Ridge Board Roof Trusses

Raise the trusses one at a time and work the ridge board into the gap.

Ridge board roof trusses.

It will probably be a tight fit and take a little hammer work to get each one into place. These horizontally installed boards give the trusses strength and stability. Also called minor rafter because it is smaller than the principal rafter major rafter. 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.

The ridge board must be set as perfectly as possible so take your time and use careful measurements. The ridge board and rafters are the strength of the roof. Then nail the trusses into the top plate as normal. This video covers one of the most exciting parts of roof framing installing rafters.

Wondering how to build the structure of your roof. Ridge beam sizing is based on the span of the beam between supports and the amount of roof load supported by the beam. A non structural member of the truss where rafters can lean against and connect to. 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.

This video shows how to make roof rafters with a rafter square and or a speed squ. Line the top of the truss with the top of the ridge board and nail the truss rafter to the ridgeboard on each side. King post truss parts explained. 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.

The ridge board must be the same width as the rafter boards. In heavy duty construction a ridge beam might be used instead. Collar ties placed horizontally halfway down the rafters hold the rafters and roof planes together. They are secured at the bottom by ceiling joists.

Rafters are made from sloped framing boards of dimensional lumber usually 2x8s or 2x10s connecting the roof peak called the ridge board to the plates of the exterior walls. It is often used in simple roof trusses such as in the shed porch and garage. We will go over raft.