How To Stick Frame Roof Rafters

With premanufactured trusses or with rafters and ceiling joists commonly called stick framing.

How to stick frame roof rafters.

The image below shows a cross section of our simple 12 x 13 house from the joist span tables section of this tutorial. The roof rafters provide integral structural support to the roof. They ll both result in the same quality when the build is finished each supporting the roof with the same strength. There aren t many differences between rafters and trusses.

It is always better to have a large rafter rather than be concerned with a sagging roof. The rafters are usually positioned directly above the wall studs. While truss roofs are the most popular construction style today by some estimates truss roofs outnumber stick frame roofs two to one there are regions of the country where builders. Floor beam span tables of residential structural design we will now look at roof rafter and beam design.

They can be handmade and installed as needed one piece at a time on site. Before you cut your boards you ll need to measure the width of your building and calculate the exact length of each rafter. Stick framing combines roof rafters with ceiling joists. If your project had a rafter length of 8 or less a safe and strong method is to use 2x8 framed 16 on center.

Like wall studs and floor joists rafters and trusses are spaced every 16 or 24 inches from center to center. Rafter layout with a framing square. Most roofs utilize 16 inch spacings for strength and rigidity. This example is for a roof with an 8 12 pitch.

From one end of the rafter material using a speed square or framing square mark an x in 12 angle on the rafter and cut it measure down y height from the long point of the rafter cut and make a mark. Structures such as sheds or barns can be frames with rafters every 24 again make sure to consult local codes. Position the square with both the 8 inch on the outside edge of the tongue and the 12 inch on the blade on the upper edge of the board. Rafters are a good option when building something on a smaller scale such as a shed or a garage.

Here we have a wood framed gable roof. Roof framing rafter layout. While most home builders will outsource the construction of roofing trusses the rafter supports of the roof itself learning to frame a roof yourself is one of the true arts of carpentry and a basic primer is covered below. Framing a roof is the last step in framing new construction.

Position the square at the end of the rafter board with the tongue on your left and facing away from you. Let s consider a basic gable wood roof framing design. If you re framing a gable roof on a new house or building a shed or even a doghouse with a gable roof you ll need to cut a number of roof rafters.