How To Cut Roof Rafters And Frame A Roof

By Author: Ted Batron
Total Articles: 14
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Developing the knowledge of how to cut roof rafters and frame a roof won't happen over night. You can study a little and get the primary idea, but the carrying out takes a lot longer to master. Making sure that the wall framing is true and square is the actual key to successfully framing a roof.. A squared up
wall is one where the corners come together at 90 degree angles. If the wall is not absolutely square, you can make the framing for the roof fit, but believe me, it is so much better if the rough carpenters take the time to frame the walls so they are square.

In the past the issue of a square wall wasn't as relevant as it is today. Once the rafters were constructed and layed in place, pieces of wood that were a little larger than the rafters were layed over them. It was fairly simple to cut the wood to fit the rafters whether they were square or not. These days, the professional carpenters who know how to cut roof rafters and frame a roof use plywood sheets as covers for the rafters and trusses.

You only need a couple of tools to frame a roof and cut rafters. A saw, framing square and tape measure.The ...
... only measurements that you need to start the framing process are the pitch or angle of the roof, and the span the the roof will cover.

A framing square is engraved with numerous markings and numbers used for different measurements. The numbers give you a way to calculate how to cut roof rafters based on the geometry of the pitch and span measurements of the roof you are framing.

The angle or slope of a roof is also known as the pitch. The pitch is sometimes described by the rise, or how many inches vertically that the roof rises for each foot of the horizontal measurement. If you wanted to describe a roof that rose 6 inches vertically every 12 inches of horizontal measurement, it could be shown as a 6:12 pitch.