It might be the roof framing that is moving since the paneling would adjust to the room conditions pretty quickly and shouldn't change enough to cause noise (unless it was green lumber which is highly unlikely).

Why would there be any tar in the construction of the roof? Was an old built-up roof covered with metal? Tar is no longer used in construction because it is considered a carcinogen. I don't know how dangerous a tar odor is but I would address the issue ASAP.

I know ceilings in the West are often nailed directly to roof framing but in the East strapping is normally used to avoid the kind of problem it appears you are having.

I've lived in S.Calif. with t&g ceilings and never had the problem you're describing.
It doesn't matter how hot it's been they shouldn't be getting the smell of tar within the house.
And why weren't vents put in the eves to start with?

After living in Calif. for 26 years, remodeling several homes and dealing with some unscrupulous contractors along the way, my advice is for your friend to hire an independent building inspector. They've helped us in the past and made the difference when we once ended up in court.

Mention to your friend that he and his family's health could be at risk so the fee an inspector charges is peanuts.

Thanks so far for the responses. They dont sleep in the bedroom because of the smell and that only aggravates the problem.

I assume that because of the low pitch of the roof in this area that previous roof applications were hot tar. Or that there is 15 or 30# felt under the standing seam roof.

I dont know about hiring a building inspection. Most of the ones I spoke with are not up to speed on this level of detail. I guess they could hire a roofing consultant, but they mostly work on commercial type roofing systems and might not have the know-how on exposed board ceilings.

I was really hoping one of the experts here could give some ideas that we could feed to the contractor....

Thanks again.

.

Hi Frank,

I am new to this forum and am not very knowledgeable about construction. I would usually be the person asking questions rather than answering them. I just wanted to give you a little nudge toward finding someone who is expert in your friend's area that can determine whether the GC did what he should have done. Something just doesn't seem to be adding up. For a problem to be so bad that your friend can't use the room, something is not right at all. No smells should be coming in the house. From your response to the previous poster, that you were hoping for some tip to feed to the contractor, it sounds like you still trust him.

I hope you get more responses, but from the few you have already gotten, it seems there are three things that the contractor has done that are in question. The noise coming from the ceiling, possible application of tar or some other wrong construction of the roof, and not putting the vents in the first place.

What about a building inspector from the town? Were there permits that had to be pulled for this work? If so, I would think the town inspectors would have to have the level of knowledge you need. Or if you don't want to go that route, what about calling the office of an architect locally to see if they can refer someone to you that would have the level of expertise you need. Maybe a structural engineer might be overkill, I'm not sure. It seems that might be the area to focus on, is trying to pinpoint who really knows his stuff, to come out and look at what's been done and be able to tell you exactly whether something was done wrong and what to do to fix it. More expense I'm sure, but if the GC has no idea what to do and he has no one in his network of friends and fellow contractors, inspectors, etc to go to about this, then I don't see what choice you have. And just the fact that he is stumped might suggest that he doesn't have the breadth and depth of knowledge he should have to do this work.