Roof Framing Without Ridge Beam

Framing in a ridge beam in shed roof construction is not hard.

Roof framing without ridge beam.

It s often just a nice way to bring the rafters together. Some of these can support the roof and prevent ridge sagging and wall spreading. A proper beam would have a supporting post at each end. If you know the slope x in 12 you want to use for your roof framing design you can use it along with the run r to determine the height of the ridge beam for example if the slope is 4 in 12 and the run is 12 feet the ridge beam height m will be 4 feet.

A ridge board isn t a beam per se. Because a ridge beam often carries a significant area of roof load they can exhibit structural distress due to a defect in wood impact on the roof or use of an undersize beam. Here s a picture of a gable style shed using a ridge beam. The finished ridge beam height z above the top of the wall will be m plus the y height.

Now if you have done any looking around this site you ll quickly see that i am not a fan of using a ridge beam in shed construction. Ridge beam sizing is based on the span of the beam between supports and the amount of roof load supported by the beam. The ridge beam shown below at the living room of a 1950s modern style ranch house in gainesville has cracked at mid span and is slowly heading towards failure after. Determining the ridge beam height.

In this design the tops of the rafters attach to a load bearing ridge beam that runs along the length of the roof. Its the way i was trained to build sheds. I always always build trusses. This article 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.

You don t need a ridge beam but you do need a way to keep the walls from spreading. A ridge board is a non structural member that serves as a prop for opposing rafters to rest against and connect to.