem, i.e. it wasn't physically possible to get the drill in square, and the loose nuts could just be an indication that the timber has shrunk, most roofs being open to the elements during construction.
Just tighten any loose nuts and don't worry yourself unduley.