How To Straighten Roof Rafters

If you notice that there is a sag in your roof chances are you have a problem within one or several of the roof rafters.

How to straighten roof rafters.

Rafters support the weight of the roof and any rain or snow that falls on it. 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. This article describes a diy repair project using a site built spreader to straighten sagged roof rafters and decking. The easiest way to straighten rafters is to jack them into position.

Use your string line to determine how much the roof need to go up. 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. Ceiling joists are placed at the ends of the rafters to keep the rafters from spreading out and sagging.

Roof rafter decking sagging. Sagging roof rafters can lead to serious problems with the entire roofing system. However this should be done very slowly and carefully. However the trick to this process is to do it very slowly so it may take a few weeks before you get the rafter into a position where it is straight again.

While most home builders will outsource the construction of roofing trusses the rafter supports of the roof itself learning to frame a roof yourself is one of the true arts of carpentry and a basic primer is covered below. The most important part is to first make sure your roof is straight and square. If your rafters are still sagging a bit and it is causing your roof to dish out a little in the center of the roof sides add a 2x4 that goes all the way across the rafters in the center of the length of the rafters. Rafters are the sloped pieces of wood to which roof decking is nailed.

Sagging rafters may be the result of numerous heavy snowfalls or inadequate ceiling joists. Move the jack in increments of one inch to allow for the roof to be able to move with it without cracking. Jack up the rafters by giving one inch space between them this will allow the roof to move with it without cracking. When considering what to do about sags in a roof start by noticing if the sag is in sheathing between rafters page top photo0 or sagging along the length of the rafters.

Framing a roof is the last step in framing new construction. Straighten rafters can be done easily by jacking them one over the other. It may take several weeks for the rafters come back in their original position.