I need to retrofit a gable rake on a roof that has no overhang.
The roof already exists in finished form.
The rake will be less than 12″ wide and I plan to support it with decorative, but structural, brackets.
I’m debating about whether to nail or bolt the rake to the gable rafter.
The rake will be covered with plywood and finished with matching shingles woven in.
Will this work? I’m in the mid Atlantic area for snow load, which is one of my concerns.
Thanks
Add a strap for easy carrying and pouring when working with 5-gal. buckets.
Dig into cutting-edge approaches and decades of proven solutions with total access to our experts and tradespeople.
Start Free Trial NowGet instant access to the latest developments in green building, research, and reports from the field.
Start Free Trial Now
Replies
The main problem I see is not neccessarily the structural integrity of the overhang itself, but blending it with the original roof.
Tacked on overhangs usually result in a visible line running up the shingles. That depends on the type of roofing, though. Obviously, 3-tabs would telegraph a line easier than architectural, and no line would be visible through wood shakes.
Best way is to remove some shingles and cut back then reinstall new sheathing that carries from the existing roof onto the new overhang.
It's not the easiest, but the best.
If you're conscienscious and careful, you can blend without having to do the tearback and resheathing.
Back to the original...yeah you can simply hang it off the existing. 12" isn't too deep, but I'd screw it instead of nailing. And no drywall screws don't count.<g> The support brackets will help as well.
Since you're matching elevations, use dry or KD lumber instead of green. You don't want your nicely matched new roofline to shink away from the existing, if you get my drift. That'll leave a line for sure.
I wonder if prior to shingling running an Al flashing strip down the joint of the two roofs would help disguise any future lines telegraphing through. Just something to chew over.
So this will work structurally? I had a concern since this is usually done during roof construction with the gable rafter allowing room for supports going back to the next to the end rafter (I think the supports are called outriggers?) I'm not too worried about the shingle matching since the roof is not too visible, we already have a shingle blend because of an addition and the whole thing will be reroofed in 25 years...(g). Really though, I'm pretty confident the shingle blend can be done artfully. Good point on the consideration about wood shrinkage though.Thanks