OK, I’m stuck again. After I got as far as the 2nd floor decking, I decided I wanted to add a big dormer over the back of the house (9X12), and that means redesigning the roof.
Here’s what I’m trying to do. The house is 24 X 36. The MAIN part of the house (24 X 24) has a 4′ kickwall for a second floor. Because of the kickwall, I can’t use trusses… I want living area on the 2nd floor. The gable ends of the roof are on the long side (I know….but I had to in order to make the stairs work….). I want an 8/12 pitch roof on the front of the main part (on top of the 4′ kick) for a 12′ run, and then it will slope all the way down to the back of the house where there isn’t a kickwall, with a 6/12 pitch, and a 24′ run. At the 24′ point, (12′ of 8/12 and 12′ of 6/12, I’ll have a 6′ kick wall (which will be the back wall of the main part of the house and it will help support the roof. The big dormer will be on this back side. I’ll try to attach a jpg with a crude drawing….. the blue is the dormer.
The question is…..what do I use to support the rafters (for a ridge)? The local Menards said they’d find the answer, but haven’t been able to and I’m ready to start building the walls on the second floor but don’t want to until I know for sure how I’m doing the roof. For my original plan, they had told me I needed 2 16″ LVL, 24′ long, bolted together. I don’t have any way of handling something that heavy!! This is a rustic cabin and I don’t have access to big equipment.
Will I need something very heavy to hold the rafters up, or is the purpose of the ridge just something to hold the rafters square?? I will have a ceiling (and collar ties) on the upstairs, but probably only about 4′ down from the peak.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Christine
Oops… I either posted the picture twice, or not at all…. 🙁
Replies
Da Bump......
I probably dont have the answer, but I'm trying to just visualise what you're saying first. Is this in the ballpark?
Real trucks dont have sparkplugs
Re: RW's interpretation....Pretty darned close! (How'd you do that?!?!?) The only thing different would be that the dormer also has vertical walls for about 8 foot, and then a roof.
I think I'm over my head on this, so I ended up calling someone who builds homes for a living. He's going to call an engineer friend of his and see what he recommends. He came out and looked at what I had done so far and was impressed, so that makes me feel good. If anything, it's built sturdier than need be. He looked at my stair stringers that I had just cut out, stacked them on top of each other, and then asked if I wanted a job. Hehe.
He told me he'd frame, sheet and tar paper the roof, the two dormers (the 12' one on back and an 8' one on the front), set the gable windows (4), tyvec the whole house, and set my patio door for me for $3 foot. My house is 24 X 36 plus a 6 X 8 porch, so less and $2800. That is just labor, I provide the materials (most of which I already have). Does that sound like a good deal?
Edited 6/15/2008 4:33 pm ET by TisaWeeFarm
fantastic deal.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
I have done the same thing hundreds of times using 2x12..Maybe you have some wwierd codes where you are. But technically the ridge is a nonstructural unit. I have torn into old roofs to find that the builder used 1x12 and another one had used 1 inch ply wood. Am I wrong old timers? The thaught of a) hefting two enginered timbers bolted together without machinery and b)wasting money on said timbers is well....I don't like it. I would just do what EVERYONE else does and use 2x12.
All I ever wanted in life was an unfair advantage...
Christine,
You need a structural ridge to resist the outward thrust of the rafters. Even with the LVLs I would balloon frame that front kneewall to prevent the hinge effect.
Google Genie lifts for a way to raise the LVL.
Scissor trusses may work also. Might ask the lumberyard to run it by the truss company.
No offense but I think you need more help than a forum can provide.
KK
Edited 6/15/2008 2:51 pm by coonass