Insurance Coverage Q&A: Roof Damage and Underlying Decking

The roof on this home is being replaced due to damages from a covered peril (windstorm/hail). During restoration the contractor discovers that the roof sheathing is made up of 1″x6″ wood planks that would normally be acceptable in this jurisdiction if the gaps between the planks were within the acceptable range of the shingle manufacturer, which they are not. This causes a non-nailable surface situation where the roof sheathing must be replaced with either planks with smaller gaps, or plywood/OSB panels. During the replacement of the roof sheathing the contractor discovers a ridge board in the site-built truss system that has failed. This section of ridge board must be replaced, along with the rafters attached to it, in order for the remaining roof sheathing to be installed over a safe, sound structure. It is not known whether this ridge board was damaged due to storm-related or other forces, or if it was damaged during the reroof process. The reroof can’t be completed until these components are fixed. Currently, there is no specific building code that is triggering either of these issues to be addressed independently of the reroof, but they both directly affect the reroof process.