I inspected 125 year old house and have questions on the rafters. The majority of the rafters have been sistered and have jack rafters near the exterior wall. All decking has been replaced on the roof. There is one long board that looks like it has been wedged in to support a rafter near the peak. There is no visible evidence of the roof sagging. Does this amount of repair need to be called to be checked by a professional? Also two of the old rafters appear to have some sort of rot. I am unable to tell if it is rot or just a place where this rough of beam used to have bark? Thanks for any help.
Joe, let us know where you are from, what is on the roof, what those cut outs were for and you might get some better explanation to your question.
I am from Indiana Marcel. The roof is metal on a wood deck. The cutout places in the decking I suspect were for old vents. It is hard to tell in the photos but most of the rafters have been doubled and have a jack stud(2nd photo-visible rafters are new, original is behind). My concern is with the jack studs and the apparent damage in the last 2 photos.
Thanks,
Joe Manges
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Joe, in my opinion, the sistered rafters should have been the full length of the existing rafters and if the lumber length was not available, they should have been spliced accordingly.
The prop you see on one rafter was most likely to push the sister up tight to the underside of the roof and was left there.
The uprights that you call jacks should have had a gusset attachment to one side and more preferred, would have been a regular knee wall construction as long as there is a bearing wall on the bottom under the ceiling. Just an other thing to look for.
I am led to believe that this existing roof must have been sagging to go to this expense to upgrade. I can’t see too much of a snow load with a steep pitch like that. The upgrade should also have had some collar ties added also for wind uplift.
The damaged lumber that you mention, is the wane of the tree because the lumber mill did not cut off the section that was not fully sized like the intended. That is rough sawn lumber and way back when that was built, people utilized everything whether it was square full length or not. Considering the time it has been there with the now additional support, doubt it will be a problem.
I would recommend that you have a reputable Licensed and Qualified Contractor to evaluate the upgrade and repair as deemed necessary for the integrity of the structure and safety of the occupants.
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I agree with, Marcel.
And it looks like they stripped off wood shingles, before putting on the OSB and metal, by the spacing of the 1x wood on the rafters.
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Thanks for you help Marcel and Larry.
At 125 years old, I think that wood shakes on skip sheathing was pretty much a given before the upgrade. 
With all of that new wood it may have been fire damage repair.
Most likely due to the weight of slate shingles over many years. Wood shingles are relatively light.
You’re welcome Joseph… 
Or they had several layers of asphalt shingles on top of the wood shingles.
I’ve seen that a lot, too, Stephen. It is hard to say really, though.
I think Marcel may have installed the original roof covering…
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