Littman New Roof &
Insurance Repair
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  The Littmans in Laurel had their roof
assaulted by a large poplar tree in the weather event shown below. |
 This scary local photo was captured by
someone at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD. |
 ...and here's the extra large tree that did all of the damage; it
looks to be at least 60 feet tall! |
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 Arriving are #2 SPF hand picked 2 x 4's and CDX plywood as specified
by Vannoy Engineering. |
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 It's time for some forensics... The upper master bathroom roof was
the first location to be hit by the big tree, so we'll start here... |
 ... and the first thing we noticed was the top of the rear wall was
destroyed. Funny thing, this was totally "missed" by all until we started to actually dig in. |
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 The first part of the construction process was to completely rebuild
about 12 linear feet of the rear wall; it was shoved back about 2" right next to the window, and
of course there was the completely shattered upper plate... |
 So we carefully removed the aluminum siding, replaced some studs and
totally rebuilt the load bearing upper plate. Then the siding was re-installed. Now we can move on
to the truss work. |
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 Above are the structural repair
drawings provided by the engineers. We'll comply with their methodology ... leaving the
original truss parts in play and "scabbing" 2 x 4's to them where recommended. |
 Since at least three trusses were damaged and hanging below ceiling
level, they needed to be raised first -- just a little past their original position. |
 Once successfully raised, we can now continue with our assessment of
the damage. |
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 But before more materials were removed, additional temporary
waterproofing was necessary. |
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 OK, moving ahead and deconstructing the mess we're finding that a
few of the trusses are severely damaged. |
 In fact, two of the trusses were in this condition... the ends
completely broken through and barely hanging by a thread. This is the part that actually supports
the entire truss and rests on the exterior wall. |
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 Top chords and support struts were damaged, twisted, and
out-of-position in many places as well. |
 Unfortunately the previous contractor "overnailed" a few sections of
shingles (causing minor leaks). No problem since we're replacing the entire roof; but for now only
2 squares of roofing and underlayment are being removed for the local structural repairs. |
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 Now that we've completely inspected the damage, and we know exactly
what needs rebuilding, we've moved the insulation out of the way and are ready to get to
work. |
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And now noting that some of the damage is serious... we're ready to secure a building permit
from the county (as per requirement). ...so the drawings had to be corrected and re-submitted, and the resulting time lost pushed us past the Christmas holidays for additional construction... |
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We finally acquired the permit and resumed work. |
 Now the "thing" about repairing broken trusses; it's a process!
Measuring, string lining, tweaking, clamping, re-measuring, calibrating ... is all part of fitting
new materials together with the surrounding construction. It's time consuming, but worth it; the
system will end up much stronger than the original factory trusses. |
 Scabbing the first two trusses here with #10 Common nails (not
sinkers or pneumatic nails) as specified for strength. |
 As we progressed it was decided that the skylight and
chute will be eliminated. We also noted that the skylight had been leaking for quite a
while, causing the need to re-frame and replace the plywood in that area... |
 The remainder of the chute will be removed from the
intereior as the bathroom ceiling is replaced |
 Now all four damaged trusses have been rebuilt, re-leveled (and
plumbed) and are ready for the gussets. |
 Nice! |
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 We'll use 1/2" exterior plywood (5 ply for strength!) and #6 commons
(3") for added strength as well. |
 Applying a good quality construction adhesive will double the
strength of the new trusses in the gusset areas. |
 Voila! Almost all trusses are done and ready to go. |
 Next, 1/2" CDX 5-ply. Nice! |
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Now we're ready to "change out the ceiling drywall, and eventually the attic insulation will be moved back into place. Ventilation issues will be addressed, and a new CertainTeed Landmark Lifetime Architectural Roof will be installed. |
 A view of the fancy gussets from the end. Strong!! |
 Ceiling drywall removal in the "hall" bathroom. |
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 Two coats of compound... |
 3 coats + wall and ceiling paint (Kilz primer + 2 coats ceiling
paint. |
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 Now for the master bath that was destroyed by the Big Poplar. |
 Super fancy ceiling fan, light, and humidistat!! |
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 Perfecto. |
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 This is the "after" photo of the new CertainTeed Lifetime Landmark
Roof. |
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 Nice 'n straight. CertainTeed has the best colors
and patterns. |
 This is where all of the damage occurred. Now it's the
strongest part of the roof! |
 The Shingle Vent II will move way more air than the old vent; plus
we enlarged the slot a bit. |
 This new Edge Vent will pay for itself in energy savings in about 3
years... AND it will remove humidity in the summer and winter without using any power. It's
the new green deal. Check out our video of an Edge Vent Installation we did a while back... |
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