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A roof must be weather resistant to rain, snow, wind and sun.
The durability of a roof should be equal to or in excess of those materials used in the
remainder of the building.
A roof should have good thermal insulation properties.
A roof should require a minimum of maintenance.
A roof should be constructed in such a way as to retain structural stability when dead and
imposed loads are applied to it

Strength and stability are provided by the roof structure and an important consideration is
the ‘span’ or the area that the roof will cover.
Like a floor system, a roof has to be structured to span across spaces and carry its own
weight and live loads such as wind.
Therefore, it is necessary to keep the dead weight to a minimum so that the live or imposed
loads can be carried. In the case of smaller buildings or spaces that can facilitate frequent
columns, the component of span is fairly simple due to the fact that the roof can be
supported at regular intervals and a lighter structure can be used.
However, for larger spans it is more complex due to the weight of the roof itself and the fact
that the roof may have to cover a greater distance with less intermediate support.

Weather Resistance: Adequate weather resistance should be provided by the roof coverings.

Thermal Insulation: In most cases, the issue of thermal insulation is critical because of the
roof’s position.

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Fire Resistance: Adequate fire resistance is necessary in order to give protection against the
spread of fire from or to adjacent buildings.

Sound Insulation: Most forms of roof construction provide an adequate amount of

insulation of sound from outside sources. Certain cases, however, such as concert halls might
require certain adjustments.

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A shed roof slopes in only one direction. The roof has no ridge and the walls that
support the rafters are different heights.

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Of the steep-roof styles, the gable roof is the most common. It has a high point, or
ridge, at or near the center of the house or wing that extends from one end wall to
the other. The roof slopes downward from the ridge in both directions.
(CROSS-GABLE: Two gable roofs that cross)
(SALTBOX): The roof in the back extends downwards over the rear wall which usually
faces north so that the winter winds will be deflected up instead of hitting the home
directly. This roof design allows a large buffer between the house and the outside for
insulation purposes.

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A hip roof also has a ridge, but the ridge does not extend from one end of the roof to the
other. The lower edge of the roof, or eave, is at a constant height and the roof slopes
downward to the eaves on all sides. The point where two roof surfaces meet at an outside
corner is called a hip. The junction where two roof surfaces meet at an inside corner is called
a valley.
(CROSS –HIP; PYRAMIDAL)

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This is another variation on the shed roof; two shed roofs slope upward from the eaves, but
do not meet at a ridge. The wall between the two roofs is called a clerestory as well, and is
often filled with windows to let light into the interior of the house.

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A gambrel, also called a barn roof, has double slopes: one pair of gentle slopes and
one pair of steep slopes. Like a gable roof, the gambrel roof slopes in both directions
from a center ridge.

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A mansard roof is like a hip roof. From a shorter ridge,
the roof drops in two distinct slopes to eaves that are
the same height all the way around the structure. Up to
40 percent of the building is roof with the mansard roof
design.

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Wall plate
Usually 100 x 50 mm softwood timbers are fixed to the top of load bearing walls to distribute
loads and provide fixings for roof timbers.
Ceiling joist
These are timbers which provide a support for fixing ceiling finishes and act as a collar to
prevent rafters spreading.
Common rafters
These are inclined timbers fixed between wall plate and ridge which transmit live and dead
loads to wall plate.
Ridge
The ridge is a horizontal board set on edge to which the rafters are attached (not required on
trussed rafters).
Hip Rafter
A hip rafter is a rafter running from the wall plate to the ridge which forms the external angle
of the sloping side of a roof.
Purlin
This is a horizontal roof member supporting the rafters and usually at right angles to these.
This enables small section timbers to be used for the rafters.
Hangers
These are timbers hanging from the purlins to the ceiling joist to give additional support to
binders.
Fascia
A board fixed vertically to rafter ends, which provide an additional fixing for gutters.
Soffit
A horizontal board fixed to the underside of the rafter outside the building.
Bargeboard

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Verge or gable board.
Eaves
The lower part of the roof, which usually includes the end of the rafter, ceiling joist, soffit,
fascia and gutter.
Dormer
A vertical window coming through a sloping roof.
Valley
This is the name for the intersection between two sloping surfaces, forming an internal angle
( the opposite to a hip).

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In technical drawings, roof planes are defined using lines describing the boundaries of
roof planes or lines between them, including:
Ridge Lines
Gable Lines
Eaves lines
Hip Lines
Valley Lines
Being able to read these lines is important because they show:
Where roof shapes are positioned in the overall roof plan
The span and length of each individual roof shape
How each individual roof shape links in with others
This information is important in roof framing setout.

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•Barge board:
–the piece of planed timber is in fact a sloping fascia. It is often fitted to gable ends.
•Dormer cheek :
–the term used to describe the triangular infill wall area between dormer roof, main
roof and the dormer front
•Roof window (sometimes termed roof light):
–A roof window can be opened for ventilation
–A roof light is fixed, allowing additional light.
•Gablet (Dutch Gable):
–a small gable over a hip end. It is used as an architectural feature.
•Soffit:
– – the ply or other sheet material panel used to close off the space between the
back of the fascia and the wall of the building.
Eaves:
term used to describe the extreme lower end of the roof, i.e. the area around the
fascia and soffit.
Gable:
triangular area of wall used at the end of a roof to close off beneath the roof slopes.
This is usually a continuation of the wall construction

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Hip rafter :
sawn timber member at the external intersection of the roof slope(similar to a
roof sloping ridge), used to support the jack rafters forming the hip
Valley:
term used to describe the intersection of two roofs creating a ‘valley’on either
side. A small valley can be created with a dormer roof and its junction to the
main roof.
•Dormer :
–the structure used to form a vertical window within a roof slope

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"common" rafters that run from the wall plate to the ridge board. With hipped roof
designs there are also "Hip" and "Valley" rafters that form the external and internal
"corners" of the roof, plus a number of "Jack" rafters. Jack rafters are ones that have
one end (or both) that does not meet a wall plate or ridge beam.

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A hip jack rafter, has a birdsmouth joint at the bottom, but is cut at a compound mitre
at the top so at to intersect with a hip rafter.

Valley jack rafters meet the ridge in the normal way, with a simple mitre, but have a
compound mitre on the base and no birdsmouth joint.
Cripple jack rafters, have compound mitres at both ends, intersect with both a hip
and a valley rafter, and do not make contact with either wall plate or ridge beam.

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Trusses.
Less labor to install trusses than to stick build roof.
Factory built
Better quality control
Reduced construction cost
Hauled to site and lifted into place
Computers allow complex designs.
Stick built
Higher labor costs for complex roofs
More variability in quality
High level of skill required to produce complex rafters
Requires more scaffolding and other supports for construction

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• Different types of trusses can be used for roofs.
• The type used will be determined by the use of the building, size of the building
and/or the owners preferences.
• Most trusses are custom built for the building.
• Trusses can be wood or metal

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Different types of roof trusses are available.
Truss manufacturers custom build trusses for each building

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PITCH=RISE/SPAN
RISE=SPAN X PITCH
RISE = 1/3 X 30’-0”
ANSWER:
RISE = 10’-0”

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RUN=SPAN/2
=30/2 = 15’-0”
RISE=RUN x SLOPE RATIO
= 15 x 4/12
ANSWER: 5’-0”

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RUN=SPAN/2
=30/2 = 15’-0”
RISE=RUN x SLOPE RATIO
= 15 x 4/12
ANSWER: 5’-0”

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Find X
Rafter rise
Rise = SpanxPitch = 1/3 x 30 = 10’
Run = Span/2 = 30/2 = 15’
= +
= 10 + 15 = 100 + 225
X= 325 = 18’
Find Y
Overhang rise
Rise = SpanxPitch = 1/3 x 24” = 8”
Run = 2’ = 24”
= +
= 8 + 24 = 64 + 576
X= 640 = 25.3” or 2’–1” (after rounding off to 25”)
Add X+Y
18’ + 2’–1”
= 20’-1”
Minus ½ of the ridge board (2" x 8"; however, timber is usually truly 1-1/2" wide).
Ridgeboard = 1.5”
Half of 1.5” = 0.75 (or ¾ inch)
20’-1” minus ¾ inch
=20’ -1/4”
THEREFORE 20’-0” can be used.

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