Truss horizontal bow

We were only shown 2 pictures as an example. The OP stated:

Exactly one mpc as seen in the pictures. Given what I’ve seen in the pictures I would not call it out and kill the deal. It is real easy to keep trusses plumb when you sheet with 4x8 sheets. This looks like it is sheeted with 1x6 TnG. By the time they noticed it was off it was too late and they just kept on going.

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Roof has been there since the 70s. We get hurricanes, blizzards, crazy winds, tons of snow, etc. It hasn’t went anywhere. :smile:

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Make a note of it and move on. It’s been that way for nearly 50 years. Like Marcel elided to, the framers probably knew how to build rafters not install trusses. Totally different ball game. They probably used a “spacing board” and cut it exact instead of 1/8" short as they should have. I bet the bow progressively got worse as they went from one side to the other.

Mt. St. Helen’s was there for a long time, too, before it blew.

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Call it out if you must. Based on the limitations of seeing a couple pictures sitting here at my desk; I’d think an engineer would suggest some method of shoring up what is there. No way that needs to be a major financial concern. Just MHO.

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Too many what-ifs in your response, the OP’s inspection is been like that for 50 years, why call it out now.?

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You might as well mention that one of the water service pipes could burst at any time perhaps causing tens of thousands of dollars in damages if not more. And of course the odds of this home burning down without warning go up each and every single day…The possible calamities are endless…Why anybody wants to even live indoors just doesn’t make any sense…

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Old plumbing is mentioned (cast iron, galv, lead, etc…), so is any known to fail prematurely, such as PB. The client wants to know what they are buying. They then decide what to fix, if anything. Asbestos is mentioned, even though it may not have killed anyone yet (that we know of). The list of what ifs that gets mentioned is large. S-trap is also a what if. I can argue that it’s not a problem and that 120 years ago it was perfectly acceptable. The coal-fired boiler in the basement is also mentioned, even though it still works. You guys are just bunch of soft report inspectors :smiley:

If the roof materials are shot, but the roof isn’t leaking, do you call it out?

If you see PB plumbing, yet it’s still supplying water with no leaks, do you call it out?

If you see aluminum single strand with wire triple tapped and overfused on a stab-lok circuit breaker in an FPE panel, and the lights are working fine, do you call it out?

I suggest anyone doubting the word of a PE when it comes to a truss system take a course and get up to speed, regardless of how many years or thousands of trusses you’ve installed.

Trusses are part of an engineered system, if a truss or any of it’s components have been changed, modified, damaged, or whatever, from the the original design or intended installation requirements, it changes the load characteristics of that truss, it may be fine today, but it may not with a 4 foot heavy snow load on it. Any repair/modification needs to be made per the design of a Structural Engineer, with the only exception being if the repair/mod was authorized by the truss MFR.

If the house is 50 years old, is still standing and has never caught on fire, why even get an inspection, right? :crazy_face:

Inspecting Wood Trusses | American Society of Home Inspectors, ASHI

I don’t need your reference to learn how to inspect trusses, I was building them all the time in the '70s. There were no computers either, just teachers with experience and books.

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Yep, I would call it out. I do not have a crystal ball but there is evidence of failing components. Enough for me from what I see in this photo.
Trusses

That most likely occurred during the installation, and I would not call that on the verge of failure. They have been like that for 50 years as noted by the OP.
But if it is for the only reason you guys want to call it, is to cover your asses, go ahead.

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The bowing of the trusses is just the way they were installed originally . It was just a sloppy carpenter doing the work . The way is usually done , when the sub sheeting is applied the trusses and or rafters need to be laid out the same as the laid out on the exterior wall And nail them where they should be nailed to keep them as straight as possible . This is not as bad because it looks like that the sub sheeting is a 3/4 x 6” or 8” , if it was only like 1/2 plywood with H clips , it would result in a soft spot where the spacing is more than 16” on center . .

I have observed failure with these connections in the past. Sorry for the grainy photos, I just screened shot them off an old report. So based on your experience and my experience, it is a coin toss. But this is the reason why “I,myself,me” would call it out.
Fail truss 2 Fail truss 3 fail truss 4![Fail truss 2|318x245]Fail truss 1

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Looks like it was built that way…In practical terms no much you can do about it after it is sheathed. Trusses will bow for several reasons…most likely the framers just didn’t straighten it when they put the sheathing on. The other is uneven bearing, or layout inconsistencies during construction. Unless you had other signs or problems…If you felt like you had to say something about it you could note the poor workmanship.

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So then, it is DUE!!

Everything has a failure rate. Components that have been improperly installed have a shorter lifespan with a higher failure rate! Tomorrow? Next week? Next year?

do-you-feel-lucky-punk

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Yes, you are right, but You wouldn’t know what is about to fail if you saw it.

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Because the roof deck is not sheet goods they could get away with this top chord placement. If it was plywood you would see scabs nailed to the side of the top chord to hit the ends when the joints missed the truss.

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Exactly my point!!