Hi, I recently purchased an older house and there are cracks in the ceiling support joists in the attic. They are small cracks near the base where the roof of the main house and of the back porch join togethor. Probably from the weight of the back porch roof.
I was told to put a "kneeling brace"? up there to help support. Can anyone confirm if this is the correct term and where I get/how I build one of these?
Way down in the last illustration bottom right is a small picture of a knee brace. There is another type where a short verticle wall is built. In your case, IF THERE IS SUPPORT UNDERNEATH the short wall would be built directly under the place where the porch roof intersects.
To fix the broken rafters the procedure is to use jacks to push the rafter back into proper position and sister another rafter onto it. Sister means to place another member next to the old one a fasten it there securely.
The rafters you have may have cracked yesterday or 20 years ago, doesn't matter. They need to be fixed.
Harry K
Yep. Kneel down, and plant your knees firmly against the floor. Take both your hands, and brace the roof with your hands. Be sure to push firmly, and never let go or the roof will fall.
$mart A$$
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