In the case when you have at least once dealt with the construction of a private house (or at least were present at the same time), you cannot but know how expensive it is to get a “box” under the roof. Some work crews pick up prices such that the unfortunate construction site owners are ready to turn gray after the numbers are announced.
Is there any way to put the
rafters for the roof with my own hands?
Some information
First of all, you need to recall what it is. The rafters are the basis of the roof, its skeleton. This system includes not only them, but also beams and Mauerlat, the latter often also cause a lot of problems with installation.
Counting Calories
To determine how you will put the rafters for the roof with your own hands, you need to calculate the weight of the roof itself. The fact is that in the case of a small mass, you can not do Mauerlat. They, by the way, are beams laid on the walls. Section - from 15x15 cm.
By the way, how to calculate the rafters on the roof? It all depends on your home and roofing material. For this, it is still better to turn to professional builders. If we talk about cubes of lumber, then a house of 8x14 m takes about five cubic meters (only on the rafter system).
What is a rafter
The "protagonists" of our story are also beams. The average section is approximately 7x15 cm. If you plan to lay natural tiles, the design of the roof rafters in this case involves the use of beams of 8x20 cm minimum. Also, the step depends on the roofing material. This is the distance between the individual rafters. The heavier the material, the more they should stand.
Remember safety
To correctly install the rafters for the roof with your own hands, you will first have to mount the scaffolding. We strongly do not recommend using a ladder for these purposes, since there have already been many accidents that often led to the death of overly confident builders.
It’s easier and safer to still connect the rafters on the ground, only then lifting them to the walls. Their upper ends can be connected using several methods at once.
Most often they are joined, knocking down after that with nails. To strengthen the connection, metal plates are used that are attached to surfaces on bolts or conventional screws of sufficient length.
In another case, the masters use a ridge beam. This is a way for real extremes, since each structural element is mounted separately, and templates are not used at all.
In the third case, the rafters for the roof do overlap with their own hands. In many ways, this method is similar to the one we described the very first. The main difference is that
bolted joints are almost always used
.Installation
Getting to installation, they raise the extreme rafters, and along their top they stretch a rope, which will serve as a marker of direction and possible curvature. They put rafters on the Mauerlat, and then fasten with ordinary nails.
Having installed all the structural elements, do not rush to lay the roof: once again check all the fasteners and measurements, as anything can happen. You don’t want to disassemble half the roof due to a design error?