Peek into attic from underside; should I be worried?

The molding came loose and some of the ceiling tiles dropped away awhile back, but for some reason I just now noticed the way this looks. I don't know if it looked this way before, but I don't know if I should be worried about it or not. The roof had been damaged many many years ago during a hurricane but it has since been replaced.

The beam that is covered in wood panel is load-bearing.








I'll have to get another picture of the side off to the left because it appears that there is something where two pieces of wood are supposed to meet but they are separated in an odd way...

I don't know if any of this stuff is supposed to be supporting a load and I can't get into the attic until I find a taller ladder that actually fits inside.

I think a surveyor should take a look!

Things falling out of place may be an inducation of a problem. you will need better pictures and maybe a better explanation of what you think the members in the view are.

I'm really not sure what it is. I know that something caused the molding to slip on the edge and for ceiling tiles to fall. I'm guessing its the butt end of what I think is a 2x4 there.
I'll try to get a better pic of one of the other boards that looks like it is in 2 pieces.
I'll also have to check my roof to make sure that none of the oak branches have managed to push through somehow. I really need to trim them but my balance isn't the best anymore so I have to be careful going up there.
Basically I just see torn insulation up there. I'm sure there are probably vermin up there-- I've heard things moving around. I wonder if the possum somehow got up in there.

Was there any staining on the tiles that fell?...could indicate water damage. Also if any of the fasteners on the moulding are visible, do they look corroded? It could be critters, but they would have to be sorta large to knock down this stuff.
Can you trim the trees from the ground with a pole saw? Having a clear roof improves the life of the roof and prevents critters from easy access. Hav-a-hart traps in the attic may be something you could look into.

There were no stains on the ceiling tiles. They were dry. I think they either got knocked loose by something shifting or when the trim came loose it no longer supported them. I don't know if the trim was secured into studs in the first place.

I took some more photos
The spot on the left where the boards weren't meeting:


I took that one from a different angle. I hope it is clear. Basically the way that one is oriented, the beam is to the right.

I also noticed what I believe is an electrical line running underneath the insulation. In this picture, the load bearing beam is on the left.


To the naked eye, without flash, the right side end of this wire looked black, but with flash it looks like this:


I don't know too much about electrical code, but I suspect that this is a code violation. I think the wire is supposed to be in some sort of housing and protected somehow.

While I was standing up there getting the pictures, the aircon fan kicked on and air started blowing on me from the attic. When the new system was first put in, I had noticed that heat came from the ceiling where the ceiling tiles were missing. I said something to the AC guy about it and asked to have the ducts checked. His son went up and reported that all of the ducts were in tact and fine. I think either he was mistaken or lying.

I'm not familiar with the hav-a-heart traps. We used to have little metal traps in the pantry that would catch the mice alive. I would release them into the woods.

As for being able to trim the branches, no. The tree is 400 years old and very tall. It umbrellas the house so much that you can only see a sliver of the house on google earth. The tree service that trimmed it before had to use heavy machinery with some sort of basket thing that raised them up and over so they could reach the smaller branches. I want to be careful because I know that oak is very heavy-- even small branches are pretty dense. I mentioned before (in another thread) that a 10-ton branch dropped off of the tree before and crushed the car port, fence, and 2 vehicles.

I just got distracted by the TV because they showed a cave with hundreds of thousands of cockroaches packed so densely they completely covered the floor of the cave. It was pretty awesome looking. (It's a program called "Planet Earth"). Now they are showing bats swarming. (I'm easily distracted).

The wire itself is fine but it should be far enough from the surface so you don't drive a nail into it.
Your HVAC it the attic should be checked as air should not be leaking up there.
Have a look at the molding and tile and try to figure out what was holding them up and how effective that was.
Sometimes things just stay in place with luck and when luck changes, well.

I do suspect that the tiles were staying up with luck in the first place. There appears to have been no wood up there. Its possible that was the spot my father's foot once went through. It was almost 30 years ago so I only remember my mother mentioning something about that. If I can find the tiles again and try to put them back up, I think they might stay if I staple them and then tack the molding back up.

I am concerned about that wire. From what I've seen on DIY programs, it should be going through a joist in the center instead of underneath (if it is underneath). From what I recall it should not be near the edge as I've read that it compromises the structural integrity of the the joist to notch it on top or bottom to make some obstruction fit.

I will have to get pics of the oak tree and the branches. I wonder if I could get a tall enough ladder to reach up and stick my cellphone camera up inside the attic and snap photos. I know I am too short to actually climb up in there on the current ladder. The ladder that we used to use to get up there is gone (I suspect the neighbor stole it).

In the attic wires usually are just strung across the tops of the joist, as this one is running with the joist it should have been stapled to the side of one. When they are loose like this, you likely couldn't poke it if you tryed, as it would just move.

Ok. So nothing critical here for now at least. I went and tried to get some pictures of the tree outside and how the branches hang over the roof.

I've been told by multiple people that I need to pick one project and get it finished before moving on to more. So I need to pick one and really stick to it and not procrastinate.

zannej said:

Ok. So nothing critical here for now at least. I went and tried to get some pictures of the tree outside and how the branches hang over the roof.

I've been told by multiple people that I need to pick one project and get it finished before moving on to more. So I need to pick one and really stick to it and not procrastinate.

Click to expand...

Bingo!!! .....

Now, what are you going to tackle first?

Safety items first, I hope.

My mother keeps nagging about getting my bathroom finished, but I think in a few minutes I'm going to see what I can do to block the sewer gases from coming up from that useless shower and broken pipe for the old lavatory. Even if I tape a plastic bag over the pipe it will be better than nothing (its a metal pipe and is all ragged on the end). Then I need to see about covering the shower hole. I wonder if one of those flat rubber thingies to block a sink would work. I know those are temporary fixes, but better than the current situation.

And I need to stop thinking of the multiple things.. My brain is always going off on tangents and multitasking so its hard to focus on just one thing. LOL.

Today I did accomplish one task: I got the long distance phone service set up. I know that isn't crucial, but its something. LOL. After hours of transfers and disconnections and runarounds I finally did it and then Mom says "Did you ask them about senior citizen discounts?" /facepalm I looked into it though and there aren't any for just being a senior. LOL.

Yes anything on the pipes will help even duck tape. red tuck tape would be better, don't forget the overflow in the sink.

nealtw said:

Yes anything on the pipes will help even duck tape. red tuck tape would be better, don't forget the overflow in the sink.

Click to expand...

There was no overflow. Basically the lavatory fell off and broke the p trap off where it started to go back up to form an S-trap. So it was basically a sort of hook. I taped the hell out of it. I temporarily covered up the drain for the shower. No sewer gas smell in there at least. So that is one thing accomplished. LOL.

Going to try to cook dinner now-- if I can figure out how to set the NuWave to 425.