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2018 National Home Improvement Estimator, All Rights Reserved Page 59

You can level a sagging ridge board or roof truss by jacking up points between supports and then
installing braces to hold the member in place. When jacking any roof component, be sure to set the
jack where the load will be transferred directly down through the structure to the foundation. Otherwise,
pressure from the jack will deform the ceiling joists downward, damaging the ceiling below. If there’s no
bearing wall available, lay a beam in position where it can transfer loads to remote bearing points. When
a ridge or truss chord is jacked into level position, cut a 2 x 4 just long enough to fit between the ceiling
joist and ridge or chord. Then nail the prop at both ends. See Figure 4-10. For a short ridge board, one
prop may be enough. Add more props as needed. If a rafter is sagging, jack the rafter into alignment.
Then nail a new rafter into position at the side of the sagging rafter. That won’t remove the sag from the
old rafter, but it will transfer the load to a new, straight rafter.