Roof Structure

• Common Construction Defects (Subscriber content)

  Defect litigation has become a billion-dollar industry in Southern California, driving many contractors out of business. A defect specialist describes the most frequent errors he encounters — from structure to finishes — and tells how to prevent them.

   

• Letters

  Defining vinyl, using sloped-seat joist hangers, pressure-washing debate, closed valley shingles, glulam commentary, slope vs. pitch, more on safety

   
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  Calculating Loads on Sloped Roofs

  Q: I often see roof loads calculated based on the horizontal run of the roof. But isn’t it more accurate to figure the weight of snow and roofing materials by measuring along the actual length of the rafter? Thus, as the roof gets steeper, the rafter gets longer, and the weight of roofing materials...

   
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  Energy-Efficient Cathedral Ceilings

  It’s difficult to achieve a high R-value in a cathedral ceiling while preserving adequate roof ventilation. Here are four options for packing more insulation into the rafters, by an energy-conscious builder who has tried them all.

   

• Venting Details for Cathedral Ceilings (Subscriber content)

  Unvented roofs in northern climates are prone to ice buildup, but how do you ventilate a valley or hip rafter in a cathedral ceiling? And what do you do at a skylight, where the headers block the vent chutes? A snow-country builder describes the venting methods that have worked for him at these and...

   

• Building a Round Room (Subscriber content)

  A job foreman describes step-by-step how he and his crew laid out, framed, and finished two Victorian towers with conical roofs.

   

• Practical Engineering: Reroofing Over Asphalt Shingles (Subscriber content)

  Rafter sizing chart for multiple shingle layers

   

• For What It's Worth

  Thermostatic crawlspace vent, new fiberglass-mat roofing paper, fold-up hearing protectors

   

• Raising a Small Shed Dormer (Subscriber content)

  There’s no time to waste when the roof is off the house. An experienced remodeler describes the methods he uses to strip the roof, cut the opening, and frame a dormer addition in just two days.

   
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  Q&A: Rafter Framing With Unequal Wall Heights

  Q: How do you figure rafter lengths for a gable roof when one wall is 10 feet high, and the other is 8 feet high (illustration A)? The span of the building is 24 feet. We want the roof pitch to be the same on both sides.

   

• For What It's Worth

  Rubber roof slates, nonslip eaves membrane, clapboard installation jig, hook-and-loop tape for carpet installation

   

• Framing a Complex Gambrel (Subscriber content)

  A large roof full of intersections, dormers, and fancy rake and cornice work can be complicated enough to build. Throw in curved roof planes and you’ve got a real head-scratcher. Here’s how one builder used full-scale drawings to work out the details.

   

• For What It's Worth

  New trimmable floor truss, backsplash clip, retrofit flashing for vent pipes

   

• Eight-Penny News

  Qualified Framer program, OSHA inspectors target small builders, retread roof, new itchless fiberglass insulation

   

• Remodeler's Guide to Building Skylight Wells (Subscriber content)

  Skylight installations — especially those with splayed shafts — can challenge all of a remodeler’s skills. A California carpenter leads us step-by-step through layout, framing, and finish.

   

• Eight-Penny News

   

• Letters

   

• After the Storm: Hard-Won Lessons (Subscriber content)

  Coastal communities need stricter, clearer codes, better training of builders and inspectors, and better quality control, say the experts after a year of studying the most devastating storm in U.S. history.

   

• Building With Style: Supporting a Big Rake Overhang (Subscriber content)

  Roof overhangs

   

• Joining Unequally Pitched Roofs (Subscriber content)

  A builder describes how he uses a framing square and full-scale layout to solve this tricky problem.