My house is a 1920s-era Craftsman bungalow with architectural details typical to that style. Specifically, it has open eaves with exposed rafters and no soffits, and fairly wide (~2ft) overhangs. It also has the typical decorative roof brackets.

My dad and I spent a couple days installing gutters on one side of the house, and while doing so I noticed that the front overhang of the roof has a slight droop to it. (See linked pictures) It's not a lot, but visible from the right angle. I also noticed that a couple of the brackets are separating from the house slightly at the top. When I looked more closely, I realized that those "decorative" brackets are actually the only supporting structure for the overhang and fly rafters, other than the roofboards (original T&G plus OSB added later).

I wanted to get some opinions on whether I should be concerned and if so, what the best fix would be.

My dad said that since it's been like this for 90 years it's probably fine. It's a non-load-bearing structure, except for if someone is on the roof working, and it should be strong enough for that. I'm inclined to agree, not break something that doesn't need fixing.

One potential fix would be to use some large lag bolts to firmly attach the upper beam of the bracket to the structure behind. I can inspect the attic to confirm, but there should be significant structural members behind each of the brackets.

In more modern construction, I think it's common to use blocking to attach the fly rafter back to the next rafter, so I could add that here. It would be visible, but could be done tastefully.

Any other thoughts?

Pictures here:
Roof Brackets - a set on Flickr

 

I like your dad's idea. 90 yrs and a holding