06 Jul DIPPY DECKING
Waviness In Your Wood Decking
If you have ever seen this, you know exactly what we are referring to. Your roof just doesn’t look quite right.
Is it a roof leak? Is the wood rotted out?
Many of the contractors throughout the DFW area all have a different opinion as to what exactly is causing the waviness.
What Do I Do?
One contractor says its an attic ventilation issue and that you should install more roof ventilation. Others say a slow leak is to blame.
What is the truth? None of the above.
Unnecessary Money Spent
After spending thousands to repair sections of the roof, upgrade attic ventilation or remove and replace a few sheets of decking, homeowners are still left with same question. What is causing my roof decking to do this to me!
Someone Is At Fault
The real issue that caused this dates back to the homes date of manufacturing. That’s right, It’s the builders fault! I know, shocking isn’t it?
Not really. The average home builder in DFW doesn’t have the slightest clue what they are doing. Just another middleman company who saw an opportunity to make money and went for it.
The proof is in all of the home warranty issues reported each year. Foundation, plumbing, faulty electrical work. The list goes on and on.
The Real Story
Have you ever been driving down the road and looked at a new home being built and saw the wood roof decking exposed and open to the elements.
Well, no big deal right? The house was just framed and built, there’s no drywall or sheet rock or any interior parts to the home yet, so what harm could it really do?
WRONG! AND….your fired!
What happens to wood when it gets wet? It Expands! Then it slowly contracts (shrinks) back down as best it can after drying out.
Congratulation’s, your entire wood decking system is now warped. That’s right. Just one rain storm on that fresh OSB decking and the damage is now done. But it doesn’t stop there. Home builders are leaving these freshly built homes exposed and open for weeks and even months at a time.
By the time the roof is finally installed on the home, the slight warping may be hardly noticeable. However, many of the homes have clear and visible warping issues with the roof decking that can be seen in vivid detail from day one.
The problem is that most home buyers never really look at the roof. They are told by their realtor that its a new roof, they take a quick look and them immediately go inside to check out the interior.
Buyer Beware
If your in the market for a new home or you’ve recently purchased one, check out your decking. If you are noticing any warping at all, you should contact the builder of the home immedialty before the warranty runs out. They are 100% responsible.
There’s a reason most contractors only give warranties ranging between 2 – 5 years. They don’t want to be responsible for all the sub-contracted work. Remember, they didn’t do the work themselves. Their just a middleman.
How Do I Fix This
Unfortunately, there is no easy fix. Once a sheet of decking gets wet, the warping has already taken place. Each sheet will continue to get worse and worse each year as the wood decking ages.
Improper attic ventilation and excessive attic heat does have an effect on how quickly this happens, which is also what led many to believe that ventilation was the cause. (Not So fast…..Upgrading your attic ventilation is not going to slow down this process enough for you to notice. The damage has already been done and will only continue to get worse).
The Bottom Line
Sheets of wood decking never go back to their original shapes, even after being wet only one time.
Attempting to repair the worst areas only seems to only nickel and dime homeowners into chasing multiple repairs. Each time they repair an area, a new area develops in other parts of the roof, within a years time.
The only true fix is to remove and replace all of the decking throughout the entire roof system all at one time and then immediately install the new roof to protect it.
Untreated-wood should never be exposed to the elements while building a house structure. Not even for one rain storm. Homeowners are paying far to much money these days to have their brand new homes set up for failure right from day one.
Just some more truth from the pros who know.
Your welcome.
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