• 
  • Carpentry
  • Plumbing & Wiring
  • Energy Efficiency
  • Kitchen & Bath
  • Building Codes
  • Interior Finish
  • Foundations & Masonry
  • Building Plans
  • DVDs
  • Magazine Archives
• 
  • Digital Issues
  • Member Home
• 
  • Subscribe
  • Renew
  • Gift Subscription
  • Current Issue
  • Magazine Extras
  • Magazine Index
  • Advertiser Marketplace

Get hip to those tricky roof angles!

Huck, member

45 users recommend

WHAT'S YOUR ANGLE?

A hip roof mockup cut from a scrap of 4x4 gives you all the pertinent angles, in 3D.  The key to the whole thing is being able to visualize how the angles in this mockup relate to the angles found in the actual roof. 

Visualize line 6 as a common rafter, line 5 as a hip rafter, line 3 as the fascia, and line 2 as a ceiling joist.  Once you grasp that, everything falls into place.

How it's done: Angle A represents the pitch of the roof.  Line 2 is drawn at 90 degrees to line 1, from the corner.  It represents the run of the roof.  And the green side of line 1 represents the rise of the roof.

Line 3 is drawn at the same length as line 2.  Lines 4 and 5 are drawn once the length of line 3 is determined. 

You can see my video version of this tip at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YR9FlV2JXKI

And for those who have requested clarification, I posted a 2nd video at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lv0QkARi9Q8

HAPPILY EVER RAFTER

A complex hip roof can quickly overwhelm even the most talented framer, turning the air blue with epithets, and littering the jobsite with errant scraps.  Don't ask me how I know this!

Ah, but when the angles are correct, the lengths are accurate, and the components all fit together like pieces in a jigsaw puzzle, it is so ssssweet!  Feel free to ask me how I know this!

PAPER VIEW

My prototypes were made from heavy paper, and were arrived at by a far more convoluted means than the simple steps described here. 

And as you can see, they didn't hold up too well to the rigors of a construction jobsite.

So one day, I was looking at this thing, and it occured to me, This looks like it could be cut right off the corner of a 4X4 or a 6X6 - Duh!

Here you can see the jig set in the outside corner of a hip roof where the hip meets the fascia miter.  All the angles in the roofing members shown were derived from the model.

here you can see how the model relates to the actual hip roof

WHAT'S YOUR ANGLE?

A hip roof mockup cut from a scrap of 4x4 gives you all the pertinent angles, in 3D.  The key to the whole thing is being able to visualize how the angles in this mockup relate to the angles found in the actual roof. 

Visualize line 6 as a common rafter, line 5 as a hip rafter, line 3 as the fascia, and line 2 as a ceiling joist.  Once you grasp that, everything falls into place.

How it's done: Angle A represents the pitch of the roof.  Line 2 is drawn at 90 degrees to line 1, from the corner.  It represents the run of the roof.  And the green side of line 1 represents the rise of the roof.

Line 3 is drawn at the same length as line 2.  Lines 4 and 5 are drawn once the length of line 3 is determined. 

You can see my video version of this tip at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YR9FlV2JXKI

And for those who have requested clarification, I posted a 2nd video at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lv0QkARi9Q8

Add Comment
Print

A hip roof with a square-cut fascia contains some tricky compound angles that can trip-up even the most experienced carpenter.  Especially difficult is the compound angle on the fascia at the outside corners, and the backing angle for beveling the top of the hips or valleys to plane in with the rest of the roof. 

I've seen all kinds of explanations from proprietary construction calculators to framing square gymnastics to figure these angles, and I've worked them out with geometry and trigonometry.  A lot of framers just guesstimate and call it good enough (and it shows in their work). 

I wanted a direct, hands-on method that would allow me to figure the angles accurately without guesswork, calculators, protractors, or math tables.  I wanted to be able to visualize each angle's relationship to the big picture, to be able to set my circular saw bevel at the proper angle.  I wanted something I could set down and walk away from, and pick up later and still remember what was what. 

I was determined (OK, obsessed might be a more accurate term!) - I took a night class in trigonomety, just to try to get a handle on this.  I went to bed thinking about it, and woke up thinking about it.  And after untold hours upon hours of complicated and convoluted analyzing, sketching, figuring, head-scratching, and frustrating dead ends, I arrived upon a solution that is so simple it's almost ridiculous!

It's made from a scrap of 4x4 (or any square chunk of wood), and it contains all the angles needed to cut a hip roof with a square-cut fascia.  Once you have it in hand, you can set it on your skilsaw base and adjust the angle of your cut without even knowing or thinking about how many degrees the blade is set at.

The key to the whole thing is being able to visualize how the angles in the mockup relate to the angles found in the actual roof.  Look at it, and see line 6 as a common rafter, line 5 as a hip rafter, line 3 as a fascia, and line 2 as a ceiling joist.  Once you grasp that, everything is a piece of cake.  Well, maybe not exactly that easy, but you get the point.  =)

Here's how it works:  Angle A represents the pitch of the roof.  Line 2 is drawn at 90 degrees to line 1, from the corner.  It represents the run of the roof.  And the green side of line 1 represents the rise of the roof.

Line 3 is drawn at the same length as line 2.  Lines 4 and 5 are drawn once the length of line 3 is determined.  Line 5 represents the hip rafter, as line 6 represents the common rafter.

If you cut away the dark brown portion, the piece remaining contains all the pertinent angles, in 3D, including the fascia compound miter angles, the roof sheathing compound miter angles (which are more important when working with thicker sheathing, like 2x planking), and the backing angles for hip and valley rafters.

Add Comment Print

Stair Square jig

Back to List

A Better "Better Way" to Paint Doors

Comments (1)

snorro writes: Huck,

I must say this is one of the better tricks I've had the pleasure to read about! I'm pretty good at math, geometry and trigo, but this will be such a awesome time saver! Thank you so much.
Posted: 6:29 am on August 17th

You must be logged in to post comments. Click here to login.