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My wife and I are roofing our home, we are retired and living on a budget. I came across a rather deep and long crack on what I believe is the ridge beam and I am wondering if it's something I should be overly concerned about. Thank you for your opinions.

enter image description here JMP

There is also about 2' of dry rot at the end of the beam which is concerning. Having a carpenter come out next week to look at it.

enter image description here

J MP
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    Hello, and welcome to Home Improvement. You mean the one on the right of the image? A better picture might help. – Daniel Griscom Aug 02 '20 at 23:53
  • Are those termite tunnels, wasp nests, or blobs of expanded spray foam between the ridge and ceiling sheething in the 2 bays we can see in this picture? – FreeMan Aug 03 '20 at 12:08
  • Just bugs, no termites. There is evidence of a beehive but it is quite old. – J MP Aug 04 '20 at 01:15
  • Is it actually a ridge board rather than a ridge beam? It looks like a board but a picture looking down on it, it up to it, would help. Beam is structural, board isn't. Looking closer it appears to be supported? – James Wilson Aug 04 '20 at 07:32

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If the crack is in a part of the roof that has rafters on either side, it will not matter as long as the rafters on the other side are directly opposite of the ones in the picture. Since the picture cuts off what is beyond the crack or even how long the crack is, it is difficult to determine if the overhang is supported by the ridge to any degree. That would be the only concern I have, since the ridge pole can be eliminated, and many homes have been built without one.

Jack
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  • Thank you, that was very helpful. I have not removed the shingles from the other side yet but will do tomorrow, I will see if they line up. That was very informative, thanks again. – J MP Aug 04 '20 at 01:18