Notching Roof Rafters

We are changing our flat roofs to peaked ones.

Notching roof rafters.

A ridge beam runs the length of the shed roof connecting every pair of rafters. Measure as precisely as possible down to the 1 4 inch 0 64 cm 1 8 inch 0 32 cm or 1 16 inch 0 16 cm. Birdsmouth joints cut into roofing rafters and mounted in place on top of the wall plate. Up here notching the gable end truss is common it is done to support the lookouts and fascia on the end of the gable.

Using a block of wood as a ruler mark the ends for cutting. Since the webbing in the truss is vertical it is considered by building inspectors to be ok. I cut rafters out of 2x8s frame this pole barn lean to. Notching roof rafters to headers.

To cut sloping rafters for a house attached patio roof lay a rafter board so it rests on its edge on both the ledger and the beam parallel to the ledger. At the top where the rafters meet they are either angled to meet at a point or attached to a horizontal ridge beam. Use a tape measure to measure the entire width of your building. Each beam is notched at the bottom called a birdsmouth so that it rests flat on top of each wall.

This trick worked for me. If is wasn t for this joint a rafter or roofing joist would only balance on top of the wall plate making fixing difficult not to mention the fact that there wouldn t be any solid connection between the roof and the supporting walls below. More truss makers are switching to drop gables where the only notching is on the 2x6 outrigger itself. The new roof will start at the back of the house go up to a peak and then down to rest on the entrance header to the kitchen.

Before you start cutting you first need to determine how long your roof rafters need to be and the angles at which you ll cut the top and bottom of the rafter. If you ve wondered how to frame a lean to roof off a pole barn this video will show you how i did it.