If Your Bowstring Trusses Could Talk, What Would They Say?
Probably ‘Please, please pretty please, keep the roof drains clean.’
One of the most common repairs we complete is a rotted end, often caused by clogged roof drains. What happens? Your roof drains fills with leaves, twigs, whatever, during a rain the water backs up to the point where you have a puddle on your roof. Your roof is not designed for standing water, so the water leaks inside your building. Often there are roof drains located near the end of bowstring truss. The water runs down to the end of the truss, soaking the end of the truss (the truss ends carry the weight of the truss and roof). Overtime this causes the truss end to rot and then fail. If you're lucky the rotted end is identified and repaired before the truss completely fails only costing you several thousand dollars, if you're not…….
Picture of a classic rotted end.
