My company had to reproduce an exposed rafter detail last year on a house we built and we to come up with good solution. This link will show the pics http://imageevent.com/meadowview/jobphotos/exposedraftertails We wanted to mimic the look of the old house rafter tails but without the problems. It was a challenge to figure out the right materials and methods because there were so many options. Although I have seen many homes locally that have simply extended the ends of the KD rafters and made the decorative cuts on them, I was not too keen on using KD lumber in a coastal environment on such a beautiful home that will be expected to last 100 years. As we sorted through our options we narrowed it down to red cedar, Douglas fir, cypress and red Meranti (in the mahogany family but technically not mahogany). We ran some linear foot prices and by the time the material was purchased and milled down, Meranti was the least expensive, but the key factor was that it is available in stock at 1-3/4″ x 10″ thickness from our local supplier. We liked the beefier look of the 1-3/4†as opposed to the 1-1/2†thick cedar, fir or cypress. Having used Meranti for many decks we determined that with proper priming, painting and the fact that it is up under cover of the roof, we ought to be good. Because the meranti tends to bleed we needed to use a good exterior stain-blocking primer and a high quality exterior paint.<!—-><!—-> <!—->
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After the mountain of 2×10’s arrived we got our work area set up and built all of our jigs and templates. The straight cuts were cut using a combination of several chop saws set at certain angles and 2 circular saws. All the rafter tail points needed to have a 1†radius round over so we rough cut them with a jigsaw and finished them off with a large router, hardboard template, and a solid carbide up-cut spiral bit. Every cut required a reasonable amount of precision since they would be painted prior to installation and could not be trimmed in place. Many test pieces were cut and fitted before we settled on a final pattern and since it was a hip roof with two different pitches, we needed no fewer than 5-6 different templates. Trying to keep ahead of the roof framers was a chore as it seemed as though as soon as we finished one batch they needed another. Keep in mind that after we cut and sanded each batch we had to set up a dry area where we could prime and paint them with 2 coats of finish and then set them in a drying rack. We had these things spread out all over the place. In all there were over 300 rafter tails, each about 5 feet long. Since the exposed length of each tail was about 24†we decided to bury 36†up into the roof for strength. This proved to be more than adequate.
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Instead of laying out the KD rafters first and then sistering the tails, we used the tails for the primary lay-out and then shifted the KD rafters so they would be sistered. Bead board was chosen for the under side of the roof overhang and in order to minimize future maintenance we chose to use PVC bead board which was about ½â€ thick. We chose to drop the rafter tails by ½â€ below the main rafters so that the top of the bead board would end up being flush with the rafters. This would allow us to cover the PVC bead board with the usual 5/8†CDX sheathing because everything was in the same plane. The combined thickness of the sheathing and bead board was about 1-1/8†so the roofing nails did not pop through on the under side. We used 1†roofing nails for the first few feet around the eaves just to be safe.<!—-> <!—->
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The architect asked us to apply a 1×8 fascia notched into the tails and the bottom edge of the tails would have a radius cut on the point. The fascia was used so that the wood gutters had a good solid backer. The other option was to sit the gutter into the notch on each rafter tail which means that the notches would have to have been different on each tail because of the pitched gutters. This would have been a nightmare and would likely have meant that each tail would have to be cut in place-not an easy task 20 feet above the ground on staging. The hip rafters also needed a notch cut into them so this required both a left and right tilt circular saw that would tilt beyond 45 degrees. I think we used both <!—-><!—-> <!—->Milwaukee<!—-><!—-> and DeWalt opposite tilting saws which both tilted to 50 degrees. The Meranti hip rafters had to be notched to sit on top of the main LVL hip rafter since they could not be sistered like the common rafter tails.
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The venting was also a consideration not to be taken lightly. We could not use standard soffit vents so we had to devise a clever frieze board detail. We installed a white strip vent RS-400 made by Cor-A-Vent http://www.cor-a-vent.com/raft-a-vent-rs-400.cfm
So it ended up flush with the under side of the PVC bead board. The color blended in well with the white trim color so it was not visible from the ground.
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The installation of the tails took some time because the Meranti is quite hard and needed to be screwed in with impact drivers. Using string lines from hip to hip we set each tail in place and screwed them off. Once an entire section was in place we attached the pre-painted 1×8 fascia to lock everything in place. Since the tails were dropped ½â€ we had to raise the fascia to prevent the PVC or sheathing from showing on the edge. The galvanized drip edge covered up any variances.
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All in all the process went very well but very time consuming to do a first rate job. This easily added a couple weeks of labor to the job. I think the time was well spent and will remind the owners for years to come what a nice house they have.
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Please feel free to contact me with any questions
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David West
Meadowview Construction
Best of Boston 2009
Edited 1/3/2009 11:28 pm ET by dwestmc
Replies
They don't have cameras in Boston?
A Great Place for Information, Comraderie, and a Sucker Punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
I was in Boston today. Didn't see even one.
That is indeed a shame.
A picture is worth a thousand words.A Great Place for Information, Comraderie, and a Sucker Punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
View Image"...craftsmanship is first & foremost an expression of the human spirit." - P. Korn
bakersfieldremodel.com
View Image"...craftsmanship is first & foremost an expression of the human spirit." - P. Korn
bakersfieldremodel.com
View Image"...craftsmanship is first & foremost an expression of the human spirit." - P. Korn
bakersfieldremodel.com
dwestmc - welcome to breaktime. Thanks for sharing your project here. Are you new here, or is that just a new name? Your write-up is informative, but seems a little "stiff" (or formal) for us - for the most part, we're just sawdust behind the ears jobsite construction people.
That seems like a nice project, and well executed. Most people have no idea of the complexity of building something as simple-appearing as a roof eave. Nice touch that you used a dense wood like meranti (I have never used it, or even heard of it before), and pre-painted your tails. I like that it is thicker than standard nominal lumber - even your 1x8 looks more substantial than the stuff I see here.
Normally when we have false tails, we'll run back up the roof double the cantilever, i.e. 24" tails, 48" under the sheathing, total 6'. I thought that was a code requirement, but I'm really not sure. I don't doubt that 36" was adequate for your circumstamces, just saying.
Again, thanks, and welcome to the fray!
"...craftsmanship is first & foremost an expression of the human spirit." - P. Korn
bakersfieldremodel.com
Edited 1/3/2009 11:02 pm by Huck
View Image"...craftsmanship is first & foremost an expression of the human spirit." - P. Korn
bakersfieldremodel.com
Yea, I agree that it was a little formal. After I started trying to write it in the simplest terms, I realized it was more invloved that originally thought. I didn't want to leave out a bunch of info either. My apologies if I got a little carried away. I am a dirtdog myself and like to get dirty too. I look forward to being involved in future forums and hope to find a way to fit in better next time. Thanks
Dave
Well, you won't have any problem fitting in, and you do very nice work. You know you can post photos with your thread, obviously, right? I just right-click copy-and-pasted from your photo album. I think that was what Calvin was hinting at - put the photos with your story, it makes it more fun to read and follow.
Have any more pics of other projects? Bust 'em out!
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oops. edited to add - I just went to mvconstruction.com, links to lots and lots of photos. Nice website. You do cabinet work also, or do you have a good sub for that?
"...craftsmanship is first & foremost an expression of the human spirit." - P. Korn
bakersfieldremodel.com
Edited 1/3/2009 11:13 pm by Huck
I like your slide-out bed boxes. I could have used one of those when I started out with my 92 F-150. I switched over to box vans in the mid 90's and love them but there is something to be said for a light truck and the better MPG.
ahh, so this is an older project, eh? (I caught that f-150 in the photos, was gonna ask what year model)
View Image
"...craftsmanship is first & foremost an expression of the human spirit." - P. Korn
bakersfieldremodel.com
Edited 1/4/2009 12:22 am by Huck
no, the F150 you see in the background is a 96 that I replaced last year with an 07 F150. Production manager truck of course. All the leads drive cube vans.
Nice! Your attention to detail is a quality lacking with alot of builders in my area. Impressive!
Thanks very much. Cheers!
Dave
>The other option was to sit the gutter into the notch on each rafter tail which means that the notches would have to have been different on each tail because of the pitched gutters.
For half-round gutters on exposed rafter tails without fascia boards, try http://www.bungalowgutterbracket.com/
---mike...
Madison Renovations
Cambridge, Mass.
I suppose that would have been a great option had they not insisted on wood gutters. Thanks for the link.
Dave
wow, those are really cool!"...craftsmanship is first & foremost an expression of the human spirit." - P. Korn
bakersfieldremodel.com
Nice work! I appreciate the detailed explanation you gave. It will save me time and head scratching in if I run across a similar project. I will of course send you a royalty cheque in that event. ; )