Roof Ridge Beam Construction

With this design the ridge beam bears much more load weight than the ridge board on a standard stick framed roof.

Roof ridge beam construction.

The inherent strength and integrity of the triangular form makes the roof a sound structure. One at the envelope of the structure on top of a framed wall or a header the other at the peak of the structure on top of the ridge beam. Glulam ridge beam span table elcho beams tables golagoon. Now if you have done any looking around this site you ll quickly see that i am not a fan of using a ridge beam in shed construction.

Framing in a ridge beam in shed roof construction is not hard. Here s a picture of a gable style shed using a ridge beam. A classic example of the exposed ridge beam structure can be seen on our magnolia. 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 beam could also be flush with the joists the ridge beam is typically a larger member like a 4 x 12 and carries the gravity load of the roof joists just as the bearing wall or header does at the envelope. Collar tie also collar beam in profile the framing of a conventional pitched roof forms a triangle. The ridge board and rafters are the strength of the roof. Ridge beam sizing is based on the span of the beam between supports and the amount of roof load supported by the beam.

The ridge board must be set as perfectly as possible so take your time and use careful measurements. The loads on the ridge beam are carried by vertical posts at the beam ends down through the building structural walls to the building foundation. Timber steel framing manual single span ridge beam. The sloped roof joists span between two pinned points.

The ridge board is installed to provide a bearing point where the rafters meet and it also helps with alignment along the ridge. I always always build trusses. Mirrored pairs of rafters meet at a ridge and are connected across the base by a ceiling joist. Ridge beams are required by code if the roof slope is less than 3 in 12 irc section r802 3.

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. A structural ridge beam is a horizontal beam placed at the peak or ridge of a roof and is designed to carry much of the live and dead loads or weight of the roof structure by itself. 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.