Types of Prefab Roof Trusses Nearly four out of five new homes built in America use manufactured roof trusses to frame the roof. Prefabricated trusses replace the rafters and ceiling joists used in conventional framing. The use of trusses enable the general contractor to construct homes that have more complex roof and ceiling designs with…

Basic Roof Styles The same basic roof styles are used in building any type of residential construction. Whether you are building a dog house, shed, garage, single family home, or mansion the roof will consist of one style or a combination of several different roof types. Nearly all homes built in America today utilize at…

Roof Rafters Only seven different types of roof rafters are required to build the most complex roof. A simple gable roof can be constructed using only one type, the common rafter. Three different types the common, hip, and hip jack rafters are all needed to frame a hip roof. These rafters can be cut from…

Determining Roof Pitch Roof pitch is determined by finding the amount of rise per foot run. If you are framing a new home, garage, shed, or similar building the pitch of the roof can be obtained by looking on the plans. It is represented by a triangular shaped drawing and expressed in inches, 4/12, 5/12,…

Roof Framing Forum Use our free roof framing forum to tell your story, ask a question, comment on others, or show off your work. No login or registration required. You can even upload up to four photos. Start a topic related to roof framing on anything you like. If asking a question, include as much…

Length of Hip Roof Ridge Board While the ridge board length on a gable roof is simple, a hip roof is only slightly more difficult to figure. A gable ridge is the same length as the building plus the overhang on either end. A hip roof ridge is the width of the structure, plus the…

Basic Rafter Cuts The same three basic rafter cuts are used on common, jack, valley, and hip rafters. Plumb cuts represent the vertical or straight up and down cuts once the rafter is placed in position. It is used on the top, tail, and bird’s mouth. Level cut refers to the horizontal line after the…

Pyramid Roof Framing Pyramid roof framing on a square shaped building is as easy as cutting any normal hip roof. The only difference is a hip roof has a ridge board and a pyramid does not. What I mean by a square shaped building is one that measures the same on both sides for example…

Ordering Roof Trusses Before ordering roof trusses several options must be considered and decided upon before placing the order. These options include type, number, span, pitch, heel height (height above plate), load, bearing width, and ceiling type of roof trusses. Options for Ordering Trusses Type – What type of truss do you want on the…

Installing Trusses on a Garage Installing trusses is the only way to go if you are building a shed, garage, or similar small building and aren’t capable of cutting a roof. Smaller roof trusses are in stock at most local lumber yards and big box home improvement centers. They can often be bought for around…

Basic Carpentry Framing Tips My carpentry experience has been obtained by working in the highly competitive west and southwest side Chicago land housing market for the past 30 years. This experience includes working as an apprentice, journeyman, lead man, roof cutter, and foreman. During these years the advancements in house framing technique and tools has…

Framing a Hip Roof Framing a hip roof may look difficult, but with the information presented here you should be able to frame a simple one. After learning how to frame a gable roof, then you should be ready to tackle a simple roof with hips. Just like a gable roof, hips are made up…

Hip Roof Framing Basics Just like any other type of roof, hip roof framing starts by figuring the length and cutting a common rafter. The common rafter will determine the height and length of the ridge board which will establish where the hip rafters are located. Pros A simple hip roof slopes down on all…

Hip Rafter Length Correct hip rafter length can easily be determined with the use of a Construction Master Calculator. If you enter the right information there is no need to shorten the rafter half the thickness of the ridge board. If you deduct the thickness of the ridge board when you calculate the common rafter…

Framing a Gable Roof Overhang Framing a gable roof overhang is one of the trickiest parts to building any gable roof. The width of the overhang determines one of two methods used to frame the overhang. The wider the eave the more support it will need to keep from sagging over time. A lot of…

Gable Roof Framing After learning how to build walls, frame floors, and ceilings gable roof framing is the next logical step in learning the carpentry trade. Some roofs are so complicated they tax the knowledge and patience of even the most experienced roof cutters. A simple straight gable roof however is not one of those…

Dropping Hip Rafters Dropping hip rafters is required in order for the jacks to plane properly with the rest of the roof. Since a hip rafter travels at a 45 degree angle to the commons the stand of the rafter must be reduced in order for the jack rafters to plane properly. The lowering of…

Dome Ceiling Roofs by Bolisman (Guam) Not a carpenter by trade but very involved in church projects. Latest project is to build and install a 12 foot radius dome and install it in a room on the ceiling. Perferred materials for construction is wood. Interior surface of dome will be painted with icons. I would…

Post Your Comment For: Dome Ceiling Roofs Your Name (optional) Comment Title Your Comments (3000 characters max, no HTML please) Changed your mind? Decided not to comment right now? Return to Dome Ceiling Roofs Join in and write your own page! It’s easy to do. How? Simply click here to return to Roof Framing Forum

Cutting Rafters Accurately Cutting rafters is not hard, the difficulty lies in finding the correct rafter length and using the framing square to lay them out accurately. Nice tight rafter cuts are the key to a sturdy well built roof. On this web page I will discuss the techniques used for cutting common roof rafters.…

Cutting Hip Rafters When cutting hip rafters I prefer to cut them one at a time, because of the size and complexity, gang cutting is impossible. If you are not already familiar with the parts of a hip roof feel free to click on the link which will take you to a page showing the…

Ceiling Joists 24 X 24 Garage by Phil (Old Mazon, IL) I am in the planning stages of building a 24 X 24 foot garage with a 5/12 pitch gable roof. Instead of using scissor trusses I want to cut the roof and put a ceiling joist every four feet or so to gain more…

Basic Roof Framing Instructions The first step in conventional roof framing is to layout and cut a common rafter pattern. The rise and run of the common rafter will determine the height of the ridge board as well as the length of any hip / valley rafters that may be involved with a conventionally framed…