How To Add Support To Roof Rafters

Sagging rafters are a sign that a house is in serious trouble.

How to add support to roof rafters.

You can strengthen the roof to prevent damage by adding braces to the roof rafters inside your attic. This is a fairly basic project that can help protect your roof but consult a structural. If you look at the rafter span chart you ll notice that 2x4s can be used for rafters on spans up to 11. Strengthening existing roof rafters is a difficult process that often requires professional help.

When sagging gets too severe it can lead to roof collapse and once the roof goes the house won t last for long. To support long rafters braces or other types of supports must be installed. Once again a 2 by 4 inch piece of lumber is placed between the trusses and parallel to the ceiling joists. Rafters with ridge boards typically are nailed only to the side walls and allowed to rest against each other at the top or plumb cut.

If you have a stick frame roof there are a few basic techniques that you can use to strengthen your rafters. The other is just used to support the trusses. Interior support or bracing. In long spans the roof would sag in the middle if it were not strengthened in some way.

Before you cut your boards you ll need to measure the width of your building and calculate the exact length of each rafter. Set a ridge board after installing rafters on each roof end then add intervening rafters nailed to it in pair. This is where a high pitched roof is necessary. Snow increases the overall weight of your roof adding to the forces acting on your rafters.

Add the thickness of the wall framing at each wall to determine the overall length of. Prevent this unfortunate series of events by bracing your rafters to make them sturdy and resistant to snow loads and wind. The pitch and span of your roof will dictate how long of a rafter you ll need use maximum span calculator to help you find your rafter size. A great deal depends on the pitch of the roof.

Ask an assistant to help measure the distance between the walls that support the lower ends of common rafters. Slide a ridge board between the rafters from the bottom and nail rafters to it. Rafter layout rafters must be laid out and cut with slope length and overhang exactly right so that they will fit when placed in the roof.