NEW YORK’S #1 BARN REPAIR COMPANY
A swaybacked ridge line is your barn telling you the frame underneath is failing. Heavy New York snow loads, rotted purlins, cracked rafters and walls that have spread over decades all pull a roof down — and every winter it gets worse. Woodford Barn Repair has levelled, reinforced and replaced sagging barn roofs since 1965, on more than a thousand barns statewide.
Most sagging roofs we see come down to four causes: snow load beyond what the original frame was built for, rot in purlins and rafter ends where water has been getting in, failed or missing knee and angle bracing, and walls that have spread outward so the roof has nothing to bear on. We find the actual cause first — levelling a roof without fixing what pulled it down just buys you a few seasons.
Sight down the ridge from one gable end. A dip or curve in what should be a straight line means the rafters or the ridge beam are no longer carrying the load.
Splits at the rafter feet, or rafters pulling away from the plate, are a sign the roof is moving. These rarely stop on their own.
If the side walls bow out, the roof is pushing them apart. This is a structural problem, not a roofing problem, and it needs bracing.
Light through the roof boards means water is getting in too — and wet framing loses strength fast. Rot is usually worst at the eaves.
We start with a full structural inspection of the frame, not just the roof surface. From there we jack and level the roof back to line, replace or sister the failed beams, rafters and purlins, add knee and angle bracing to hold the correction, re-sheath where the boards are gone, and finish with durable metal roofing built for New York winters. You get a straight roof and a frame that will keep it straight.
If the frame is sound and the sag is from load or bracing, levelling and reinforcing is far cheaper. If the framing is rotted through, replacement is the honest answer — we will tell you which one you are looking at.
We size and brace every repair against the snow load requirements for your county, not a generic figure. Your barn should carry the winter it actually gets.
A roof that sagged because the walls or sill are failing needs work at the bottom too. Our wall-pushing and shotcrete foundation methods handle both ends of the problem.
We fix barns other contractors tell you to tear down. Over 50 years, more than 1,000 barns repaired, and crews that travel across all of New York State. We work on historic timber frame, pole barns, steel frame, concrete block and stick frame — and we give you a free, honest estimate before anything starts. Call 1-800-653-2276 or request a free estimate today.
