Shown in red in our sketch, a common rafter runs at right angles to (90°) to the building front and back walls, as seen when looking down from above. What are the Names of the Different Types of Rafters?Īnd where are they found in which roof shapes or sections?ĭrawing adapted from Swanson's Book of Rafter Lengths and Roof Construction that was in turn copied in Empire Level Co.'s Rafter Square Instruction Manual both of which are cited below. Roof Framing Definitionsīelow we give the locations and functions of various roof framing members, rafter types, collar ties, rafter ties, ceiling joists, and structural ridge beams. Rafter tie engineered for wood frame structures built in a factory environment.

We have no relationship with advertisers, products, or services discussed at this website. LUGT1 is designed to transfer uplift loads from roof. InspectAPedia tolerates no conflicts of interest. Here we include sketches of collar ties, rafter ties, and structural ridge beams as well as illustrations of collapsing and collapsed structures where these roof rafter ties were lost or omitted. Rafter ties almost always sit on the top plate of. Collar ties are in the upper 1/3 of the roof. Most of the splits extended 6 - 8 feet down the. Tim Carter talks about rafters, rafter ties, and collar ties. Without the proper support of rafter ties or a structural ridge, a typical gable or sloped roof will sag downwards while pushing the building walls outwards towards a catastrophe such as that shown in our page top photo of a barn in Amenia, NY: the failure of rafter ties in this building combined with snow loading in Amenia, New York, pushed the ridge down and the walls outwards as the building slowly settles down to the earth. 2/3 of the rafters found in this roof addition were split, due to poor support at the upper cut of the rafter. This article series describes and illustrates the different types of support that prevents roof sagging and wall bulging at buildings, including definitions of collar ties, rafter ties, and structural ridge beams. Roof structure definitions & support choices for sloped roofs, cantilevered roofs & cathedral ceiling roofs. Roof Framing: collar ties, rafter ties, tension beams & structural ridge beams: some of these can support the roof and prevent ridge sagging and wall spreading. POST a QUESTION or COMMENT about roof framing, support, construction specifications & practices.I would have loved to have used a real ridge beam but the cost and PITA of an 18' long one on a cheap shed didn't seem worth it at the time.Common rafter, Valley rafter, Valley jack rafter,Ĭollar Ties, Rafter Ties, Structural Ridge Beams Or, are there any other crative ways to make use of overhead shed space wrt framing? maybe 7') to keep them from spreading like a rafter tie would, to increase the storage space above and make it easier to reach? Do I correctly assume if I do, I'd definitely need a collar tie above that? If so it seems I'm probably just moving my usable space down by 1'. Can I get away with running a beam across the studs lower than at the top (e.g. I wanted it at least in one part because 'what if I want to store 8' tall stuff upright' but at least the front yard tool end really only need 7' or even less. I don't really need 8' clear height everywhere. Math says there'd be a bit under 2.5' from the wall height to the roof in the center. I know I need rafter ties or at least collar ties to keep it from sagging. There's some chance I may add in a small shop space w/ a bench. One half is for typical yard tool storage, mower etc, back end general storage.

It's already taller than a typical cheap shed, I figured the extra height would be convenient for storage.

2x4 Rafters 16' on center w/ gussets at top. Walls are just under 8' tall from floor interior, 5/12 roof. Building a typical gable roof shed, 10x18.

Roof rafter tie down