Ridge Beam Roof Construction

The ridge board runs the length of the building and provides support for the tops of the rafters helping the whole roof structure work together as a system.

Ridge beam roof construction.

Its the way i was trained to build sheds. Ridge beams are required by code if the roof slope is less than 3 in 12 irc section r802 3. Framing in a ridge beam in shed roof construction is not hard. Yes either a ridge board or a ridge beam is necessary and required by the building code where roof rafters meet at the the center of their span.

A ridge board is a non structural member that serves as a prop for opposing rafters to rest against and connect to. Ridge beam sizing is based on the span of the beam between supports and the amount of roof load supported by the beam. Here we have a wood framed gable roof. The ridge board must be set as perfectly as possible so take your time and use careful measurements.

Here s a picture of a gable style shed using a ridge beam. The ridge beam is typically a larger member like a 4 x 12 and carries the gravity load of the roof joists just as the bearing wall or header does at the envelope. Continuing on from part 3. Ridge beams and boards modern raising ceiling joists jlc technical steico construction roof rafter collar tie calculations structural ridge beamtimber steel framing manual single span ridge beamglulam ridge beam span table elcho.

The difference between them is that a ridge beam is a structural member that bears half of the live and dead loads of the rafters on either side of it but a ridge board is not structural. I always always build trusses. 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. Timber frame ridge beams.

Floor beam span tables of residential structural design we will now look at roof rafter and beam design. 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. The image below shows a cross section of our simple 12 x 13 house from the joist span tables section of this tutorial. Let s consider a basic gable wood roof framing design.

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.