How To Cut Roof Rafters

The plumb cut at the top of the rafter and the seat or heel cut at the bottom have a 90 degree relationship to each other.

How to cut roof rafters.

Before you start cutting you first need to determine how long your roof rafters need to be and the angles at which you ll cut the top and bottom of the rafter. Measure as precisely as possible down to the 1 4 inch 0 64 cm 1 8 inch 0 32 cm or 1 16 inch 0 16 cm. Use the template you completed in step iii to map out the rest of the rafters you ll need for the entire roof. The ridge end of the rafter and often the eve end will need to be cut to the angle of the roof slope.

Enjoy the videos and music you love upload original content and share it all with friends family and the world on youtube. Creating a birdsmouth cut is the classic way to prepare a rafter for a hand cut gable or shed roof. Tail cut which may be cut plumb or square depending on how the eaves are detailed. Cutting the remaining rafters.

Mark and cut the first rafter ends the first step in building the roof rafters is to cut one rafter board to length with the ends angled properly and then to mark and cut the birds mouth and seat on the rafter. Because a roof requires many rafters to frame it speeds things along if you use the first rafter as a pattern or template for the other rafters. While it isn t that difficult to build rafters the wall system supporting the roof must be level and square. Birdsmouth which consists of two cuts a horizontal seat cut and a vertical shoulder cut.

Use a tape measure to measure the entire width of your building. In order to build rafters you need to know the roof pitch and the roof span overall width of roof. Plumb cut typically called the ridge cut at the top end of the rafter.