A Roof Cutter's Secrets

Abbreviation Legend, x

Introduction: Laying the Groundwork 1
Rafter parts, 1
Horizontal standards, 1
LL/RR method, 3

Chapter 1: Figuring and Framing 7
Snap, 7
Plate, 10
Scratch, 11
Figuring tall walls, 14
Framing straight walls, 15
Figuring rake walls, 19
Framing rake walls, 23
Raising walls, 25
Underpinning for hillside lots, 28

Chapter 2: Plumb, Line, and joist, 31
Plumb and line, 31
Ceiling joists, 35
Floor joists, 41

Chapter 3: Gable Roofs/Production Roof Cutting, 47
Racks for gang-cutting rafters, 47
Common rafters to a ridge board, 49
The history and tools of production roof cutting, 54
Common rafters lapping over a center ridge beam, 59
Gable studs, 59

Chapter 4: Regular Hip Roofs, 63
Hip roof ridge lengths, 63
The hip rafter, 63
Backing a hip, 67
Hip jacks, 68
Hip-valley jacks, 73
Hip (or valley) head-cuts for rafters that sit on a ridge beam, 75
Broken hips, 79
Snub-nose hips, 81
Dutch hips, 82
Hips from a 450 corner wall, 84

Chapter 5: Regular Valley Intersections, 87
The valley rafter, 87
Regular valley jacks, 89
California valley sleepers, 93
California valley jacks, 97
Over/under intersections, 98
Offset valleys, 100
Supported valley situations, 100

Chapter 6: Roof Stacking, 109
Stacking a gable roof, 109
Collar ties, 116
Flurtins, 118
 Pailless rafters, 119
Ridge height, 120
Stacking a simple hip roof, 120
Stacking a valley, 122
Stacking a complex hip roof, 124

Chapter 7: Eaves and Plywood, 129
Fascia methods, 129
Outriggers and barge fascia, 133
Fake valley tails, 134
Miscellaneous fascia techniques, 134
Roof sheathing, 137
Rigid insulation, 142
Beam tails, 143
Swaled tails around a corner, 144

Chapter 8: Bastard Hips and Valleys, 149
Dog-leg bastard hips/valleys, 151
Dog-leg bastard broken hips, 154
Dovetail hips, 158
A diamond hip roof, 162
Diamond roof hip jacks, 167
The unequal-pitch relationship, 170
An unequal-pitch hip roof with equal-length overhangs, 172
Unequal-pitch valleys, 177
Off-angle California jacks, 183
Backing bastard rafters, 183

Chapter 9: Dormers, 189
Gable and hip dormers, 189
Shed dormers, 193
Shed dormer California-cuts, 194
Eyebrow dormers, 194

Chapter 10: Towers and Polygons, 205
Hexagons, 205
Octagons, 208
Other polygons, 211
Conical tower construction, 216
California valley at a tower, 227

Chapter 11: Bay Roofs, 231
Common bay roofs, 231
Bay window roofs against a wall, 237

Chapter 12: Other Miscellaneous Roofs, 241
Equal-pitch roofs from varying plate heights, 241
Matching ridge heights, 241
Parallel-roof California-cuts, 242
Unequal-pitch gables, 246
Cantilever eaves, 247
Common rafters across an angled wall, 248
Swiss chalet-style roofs, 251
 &n bays, 295

Appendix A: Reference Charts, 297
Chart 1: Decimal Equivalents, 298
Chart 2: Rafter Line-Length (LL) Ratios, 298
Chart 3: Roof-Pitch/Degrees, 299
Chart 4: Roof-Rise (RR) Ratios, 299
Chart 5: Trigonometric Values, 300
Chart 6: Regular Hip/Valley Backing Angles, 302
Chart 7: Side- and Bevel-Cuts on the Hip/Valley
Rafter Tail with Square-Hung Fascia, 303
Chart 8: Regular California Valley Sleeper Head/Tail-Cuts, 304

Appendix B: Applying the Construction Master Calculator, 305

Appendix C: Tool Resources, 325

List of Figures and Photos, 327

Index, 331