The damage line above the bay window on the right side may have anl ice-dam contribution, but I agree the major damage is from other factors.

Sorry, I dont have an answer to either of the questions- I was not there when the shingles came off and the only evidence of the underlayment is what you see in the pictures.

rpeacock; keep us posted on what develops

Thank you for your thoughts- I got a response from the insurance company- they are not covering the damage... should the typical insurance company cover this type of damage? I had young sub-contractor come out for the insurance adjustment- at the time he was not familiar with SIPs They are denying my claim due to normal age, wear and tear, wet rot, and improper workmanship. I am talking with a couple of contractors and have not found the right one yet, but my estimate for the repair i'm guessing will be in the 30 to 40 thousand range. Do you have any suggestions on how to re-approach my insurance company?

Rpeacock; At first your insurance company would not cover it because they were not structural, now it seems they have different reasons. They most likely are not going to come around easily. You should consult with an attorney that specializes in construction / construction defects.

Posted By rpeacock on 29 Apr 2012 05:57 PM
Thank you for your thoughts- I got a response from the insurance company- they are not covering the damage... should the typical insurance company cover this type of damage? I had young sub-contractor come out for the insurance adjustment- at the time he was not familiar with SIPs They are denying my claim due to normal age, wear and tear, wet rot, and improper workmanship. I am talking with a couple of contractors and have not found the right one yet, but my estimate for the repair i'm guessing will be in the 30 to 40 thousand range. Do you have any suggestions on how to re-approach my insurance company?

Sorry to hear about your problem. As mentioned, it's time for an attorney, as the money amount $40k and your insurance companies denial is grounds for more serious action.

In the end, I would be very curious to find out if this is an install issue or an issue with OSB roof SIPs, or maybe a little of both. A lot of times new building technologies turn out later to be nightmares and costly disasters as they are put to daily use. I can think of aluminum wiring (1980's), asbestos, and synthetic stucco* (huge moisture issues) and countless others.


*Original EIFS (synthetic stucco) was used by Europeans on MASONRY buildings. When it was adapted to the USA, they used it on wood framed homes, that is when the problems started as moisture stayed and rotted the wood. Today, EIFS today requires a drainage plane to prevent this.

You know, I asked the question about how the underlayment was installed because I've heard of unknowledgable contractors applying building felt/underlayment vertically because the roof was too steep to stand on and they didn't want to use roof jacks. They also think the steep pitch will also keep the water out. It doesn't. The pattern of water damage seems to match this. Also, in one of the photos, a piece of underlayment is hanging off the edge of the roof and looks to be held on by the drip edge. If this is the case, then the drip edge was incorrectly installed. In my 'unexpert' opinion the roofing and not the panels were installed improperly.

Here is a great detail on how to finish and vent a wood SIP roof. (I know it's an oxymoron; a vented non-venting roof)

From what I have read, this should be MANDATORY for wood/OSB roof SIPs. Unfortunately, it is not and judging from the threads on this forum, the problem is still prevalent and most people and SIP companies do not use this detail method. Then when the problems arise, which they eventually will, the SIP companies act dumb and refuse to fix the problem and leave the homeowners with a $50,000 repair bill.

repeacock; have you had any further developments?

I know of a Woodhouse/ Murus house very near me with that very same problem. It's from the early 90's , same roof construction. The owner has not taken the shingles off yet but you can feel the squish. He approached me looking for any possible ideas for a fix. My best idea was removal of the top osb layer, and then 2x's panel screwed through the foam into the 4'oc timber rafters with 5/8" sheathing applied to that. The same thing that Dana1 suggested. I would be interested how this problem was resolved...

When a normal roof starts to fail, you replace a few sheets of plywood and reshingle. Sounds like the failure mode for OSB sips is a whole lot worse.

Posted By jonr on 08 Sep 2012 11:36 PM
When a normal roof starts to fail, you replace a few sheets of plywood and reshingle. Sounds like the failure mode for OSB sips is a whole lot worse.

A SIP works like an "I-beam" so if the OSB fails on one side then the I-beam is compromised and the whole structure can fail. A roof truss with OSB sheathing is a totally different animal compared to SIPs.

Two ways to address the SIP roof rot;
1 - Create the cold attic/vent above the SIPs to vent and dry the OSB SIP
2 - Prevent any problems by doing a metal SIP roof. No rot, no worries about water damaging and compromising the SIP I-Beam

My guess is that #1 will work for moisture vapor but will not help much when an asphalt shingle roof starts to fail - which is a matter of when, not if.

For a repair, I'd look into drying it out and then gluing and screwing a layer of plywood on it. Then 2x4 furring and a metal roof.