Roof Beam advice

[mike912]

I've been in the loft space over of my 1930s semi-detached house this weekend and noticed that two of the beams (45 X 95) coming diagonally from one side of the roof to the loft floor is bent. I have attached a picture to show what I mean. My query is whether this is indicative of a big problem, and how this can be resolved. I am happy to take on a DIY job to fix this, but is that possible? What needs to be done? Can I lay a new beam next to the bent one for extra support? Or is this a task that needs a professional, and would a general builder, rather than a roofer, be best for this? What would you expect them to do, and how much should I expect it to cost?

Many thanks in advance for your help.

Mike

 

[^woody^]

That's a bit of a crap design, and if it was built like it, as opposed to some other supports being removed in the past, then it was always destined to fail.

Your roof is dipping and the purlin ( that big timber on the underside of the rafters) is pushing that strut - compressing it and then it will eventually snap.

You need it looked at by a structural engineer, not a roofer and not a builder.

 

[bernardgreen]

Woody is right in advising a structural engineer.

If the purlin marked blue has moved relative to the purlin marked yellow then act as soon as you can.

 

[John D v2.0]

Our SE said struts need to be at least 45 degrees to do anything useful. Yours look very flat.
Also we had to use 100x100 posts over a shorter height as 100x50 would be likely to buckle. Your look like the smaller.
As a quick fix to stop further movement you could bolt another timber to the side, packed out in such a way to avoid bending it back but preventing more movement. But as the more experienced members above have stated there are some design issues with those purlins.