Framing Shed Roof Rafters

Lower the first rafter truss into place at either the front or back of the shed.

Framing shed roof rafters.

If you re framing a gable roof on a new house or building a shed or even a doghouse with a gable roof you ll need to cut a number of roof rafters. If you plan to have eaves to protect the shed walls make sure you add the extra length when measuring the rafters. A rafter is the frame of your roof. A stick framed roof uses 2x4 s or 2x6 s or whatever you are framing with but has a ridge board running down the middle ridge line.

Attach the end rafters to the wall plates of your shed frame. Place a nail every three inches along the edges of the gusset. The roof rafters provide integral structural support to the roof. Before you cut your boards you ll need to measure the width of your building and calculate the exact length of each rafter.

Difference between a rafter and truss. The skillion and shed style roofs are framed with a single slope 2 4 or 2 6 or thicker rafters spanning from the low wall to the high wall. It rests on top of your wall framing and when done properly serves to keep your shed walls in place while supporting a roof. Sometimes the rafter will have a tail and extend out past the wall so that you have a soffit or overhang.

Fasten the truss by driving 8d finishing nails at an angle down through the board just above the birdsmouth notch and into the underlying wall plate. More specifically it is a beam that goes from the peak of your roof down to the eve. Install the gussets on both sides of all the rafters except for the gable end rafters. Test the rafter assembly by standing it up and lining it up with the edges of the shed floor.

You then have rafters running down from this ridge board and resting on the top wall plates.