Hi folks,
I have a metal roof that was just finaled today. Looking in the attic I see a hole where a stack was removed. Since the roofer was still there cleaning up, I asked him about it. They stated that since it was a metal roof and they secured the panel with a piece of wood, they didn’t have to replace the decking and they could just leave this hole. That seems shady to me.
Thoughts?
Probably installed over 1x furring, so the roofer is correct.
It looks fine to me Gerald.
I don’t see an issue. Metal roofs are installed across large spans with no sheathing support on a regular basis.
Thank you very much!
I don’t see a problem with the metal itself, assuming the vendor instructions (as is typical) allow it to span large areas. However, that’s a hole right there in the underlayment.
And at least here, metal roofs are not approved by the vendors for installation over tar paper. They want an underlayment that matches the lifetime of the metal roof which is very long, and one that can take the heat.
So: what underlay?
what metal?
what does the metal vendor say about span and underlayment?
The hole itself is not the whole problem.
Non-issue.
What happens to condensation that runs down the underlayment, on this roof, and hits the hole?
What if wasps take up residence under the roof furring, then come into the attic via this hole?
Good points.
Ah, but Brian, masks are not vapor barriers :-). And you’d need at least a kn-95 to be effective against wasps.
Crap work is crap work. Either someone was fooling themselves putting the underlayment down, or fooling themselves in thinking it was OK to leave a gap. Pick either one.
At the most charitable, this hole is a “vent” and if so needs a screen.
Then what the hell are we wearing them for?? 
It appears to me that it would be functionally acceptable but not the best practice. At least they could have put underlayment on it before installing the the metal roofing.
I don’t like the repair job. If the roof has sheathing. All opening should be repaired with sheathing not a purling.
I’d for sure write that up. Imagine your ankle going through it but…
Wearing sheep should work even better than surgical masks… and you get built in social distancing. Nobody will get anywhere near you. Win, win.
Good point. It is a hazard to the next roofer, who may see tar paper and step into an injury.
(If the whole roof was furred out, this would not be an issue… as @rlewis5 points out it’s the inconsistency)
The whole roof is most likely furred out, and it looks like the furring is fastened over asphalt roofing not felt paper.
I don’t want to step on that abandoned hole, and assume whatever it is will hold me.
In short I’d very clearly call it out on a report, even though it does not affect the metal roof above.
Yep, and a good roofer knows where to walk. Which to Roy’s point, a perfect step right there might crack the purlin, but you would not go thru. I personally do not think it is a large enough hole to be an issue, but nothing wrong with calling it out I suppose if it keeps you up at night 
