Thanks, Barry. I'm afraid I don't know the answer to most of your questions, or even understand what you mean by stuff like 'roof decking, joists, etc. I recall when we bought the house the appraiser commented on the odd contruction of the joists--advised us not to add a room upstairs because of weight concerns- said the roof joists or something were suspended instead of held up by the walls. Which means nothing to me, cuz I wouldn't know a joist if it walked up and shook my hand. The only thing I do know is I do have a huge Pecan, a huge China Fir, a huge Burford Holly and a substantial, but not huge maple, all overhanging, or even with limbs resting on the roof.

A good friend just called who has worked a lot of residential construction. He is going to come over tomorrow and take a look up in the attic and figure out if he can temporarily fix the leaks (hard to do if it ain't raining,) or at least rig some tarps over the roof while I figure out what has to be done. He just pointed out that, given the current domestic circumstances, I could simply have some local farm boys come over, replace any wood that really needs it, and put up another tin roof and coat it with cool-seal. That won't hurt the value of the house, and will protect it until it is sold, which may be a year or 3 away.

Janie