Your thoughts on this framing job

[EddieWalker]

Friends of mine North of Dallas are adding on to their house. I don't know anything about their contractor. They asked me to do the job, but it's two hours each way and I'm not going to drive that far with so much work available close to home. Take a look at the first picture and share with me your thoughts. Look close at how it's framed. I've offered my thoughts to them and why it failed, but would appreciate input from those that know framing and engineering.



This happened last night. They are blaming the wind from the storm that went through there last night. From what I've seen on the news, the wind wasn't anything too extreme. Mid 20's seem to the the strongest that the weather and news websites are posting.



Thank you

 

[hawkeye08]

I can't speak the engineering, but if I was at that point when I quit for the day, I would have put a bunch of bracing on that.

 

[widefat]

I am nowhere near an expert or that knowledgeable about framing. But, I would ask where the lateral supports are for the roof members. IE, it looks like they knew nothing about proper truss design. Without the lateral support, even a small wind will get the frame rocking.

 

[ArlyA]

There was no visible lateral bracing in the end wall. Without see more complete photos, that's why it fell over. More questions... The header has no hurricane clips in it, which could be added later. And the header looks to be grossly under sized. Hummmm

 

[turnkey4099]

No let-in gable end braces, no collar beams showing to keep the sidewalls from spreading. Collar beams maybe out of the picture but they would be too high to be reliable. I agree with Arly on the undersized header. Only a shade tree carpenter but...Wow!

 

[mostly_gas]

If you are talking about last night in the Dallas area, winds were peaking from 70-80 mph recorded at various airports.

 

[EddieWalker]

Thanks, that must be what hit them.

 

[kcflhrc]

I think it looks fantastic, but I'm not a framer.

 

[bigtiller]

The corner looks weak to this amateur and there looks to be a lot of weight pushing out on the short wall from the rafters.

 

[TedReese]

The vertical walls were built with a hinge in the middle, of course it failed. Continuous framing members are required from the floor to the roof. They built in a sill plate in the middle. Are building permits required where this was built?