Roof Ridge Board Design

Here we have a wood framed gable roof.

Roof ridge board design.

Collar ties of a similar dimension and look as the roof joists. Traditional examples of the ridge board system utilize wood tension ties a k a. A classic example is the los altos hills remodel below by klopf architecture which uses a double 2x tension tie to sandwich each roof joist. The ridge board s length will be the outside measurement of the building plus the length of the overhang at both ends.

Floor beam span tables of residential structural design we will now look at roof rafter and beam design. A ridge board is a non structural member that serves as a prop for opposing rafters to rest against and connect to. For 2 x 6 rafters use a 2 x 8 ridge board and so on. Rafter to ridge beam connection framing roof ceiling construction structural ridge beam absolute deflection in a ridge beam structural ridge beam tricks of the trade.

Choose a ridge board that is one size larger than your common rafters. Let s consider a basic gable wood roof framing design. This video shows how to make roof rafters with a rafter square and or a speed squ. Is 22 ridge board too long of a span worried about roof sag.

Definition of ridge board in construction the top board at the peak of a roof. The loads on the ridge beam are carried by vertical posts at the beam ends down through the building structural walls to the building foundation. The rafters terminate against the ridge board unless the framing is designed to bear rafter against rafter with no ridge board. The image below shows a cross section of our simple 12 x 13 house from the joist span tables section of this tutorial.

For 2 x 4 rafters use a 2 x 6 ridge board. Continuing on from part 3. A structural ridge beam is a horizontal beam placed at the peak or ridge of a roof and is designed to carry much of the live and dead loads or weight of the roof structure by itself.