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Helping You Make Your Home Your Castle |
Furniture & Furnishing & Decorations
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How to Cut Roof Rafters
One of the most cumbersome tasks for the DIY homeowner who wants to build his own house or a shed is how to cut roof rafters. Cutting roof rafters is time consuming because of the close attention to detail required to cut the rafters exactly the same. In some cases it can take as long to cut and frame the roof as it does to frame the rest of the project.
Whether the roof is a simple gable roof or a
complex roof with multiple hips and valleys you
want to cut all the rafters at the same time after
the pattern has been cut. This will insure they are
cut exactly the same. Roof framing isn’t difficult
but it does require detail planning.
Sawhorses become a valuable tool for cutting roof
To do this pick the straightest piece of lumber you
can find from the rafter material. Once you have
determined the length of your rafter from the plumb
cut to the birdsmouth, the depth of the birdsmouth,
and the length of the rafter tail, transfer this
information to the material. After you have marked
all of this on the pattern carefully and accurately
cut the rafter using a skill saw. This is going to
be your pattern or boss rafter for the all of the
rest of the rafters so make precise cuts. After it
is cut set in place to insure it is what you want.
To make aligning the pattern easier on the rafter
stock nail stops to the top of the pattern. Cut two
pieces of plywood about 4 inches long by 2 ½ inches
wide. Nail one to the top of the pattern about 2
inches from the plumb cut letting it hang over both
edges approximately one half inch. Nail the second
piece just above the birdsmouth. You now have a
pattern that will fit exactly the same on top of
the rafter stock to mark the rest of the rafters
without having to measure each and every one of
them.
When ready to cut the rafters lay as many pieces of
stock on the sawhorses as you can and have enough
room for the saw to fit in between each one. When
laying the stock on the horses position all the
crowns in the same direction. The crown is the
slight bow that is in nearly every piece of flat
lumber.
Position the pattern on top of each board
with the plywood stops resting on the crowned edge
and mark the cut lines.
When making the cuts, cut the pencil line exactly
the same way for each cut. Cut the plumb cut first
and then move to the birdsmouth and the tail last.
When cutting the birdsmouth it is okay to over cut
it to totally remove the material.
Now you know how to cut roof rafters you can begin
the construction of the roof for your project. Keep
in mind that cutting rafters can be a hazardous
task so always use caution and safety cutting.
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