How To Cut Rafters For Hip Roof

With the saw bevel angle set to 45 cutting hips and creepers at the plumb cut angle will produce correct side angles.

How to cut rafters for hip roof.

There are many variations on hip roofs and their construction but for the purpose. Starting at the upper end of the rafter i mark 18 1 2 inch centers at 18 1 2 in 37 in 55 1 2 in and so on along one edge of the pattern rafter shown on illustration above and in photo bottom right. Mark the length of the hip measuring down from the longest point of the plumb cut. Then measure down that plumb cut the same distance as the common rafter s height above plate.

When you cut the rafters you ll need to make 3 separate cuts. The key structural member is the hip rafter which spans from the building corner to the peak or the ridge. Now mark 2 inches onto the timber which is a 1 4 of 8 alternatively if metric hold 200mm across and mark where 50mm falls. Then mark another plumb cut 25mm over which denotes where the hip would touch the wall plate if it wasn t for the gap.

Hold the tape measure across the width of the timber and keeping the zero end in place pivot the other end of the tape round until the 8 inch mark meets the timber. The ridge cut also called the plumb cut at the top of the rafter the birdsmouth cut which itself comprises 2 different cuts where the rafter meets the building s wall and the tail cut at the base of the rafter. Rick arnold frequent contributor to fine homebuilding and the journal of light construction presenter at jlc live the katz roadshow the remodeling show. That is where the seat cut should be made.

Hip roof framing rafter cut angle template diagram if using a circular saw or compound miter saw set saw bevel angle to 45 to obtain creeper and hip side angles. This is covered in cutting common rafters mar 17. Measure the distance between the angled hip rafter and the top of the wall at 20 in 51 cm increments and cut jack rafters to fit. Before you cut your boards you ll need to measure the width of your building and calculate the exact length of each rafter.

Depending on the size of the roof most hip roofs will have 4 6 short jack rafters that are spaced out every 20 inches 51 cm between the hip rafters and the king common rafters. See saw miter and blade angle settings.