How to install roof rafters with your own hands?

In the case when you have ever dealt with the construction of a private house (or at least were present at the same time), you can not but know how expensive it is to make a "box" under the roof. Some workers brigades pick up such prices, that unfortunate owners of the construction are ready to turn gray after the announcement of the figures.

Is there any way to put the roof rafters with your own hands?

Some information

First of all, it is necessary to recall what it is. The rafters are the foundation of the roof, its backbone. This system includes not only them, but also beams and mauerlats, the latter often also cause a lot of problems with the installation.

We consider "calories"

To determine how you will put the roof rafters with your own hands, you need to calculate the weight of the roof itself. The fact is that in the case of a small mass, you can not do Mauerlats. They, by the way, are beams, laid on the walls. Section - from 15x15 cm.

By the way, how to calculate the rafters on the roof? It all depends on your house and roofing material. For this, it is better to turn to professional builders. If we talk about cubes of lumber, then on the house 8x14 m it takes about five cubic meters (only for the rafter system).

What is the rafters

The "main characters" of our narrative are also beams. The average cross-section is approximately 7x15 cm. If you plan to put natural roofing tiles, then the construction of roof trusses in this case requires the use of beams 8x20 cm minimum. A step is also dependent on the roofing material. This is the distance between the individual rafters. The heavier the material, the more they should stand.

Remember the safety

To properly install the rafters for the roof with your own hands, you will first have to mount the woods. We strongly do not recommend using a ladder for these purposes, since there have already been a lot of accidents, often resulting in the death of overly self-confident builders.

It is simpler and safer to still join the rafters on the ground, only then picking them up on the walls. Their upper ends can be joined using several methods at once.

Most often they are joined, knocking down after that with nails. To strengthen the connection, use metal plates that are fastened to surfaces on bolts or conventional screws of sufficient length.

In another case, the master uses a ridge beam. This is a way for real extremals, since each element of the construction is mounted separately, and templates are not used at all.

In the third case, the rafters for the roof with their own hands overlap. In many respects this method is similar to the one that we described the very first. The main difference is that bolts are almost always used .

Installation

Beginning the installation, raise the outer rafters, and at their top stretch the rope, which will serve as a marker of direction and possible curvature. The rafters are put on the Mauerlats, and then they are fastened with usual nails.

Having installed all the elements of the construction, do not rush to lay the roof: once again check all the fasteners and measurements, since anything can happen. You do not want to dismantle half the roof because of an error in the design?