How To Stick Frame Roof Rafters

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.

How to stick frame roof rafters.

If your project had a rafter length of 8 or less a safe and strong method is to use 2x8 framed 16 on center. Position the square at the end of the rafter board with the tongue on your left and facing away from you. Like wall studs and floor joists rafters and trusses are spaced every 16 or 24 inches from center to center. Framing a roof is the last step in framing new construction.

The rafters are usually positioned directly above the wall studs. The roof rafters provide integral structural support to the roof. Most roofs utilize 16 inch spacings for strength and rigidity. It is always better to have a large rafter rather than be concerned with a sagging roof.

The image below shows a cross section of our simple 12 x 13 house from the joist span tables section of this tutorial. Before you cut your boards you ll need to measure the width of your building and calculate the exact length of each rafter. There are two common ways of framing the roof of a house. 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.

Continuing on from part 3. Stick framing combines roof rafters with ceiling joists. They can be handmade and installed as needed one piece at a time on site. With premanufactured trusses or with rafters and ceiling joists commonly called stick framing.

This example is for a roof with an 8 12 pitch. Floor beam span tables of residential structural design we will now look at roof rafter and beam design. Roof framing rafter layout. This will the first point of the rafter measurement line using the results of your rafter length calculation measure from this point along the rafter measurement.

Here we have a wood framed gable roof. Rafter layout with a framing square. Structures such as sheds or barns can be frames with rafters every 24 again make sure to consult local codes. Let s consider a basic gable wood roof framing design.

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. 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.