Roof Ridge Beam

A timber frame roof has rafters and a ridge beam as with stick framing but the ridge is a large structural beam that the rafters sit on top of or sometimes fit into notches cut into the beam.

Roof ridge beam.

With this design the ridge beam bears much more load weight than the ridge board on a standard stick framed roof. Framing in a ridge beam in shed roof construction is not hard. A classic example of the exposed ridge beam structure can be seen on our magnolia residence which is currently in construction. Ridge beam sizing is based on the span of the beam between supports and the amount of roof load supported by the beam.

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. 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 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. Ridge beams are required by code if the roof slope is less than 3 in 12 irc section r802 3.

I always always build trusses. A ridge board is a non structural member that serves as a prop for opposing rafters to rest against and connect to. 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.