How to put the rafters on the house with your own hands? (video)

The roof is the main element of the building, which protects the whole house from the weather and precipitation. And depending on what the climate on the ground, it is advisable to arrange the appropriate types of roofs. So, if a strong wind blows very often, then it is better to make a roof with a gentle slope. But if precipitation is far from uncommon, then it is best to install a high roof. After all, the precipitations will be able to freely slide down from it, without remaining on the house.

No matter what type of roof your house belongs to (and there may be many types), an essential element are rafters, or, as they are called, rafter truss. This element is a wooden board that firmly connect all other elements. Thus, the rafters bear the brunt of the load and are the roof frame. It should be remembered that the longer the span is on the roof, the more rafters will be needed to ensure the strongest grip of the other parts. It is very important to figure out how to properly put the rafters on the house with your own hands.

Tools and material for work

Before proceeding to the consideration of the basic tips on the design of these elements, you need to know what tools and materials are needed for the work. On their availability and quality will depend on the entire installation process. You will definitely need:

• large staples;
• beams;
• hammer;
• large nails;
• wooden boards and rafters.

Particular attention should be paid specifically to wooden elements. The whole tree should have a moisture level of 12%, there should be no places damaged by bark beetles and other bugs. It is also important that the tree does not have cracks in which fungus or insects can build. Before work, you need to withstand the boards in the room and soak them with antiseptics several times, so that later they do not spoil.

Two main types of rafters for the house

Today, there are two main types of rafters.

These are hanging and suspended rafters. The simplest design have hanging rafters. The principle of their installation consists in connecting at the top with a ridge and focusing on the roof beam, which is located on its base below. Suspended rafters are already more complex. They are considered to be more reliable, as in this case, each foot is equipped with at least two legs from below.

Installation rules for hanging rafters

But it is very important to know how to install rafters of both the first and second types. So let's start with hanging trusses. It is most effective to install them where the span of spans is about 10 meters, but no more than that. This is the perfect solution for thin walls. During installation, you must follow these basic rules:

1. Before you start, you must first strengthen the truss the system. For this is used bolt and staples. First, you need to cut a bolt in them, and then firmly connect the brackets. But if the span is 7 meters or more, then it is desirable to connect these rafters also with the beam, which is then fastened both in tightening and on the ridge. This connection is also made with bolts and staples.
2. It is very important to use a metallic ruff when working. This is a special element that goes directly into the brickwork and is fixed there. Ruff just driven into every fourth row of masonry. Wooden beams will be fastened to special loops that will stick out of the brickwork. At the same time, along the entire length of the walls, it is necessary to fix on the base a very thick wooden beam, which will later distribute the load.
3. It is important during construction of the rafters to maintain the distance between the individual structural elements at a level of about 12-13 cm. Special attention should be paid to the chimney, if any. Here, this distance should be somewhat larger in order to ensure an adequate fire break. And the wooden elements around the pipe must be further finished with a special material that will protect against heat.
4. When building rafters, it is very important to ensure that they are the correct length. It is necessary that each rafter board is half a meter longer than the overhang and at the same time that the board does not extend beyond the roof. Therefore, it is necessary to nail the so-called “fillies” to each board. It is very easy to build self-mares very easily from a good board, the cross section of which is about 6x12 cm. So it will be very easy to make the joint between the rafters and the mount will be reliable.

Tips for mounting overlay rafters

But these were the basic rules for installing hanging rafters. As for the slant rafters, here everything is somewhat more complicated.Although the basic rules that were discussed above remain the main ones, besides them, such additional advice should also be taken into account. In the hanging rafters, one side of the timber should rest exactly against the girder (it should be mounted on racks along the wall of the house), running along the ridge, and the other - into the plate. In this case, note that it is the construction of the nacelle type that can be installed on the massive walls of the house, since it is rather heavy. At the same time, the truss legs should be well tightened with each other to overlap the beam.

So, the basic principles for installing rafters are considered. How to install rafters, you now understand something. All this is not technically as difficult as it may seem. However, all the work will require from you sufficient physical training and helpers, since it is unreal to cope with it yourself.

Rafters for mansard and hip roofs

Now it is still important to understand superficially the intricacies of installing rafters for two types of roofs: hip and mansard roofs. These processes are somewhat different. Therefore, it is important to know how to carry out these works correctly in order to avoid future problems during the operation of the roof.

At first we will consider all that, as to hip type of a roof. Here the most important point is the installation of additional constructions of skates, which ultimately must be at the junction with the ridge. As a result, you will have a double roof. Its first part is a pitched one. Only with all this, the slopes do not cover the entire roof area. Closer to the base remain open areas that need to be further blocked with the help of hips.

It is very important to reinforce all side beams, which must bear the entire load. Because of this, you need to remember: the greater the load on these beams, the closer to each other it is necessary to have rafters. So you will achieve maximum reliability.

Another point of this type of roof is the correct ratio of proportions between the pitched and hip parts of the roof. It is quite difficult to determine them independently, but this does not mean that the roof will not be reliable enough. It can just spoil its decorative look. Therefore, even at the design stage, it is advisable to attract a specialist who will distribute these proportions correctly.

Now we turn to the mansard type of roofing. This type of roof is more difficult, but if you want to significantly ease your work and not spoil the appearance and functional characteristics of the roof, you can make a simplified version of it - the slopes are clearly triangular.

In this version, you need to pay special attention to the lower part of the rafters, since it is she who will act, oddly enough, as the basis for the floor. For this wooden beams, it is advisable to choose a large cross section, so that the floors can withstand heavy loads. And they need to be embedded strictly parallel to each other. But as for all other parts of wood, beams with a smaller section can also be successfully used for them, and boards can also be used a little thinner than usual.

So, the basic tips for installing rafters are fully considered. Now you can safely get to work. If you do everything right, then during the operation your roof will not give you any problems and will last for a very long time.