Roof Ridge Board Design

For 2 x 4 rafters use a 2 x 6 ridge board.

Roof ridge board design.

The rafters terminate against the ridge board unless the framing is designed to bear rafter against rafter with no ridge board. Traditional examples of the ridge board system utilize wood tension ties a k a. 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. Let s consider a basic gable wood roof framing design.

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. Ridge beam sizing is based on the span of the beam between supports and the amount of roof load supported by the beam. 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. Is 22 ridge board too long of a span worried about roof sag.

Continuing on from part 3. Floor beam span tables of residential structural design we will now look at roof rafter and beam design. Collar ties of a similar dimension and look as the roof joists. This video shows how to make roof rafters with a rafter square and or a speed squ.

The image below shows a cross section of our simple 12 x 13 house from the joist span tables section of this tutorial. A ridge board is a non structural member that serves as a prop for opposing rafters to rest against and connect to. The ridge board s length will be the outside measurement of the building plus the length of the overhang at both ends. 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.

Definition of ridge board in construction the top board at the peak of a roof. For 2 x 6 rafters use a 2 x 8 ridge board and so on. Here we have a wood framed gable roof.