Building Shed Roof Rafters

Rafter is the beam supporting the building.

Building shed roof rafters.

How to build a shed roof step by step. Building installing roof rafters. 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. To build a shed roof you ll need rafter boards plywood gusset plates plywood sheathing felt roofing paper and shingles.

The roof rafters provide integral structural support to the roof. Finally there is a barn type or gambrel shed roof. Before you cut your boards you ll need to measure the width of your building and calculate the exact length of each rafter. Each beam is notched at the bottom called a birdsmouth so that it rests flat on top of each wall.

The truss sides will be equal in length and width to fit equally on the shed walls. This is similar to the gable shed because the trusses will be in two different cuts because of the two different angles. First cut your rafter boards to size using a circular saw to make sure they fit your roof. If your project had a rafter length of 8 or less a safe and strong method is to use 2x8 framed 16 on center.

Make a birdsmouth notch at the end of each rafter to help it fit into place. A ridge beam runs the length of the shed roof connecting every pair of rafters. Mark and cut the first rafter ends the first step in building the roof rafters is to cut one rafter board to length with the ends angled properly and then to mark and cut the birds mouth and seat on the rafter. The gable shed has a roof like a house so the roof trusses will have a peak in the middle.

At the top where the rafters meet they are either angled to meet at a point or attached to a horizontal ridge beam. As a general rule roofs that have a high human occupancy rate should be framed with rafters every 16 structures such as sheds or barns can be frames with rafters every 24 again make sure to consult local codes. Find its length with our online rafter length calculator.