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Why is there a BARGE on my roof?

The fascia board on the Gable end of a home is called a "barge rafter". Often these rafters extend past the eaves to create a place to hide the end of the gutter or as a decorative element. It is important that the top edge be properly flashed with either roofing materials or a metal flashing to prevent decay/rot in the ends of the rafter. This first picture shows good examples of nicely capped barge rafters (foreground and background).

NOTE: the Beautiful Blue Seattle Sky

This next picture shows what will happen if it is not properly capped. barge rafters

In this case more than the end is deteriorated and most likely the whole rafter will need to be replaced. Fortunately the roof needs replacement as well, which will make replacement of the rafter easier---and should be replaced in conjunction with the roof replacement (these rafters are very difficult to replace without removing the roofing above it).

If the ends of the rafters on your home are not properly capped it is a pretty simple thing to fix and can save a lot of costly repairs later on.

Charles Buell

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Posted by Charles Buell, Seattle Home Inspector on 03/04/2008 10:57 AM

Comments (43)

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Originally posted at: Seattle Home Inspector's Blog: Why is there a BARGE on my roof?

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43 Comments on Why is there a BARGE on my roof?

MAR

2008

hhhmm,That is interesting. At least it is safe to say that these "barges" don't have to worry about sinking.

Sean Allen

Hi Charles,

I can see us all running around checking to see if our barge rafters are nicely capped!!! Thank you for the information. Maybe you should give us a check sheet.

Hi Charles - speaking of flashing - the subdivision I live in has cement tile roofs. Just this year some of us are getting leaks within the walls after rain (we don't get much rain, so that is why it took 5 years to notice the problem). The original roofing contractor did not put any flashing up there. All of these homes need the roofs redone. The expense, about $1200 for most, is not bad, but the interior damage is bad on some - that is the expense. It rained on my Christmas tree! Another reason for a home inspection.

Charles - I have been told I should get new gutters. I wonder if the leaf guard type are any good?

Sean, that "barge" was so wet it probably wouldn't float:)

Leslie, so how did they look?

Virginia, flashing details are often lacking in many locations around the home.

Melissa, I don't know which one you are looking at, but some are better than others. I personally like this one. I see a lot of these in this area and have yet to see any that were clogged. I think in really really heavy rains a certain amount of run-by could be expected with all of the different brands. I will try to do a blog on this soon.

Good post and beautiful blue sky over there Charles. You are right in the "devil being in the details". Improper flashing is the number one reason for wood rot anywhere in the roofing system.

Another good post with great pics as examples. Thanks for sharing.

Michael, I saw a contractors truck with lettering that said: "We are attention to detail"

Joseph---no shortage of stuff to share is there!

Charles, I looked back through your posts and am admiring your photographs. What camera do you use and are you also a photography expert! : )

Barbara, definitely wouldn't call myself a "photography expert"---but I do like it a lot---got hooked in college. I have a Fugi S5700. Very economical inspection camera. At around 200 bucks with a 10X zoom and a focus to within 1" it is hard to beat. I go through a couple a year, banging around in crawl spaces and such. I have actually had my current one a year---but I am due. I take between 350 and 450 pictures per inspection (it is my sole note taking tool). Four double A batteries will last more than four house with every picture a flash picture. Battery life is crucial to me in a camera.

I'll check one out for myself possibly. I have a large Sony Mavica that I've had for a long time. I'm thinking I need a little point and shoot type for quick shots and no trouble carrying. Thanks for the infor.

Charlie,

That is one of those over and over and over agains.

MAR

2008

That was a very useful post, Charles. Good photos as well.

Nice to see an inspector who actually knows something about roofs, the ones in our area evaluate from the ground.

The first thing we learn in the Seattle area is, it rains, and the rain has to go somewhere. This is still my top priority when looking at a sellers home. What's dry, what's not, and how does it get from roof to ground. Great photos.

Great illustration of how to do it correctly and what happens in the event it is not flashed properly. I haven't seen these types of barge rafters, but perhaps, I really did and didn't know what they were. Thanks for this informative information.

I learned something on ActiveRain today! ;)

Good info, I don't think many builders use "barge rafters" here in Atlanta but, now I'll keep my eye out. :)

Great Advice Charles, I'm in Portland and read a lot of inspection reports, but have never come across a Barge Rafter before. Well now I've got to go out and find one! Thank, Keith

Something to be concerned about. I'm having a home inspected this week. I'll keep my eye open.

Thanks. Great information

Steve----ditto ditto ditto ditto

Brian, thanks,

Kathleen, It is difficult to see what is really going on with a roof from the eaves let alone the ground!

Kim, thanks for the comment, can we say "Activerain?"

Joan, where they do extend past the roof is very common here---perhaps some of the other inspectors will report back as to the prevalence in other parts of the country.

Michele, thanks for taking a look.

Heather, let me know if you see one float by:)

Keith, hard to imagine that you don't have at least as many as we do.

Robert, thanks for stopping by.

Congratulations on the featured blog!!

Thanks Barbara----I just Barged right in:)

I am happy that you are the home inspector and not I

That's a great tip... Thanks!

Great pictures Charles. Those barge rafters rot quite quickly around here if they are not installed properly.

oh wow. Interesting

Didn't know the word barge in this context until reading your post. Thanks for sharing.

MAR

2008

Good posting, Charles, and a Beautiful Blue Sky, In Seattle of all places. The media tells us it is always raining there. A second lesson to be learned. Don't believe everything we hear. Grin

Have a great day!

Hal

Charles, I'm glad someone else can get in trouble beside me for telling the truth about it not raining in Seattle all the time LOL!

Ewwww....that looked gross. It definitely pays to have things done right so you can avoid rot and decay at all costs. I loved the blue sky. It was beautiful!

Charles - Thank you for replying with a lead on good gutters. I'll keep an eye out for when you have a post on something similar.

Richard and Kevin, thanks for stopping by.

Wayne, I find too many of these rotted rafter ends to count.

Ryan, thanks for stopping by

Bob & Carolin, there are an amazing bunch of construction words that have strage meanings out of context (future blog fodder---no doubt)!

Harold, Colleen, it is one thing for people to discover that we have blue sky here, wait until they find out we have water too. Maybe we better go back to lying about the rain?

Christy, want to see some really bad ones?

Melissa, I assume you mean my other blog?

MAR

2008

umm...you said this in reply to me earlier, I've just been too busy to get back timely.

03/03/2008 01:34 PM

by Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector

Nice catch Melissa, senior moment on my part apparently:) I had forgotten that I stuck that in there----just call me the spaceman.

Hey, no worries Charles. A senior moment, huh. You might want to check out My Living Will. I wonder how many times I can wrack up 25 points commenting on your same blog? lol

APR

2008

It still surprises me when I see unflashed barge rafters. Lately I see it a lot on newer houses. It used to be, around here, that if you were a roofer, flashed barges was the norm. I think that the building boom in recent years brought a lot of people into the business that don't really understand water.

I'm a atlanta inspector looking for linking partners.

JUN

2008

to be correct it is called a varge rafter not barge

JUN

2008

To unknown commenter:) Some areas refer to this rafter as a Varge Rafter----but most places it is refered to it as a Barge Rafter. If you do a Wiki on Varge you get nothing but tons on Barge.

SEP

2008

Interesting.... I was just going to ask about the varge/barge debate. I had not made up my mind which was correct. I usually call them rake rafters just to avoid confusion.

Good post and I like your pics. I have been shrinking mine down but I think I will keep them big like yours.

Jim, looks like you are digging around in the "archives":) I think "rake rafters" works too.

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Charles Buell, Seattle Home Inspector

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