My wife and I are building a house and had a bad stretch of weather right after our roof sheathing got delivered to the site. It sat in the bundle and got rained on for about a week straight. Last week, the roofers installed the sheathing and the edges won’t stay nailed down to the subfascia. The attic has no vents and will be foamed so the gap seems like it is unacceptable and will pose problems down the line. Our contractor acted like its no big deal. Should I ask our contractor to replace the sheathing on the roof edges that won’t stay nailed down? What are the potential consequences of doing nothing 5 or 10 years down the line?
A photo showing an example of the sheathing pulling up from the subfascia is attached. Thanks in advance for any advice.
Did you by chance obtain any information off of the sheathing to tell us who manufactured it and what their model/type is? That can help us point you in the direction of the installation and storage requirements and tell us a bit more about it.
To answer your question the sheathing was improperly stored and appears to be affected by the weather. From your one image we can see the sheathing is possibly delaminating now. Not only will that affect its current but future efficacy. Now the delaminations and distortions can telegraph through the shingles and cause some ugly conditions. The lighter the shingle the worse the view and issues. Also you have a very good example now of how fasteners (nails/screws) are going to function which in this case they are not.
As for the foaming issue yes it is real. Can you tell us the make/manufacturer of the foam that will be used? Insulation foams are not intended to be exposed to the weather and that is most likely what would happen regardless that the trim and flashings have not yet been placed. Those two will cover the exposed foam but over time, and with bad installation of those, the foam can become exposed.
You have a contract with the Builder to build a safe and functional home. If this is what they are attempting to do now you would have to prepare for anything else they may attempt. I would recommend you speak with an Attorney to review your build contract and determine what rights you have. I also recommend you have a very knowledgeable Third Party Inspector of your own inspect and document these conditions. When properly performed that can also help your case and Attorney do their job.
BTW you have more issues there than just the damaged sheathing.
If the roof sheathing is only coming up at the fascia then it may be due to improper nailing. From your photo it looks like the nails are spaced too far apart. May need to add some ring shank nails to help hold it down.
Most lumber products can withstand the normal amount of rain exposure during construction, but the key is drying it out before covering it with other building products to prevent mold growth.
Installing damaged materials is not something I would accept. A $20 tarp would have saved the day. In my opinion, the builder needs to eat this one and do the right thing.
Thanks for the response. Located in New Orleans. The sheathing is 5/8 plywood. The underside of the ply visible from the attic has dark coloring almost black across the entire roof and many of the downstairs walls (the roof wasn’t on for the week it was raining into the structure), does that indicate delamination as well? They covered it all up with Tyvek roof wrap the same day it was installed so I can no longer see the top.
What other issues do you see? They plan on covering the windows with a heavy duty window sealing tape. Is there something that’s wrong with the windows?
It would be hard to tell what the black is without at least a pic to guess with. However given your location (high humidity) and other issues it might be mold or mildew growth if it is that widespread. I am not aware of any sheathing manufactured with that coloration.
Without the home being dried in, and rains, any number of issues might be present including damage to wall sheathing, damage to wood sub-floor material (if present), damage to mechanicals, electrical, plumbing that might have been exposed, etc. You really should get a good local Inspector out to go through it with a fine tooth comb!
For other issues let’s start with the windows themselves. They are Windsor windows whose site is located here https://www.windsorwindows.com/. You can obtain the installation instructions there. Check your windows for a model name/number sticker. I see cracked/damaged nail fins and fasteners (nails) driven to close to edges. You shouod get a copy of the Builder’s warranty and review it closely. They may place the warranty service back on the window manufacturer like so many do. However if the manufacturer finds the windows were not properly installed they can void any warranty coverage. Also the manufacturer coverage does not typically include the cost of removing the exterior veneer (brick, siding, etc.) to get at them if needed.
Next I am trying to understand what they did at the windows. It appears they built out the rough openings with lumber to extend the windows out farther. However I can’t tell if they actually ran the Tyvek before they did that and if the used the Tyvek properly to flash the rough opening. You also now have unprotected lumber outside of the weather resistive barrier (Tyvek wrap). They can tape around it but given the improper application of the existing tape I would not be confident that they taped this correctly. Also you have gaps between the lumber that if not completely sealed off can allow water behind it to stand/pool. You can read all of the installation requirements for Tyvek and the various Dupont tapes on their WEB site here https://www.dupont.com/.
I can’t stress enough that you really should get a qualified Inspector out there!
Thanks for all the responses. I’m having a third party roofing inspector out to look at it this week and have little doubt he will confirm that it’s not supposed to be like that. There are clips between each board btw.
Here are some photos I took from the inside yesterday afternoon:
Flashing tape looks wrong to me. Notice how the fin is visible at the lower sill of the bottom window, which is ok. However, the upper window; the lower fin is not visible. Additionally, the flashing tape has to be applied in a sequence such as the head flashing typically should be applied after the side flashing tape.
The window installation instructions for that window should be online for you to review.
Correct. I found this window install instruction from the manufacturer in the photo. Figure 3 illustrates your comment. I do not know if these instructions are specifically for this model. Those wood strips around the window are throwing me off. I do not understand their purpose. The flashing modification around the wood is suspect.
The housewrap overlaps the flashing tape by about 2 inches at the top of each upper window but doesn’t cover the flashing tape over the bump out wood that the windows are nailed to. Should I ask him to add more Tyvek to overlap the flashing tape covering the wood?
First, I would really find out what the manufacturer would say about its product and proper storage. I find there are many builders who uninformed about the products they use and hope they don’t have problems. An informed homeowner is best.
Plywood can withstand some rain at a slope after it is installed but it must be able to be dried out quickly. Any laminated wood product that needs be stored horizontally, must be off the ground and properly covered if there is a possibility of rain. Even cheap blue tarps are not water proof.
Second, if you see that the plywood has been nailed correctly and you still have issues, sorry but that plywood needs to be replaced.
I have a few names for your builder but I must refrain 
