Is this broken rafter fixable?

[chriseastlondon]

I live in a Victorian terrace house. The roof needs replacing but I want to wait until I've bought the freehold before getting that done. In the meantime I just want to keep it repaired as best I can.

One of the rafters has almost broken in two, causing the roof to dip. I was planning to lift it back into position and reinforce it by screwing a length of timber on either side. I've tried to feel its weight and it feels heavy. I'm nervous about lifting it all the way back into place in case I end up damaging it more.

I've taken some pictures. You can see the rafter next to it is also showing signs of splitting. The two props you can see aren't actually holding them in place. The one that's split was in exactly the position it is now when I first noticed it. I just put the props there in case the rafters fall in more than they already have.

Anybody got any experience of this? Could I just push the broken one back into place and brace it with timber on either side? Or would that be a bad idea? I was thinking maybe I could use a jack to lift it...?

Any advice gratefully received!

Thanks.

 

[John D v2.0]

In the absence of other replies...
If the roof is still weather tight I would personally prop it in the current position or maybe lift the tiniest bit, just to stop any progressive movement or cyclical movement due to temporary load IE snow or wind

If you start jacking it up, tiles may be released or gaps open up.
When you get the covering replaced it would be the ideal time to replace any unfit timbers in the roof safely.
Good luck, looks scary!

 

[John D v2.0]

And sorry your question about screwing them, I would be a bit nervous in case it splits them more

 

[Old Salt]

That looks like some sort of joint that has given way. Acro props would enable you to take some of the weight off and move it up slightly under control rather than just propping it up. Hopefully a roofer will be along to help.

 

[cdbe]

Not difficult to jack up and fix, but as you mentioned buying the freehold I wonder if it's worth considering whether "defects" will affect what it costs you? I'm not buying my freehold as they want about 600 years worth of ground rent for it!

 

[noseall]

I live in a Victorian terrace house. The roof needs replacing but I want to wait until I've bought the freehold before getting that done. In the meantime I just want to keep it repaired as best I can.

One of the rafters has almost broken in two, causing the roof to dip. I was planning to lift it back into position and reinforce it by screwing a length of timber on either side. I've tried to feel its weight and it feels heavy. I'm nervous about lifting it all the way back into place in case I end up damaging it more.

I've taken some pictures. You can see the rafter next to it is also showing signs of splitting. The two props you can see aren't actually holding them in place. The one that's split was in exactly the position it is now when I first noticed it. I just put the props there in case the rafters fall in more than they already have.

Anybody got any experience of this? Could I just push the broken one back into place and brace it with timber on either side? Or would that be a bad idea? I was thinking maybe I could use a jack to lift it...?

Any advice gratefully received!

Thanks.

View attachment 302156View attachment 302159

It's broken because some numpty has crow-barred off a timber element that ran along those rafters.

 

[cdbe]

It's broken because some numpty has crow-barred off a timber element that ran along those rafters.

Yes, the purlin! How strange!

 

[datarebal]

Purlin is missing , jacking isn't as straight forward as it sounds .
One has to consider the wall plate could be lifted .
In my mind , it's take weight off, replace rafters and new purlin .

As it is now the weight will be passed on to the next rafters and they will bust.

 

[chriseastlondon]

The purlin is there. There should just be one on each side, shouldn't there? I think it might just be the angle I took those pictures - the section of the rafters you can see in the original pics is below the purlin. I've taken some wider angle ones.

 

[chriseastlondon]

I'll try to get a roofer to come and have a look at it. It sounds like maybe it could be better just to support it and not try to push it back into place. I've only recently had access to the roof space but I've lived in the building for 23 years (it's a terrace house divided into 2 flats and I only bought the upper one recently). So I only realised the rafter was broken about 6 months ago but I'm pretty sure there's a been a slight dip in that part of the roof, visible from the outside, for as long as I've lived here. So I think it's probably been like that for decades.

 

[chriseastlondon]

I'm not sure how long I can expect to string out the life of the roof in its current state. You can probably see in the pictures it's letting in daylight in a few places. If the worst comes to the worst, I think I might be able sort it out with the freeholder but I'd rather avoid that if I possibly can.

 

[chriseastlondon]

Thanks for all the advice. Really helpful.

 

[Lower]

Light gaps in a roof that age doesnt always mean the roof is leaking or at the end of its life. There’s no felt so light can easily show through gaps that aren’t actually leak paths.

sistering those broken rafter would be a good repair.

 

[chriseastlondon]

Ah, okay. That's really helpful.

 

[chriseastlondon]

sistering those broken rafter would be a good repair.

I'll definitely get a roofer to have a look at it.