Ridge Beam Roof Construction

I always always build trusses.

Ridge beam roof construction.

A structural ridge beam is a horizontal beam placed at the peak or ridge of a roof and is designed to carry much of the live and dead loads or weight of the roof structure by itself. Now if you have done any looking around this site you ll quickly see that i am not a fan of using a ridge beam in shed construction. A classic example of the exposed ridge beam structure can be seen on our magnolia. A timber frame roof has rafters and a ridge beam as with stick framing but the ridge is a large structural beam that the rafters sit on top of or sometimes fit into notches cut into the beam.

With this design the ridge beam bears much more load weight than the ridge board on a standard stick framed roof. Since half the load is now supported at the ridge the ridge member becomes a ridge beam that is a load carrying element and must be designed to bridge the span between the supports which carry the vertical load to the ground. The loads on the ridge beam are carried by vertical posts at the beam ends down through the building structural walls to the building foundation. Here s a picture of a gable style shed using a ridge beam.

The ridge beam could also be flush with the joists the ridge beam is typically a larger member like a 4 x 12 and carries the gravity load of the roof joists just as the bearing wall or header does at the envelope. Timber framing is a traditional method of framing that uses heavy timbers instead of standard board lumber. The sloped roof joists span between two pinned points. It gives you something to nail the ends of the rafters to while assembling your roof.

This requires a secure connection of the rafters to the ridge beam at the top. A structural ridge beam instead is used when the high ends of the rafters require independent support. Conventional construction of a gable roof or a frame roof uses a ridge board and this is primarily for ease of construction.